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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 6: The Killing of the Demon Pūtanā
10.6.3310.6.35-36

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.6.34

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.6.30inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

दह्यमानस्य देहस्य धूमश्चागुरुसौरभ: ।

उत्थित: कृष्णनिर्भुक्तसपद्याहतपाप्मन: ॥ ३४ ॥

dahyamānasya dehasya

dhūmaś cāguru-saurabhaḥ

utthitaḥ kṛṣṇa-nirbhukta-

sapady āhata-pāpmanaḥ

Translation

Because of Kṛṣṇa’s having sucked the breast of the Rākṣasī Pūtanā, when Kṛṣṇa killed her she was immediately freed of all material contamination. Her sinful reactions automatically vanished, and therefore when her gigantic body was being burnt, the smoke emanating from her body was fragrant like aguru incense.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing and Chanting Purify Our Senses

  1. 1

    Because Kṛṣṇa sucked Pūtanā’s breast, her sinful reactions vanished. When her body was burned, its smoke smelled like aguru incense.

  2. 2

    Applying the senses in the Lord’s service frees one from material contamination. Hearing about Kṛṣṇa’s activities is the beginning of purified life.

  3. 3

    Hearing and chanting are most important in devotional service. Serving the Lord with purified senses is called bhakti.

Key points from the purport
  • If one somehow or other becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious by applying his senses in the service of the Lord, one is immediately freed from material contamination.
  • Therefore, in discharging devotional service, śravaṇa-kīrtana (hearing and chanting) is most important.
  • When Pūtanā was somehow or other, directly or indirectly, induced to render some service to the Lord by feeding Him with her breast, she was immediately purified, so much so that when her nasty material body was burnt to ashes, it gave off the fragrance of aguru, the most agreeably scented herb.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 10.6.34 quotesSB 1.2.17

Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. Hearing about the activities of Kṛṣṇa is the beginning of purified life.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Worry and play → Parental tenderness. The Supreme becomes the beloved child of His devotees.

Chapters 5–11 of Canto 10: Gokula, Yaśodā and the infant Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 6: The Killing of the Demon Pūtanā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The inhabitants of Vraja cut the gigantic body of Pūtanā into pieces, but because Kṛṣṇa had sucked her breast, she had been freed from all sins, and therefore when the cowherd men burned the pieces of her body in a fire, the smoke filled the air with a very pleasing fragrance. Ultimately, although Pūtanā had desired to kill Kṛṣṇa, she attained the Lord’s abode.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.6
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dahyamānasyawhile being burnt to ashes
  2. dehasyaof the body of Pūtanā
  3. dhūmaḥthe smoke
  4. caand
  5. aguru-saurabhaḥturned into saintly scented smoke of the aguru herb
  6. utthitaḥemanating from her body
  7. kṛṣṇa-nirbhuktabecause of Kṛṣṇa’s having sucked her breast
  8. sapadiimmediately
  9. āhata-pāpmanaḥher material body became spiritualized or relieved of all material conditions
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.6

    In this verse: “sinful”, “contamination”, “purified”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.6

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.6

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “bhakti”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can you give hearing and chanting a more important place in your day?

Practice

Spend two minutes reading this account of Kṛṣṇa aloud, giving your attention to hearing it.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.17

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.6's connections

Live this todayHearing and Chanting Purify Our SensesThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 10.6.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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