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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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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 60: Lord Kṛṣṇa Teases Queen Rukmiṇī.
10.59.4510.60.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.60.1

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.60.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच

कर्हिचित् सुखमासीनं स्वतल्पस्थं जगद्गुरुम् ।

पतिं पर्यचरद् भैष्मी व्यजनेन सखीजनै: ॥ १ ॥

śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca

karhicit sukham āsīnaṁ

sva-talpa-sthaṁ jagad-gurum

patiṁ paryacarad bhaiṣmī

vyajanena sakhī-janaiḥ

Translation

Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: Once, in the company of her maidservants, Queen Rukmiṇī was personally serving her husband, the spiritual master of the universe, by fanning Him as He relaxed on her bed.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Personally Serving the Spiritual Master

  1. 1

    Rukmiṇī personally fans Lord Kṛṣṇa while He rests, even though her maidservants are present.

  2. 2

    She serves Him as both her husband and the spiritual master of the universe.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī compares her to fragrant camphor. Kṛṣṇa’s apparently insensitive words will reveal her lovely, chaste qualities, just as grinding releases camphor’s fragrance.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī poetically notes that in this chapter Rukmiṇīdevī is like fragrant camphor crushed on the grinding stone of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s speech.
  • In other words, the lovely, chaste qualities of Rukmiṇī will become manifest as a result of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s apparently insensitive words, just as camphor’s fragrance becomes manifest when granules of camphor are crushed by a grinding stone.
  • The ācārya further points out that Rukmiṇī is personally serving the Lord because He is jagad-gurum, the spiritual master of the universe, and patim, her husband.

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

How it feels

Conflict and affection → Devotional wonder. Divine intimacy coexists with royal duties.

Chapters 60–69 of Canto 10: Palace life, family bonds and heroic protection. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 60: Lord Kṛṣṇa Teases Queen Rukmiṇī.

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

One day Lord Kṛṣṇa sat at ease in Queen Rukmiṇī’s bedroom while she and her maidservants attended to Him in various ways. Rukmiṇī always responded to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s moods, whatever they might be.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.60
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥŚukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Bādarāyaṇa Vedavyāsa
  2. uvācasaid
  3. karhiciton one occasion
  4. sukhamcomfortably
  5. āsīnamsitting
  6. svaon her
  7. talpabed
  8. sthamsituated
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “lovely”

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

What does Rukmiṇī’s personal attention teach you about serving Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read the translation slowly, pausing to appreciate Rukmiṇī’s personal service to the Lord.

5

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.60's connections

Live this todayPersonally Serving the Spiritual MasterThis 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 10.60.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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