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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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.
10.60.110.60.3-6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.60.2

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.60.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यस्त्वेतल्ल‍ीलया विश्वं सृजत्यत्त्यवतीश्वर: ।

स हि जात: स्वसेतूनां गोपीथाय यदुष्वज: ॥ २ ॥

yas tv etal līlayā viśvaṁ

sṛjaty atty avatīśvaraḥ

sa hi jātaḥ sva-setūnāṁ

gopīthāya yaduṣv ajaḥ

Translation

The unborn Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, who creates, maintains and then devours this universe simply as His play, took birth among the Yadus to preserve His own laws.

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.

God’s Laws Guide Us Home

  1. 1

    The unborn Personality of Godhead creates, maintains and devours the universe simply as His play. He appears among the Yadus to preserve His own laws.

  2. 2

    Religion is the law established by God. Like boundaries that keep water on its proper course, His laws guide human behavior.

  3. 3

    These laws also act as a bridge from material life to liberated, spiritual life. Those who follow them can peacefully progress back home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • These laws, which are meant to guide human behavior, are thus called setu.
  • Thus in the Ninth Canto the Bhāgavatam uses the word setu to indicate the bridge Lord Rāmacandra built to Śrī Laṅkā.
  • Since the laws of God act as a bridge to take us from material life to liberated, spiritual life, this additional sense of the word setu certainly enriches its use here.

The purport'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 10.60.2 quotesSB 6.3.19

As stated in the Sixth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: “Religion is the law established by God.”

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

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:

But as for such things as body, home, wife and children, I’m indifferent to them, being the self-satisfied Personality of Godhead, transcendental to all material affairs.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa stopped speaking, having destroyed Queen Rukmiṇī’s confidence that she was her husband’s favorite.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.60
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥwho
  2. tuand
  3. etatthis
  4. līlayāas His play
  5. viśvamuniverse
  6. sṛjatisends forth
  7. attidevours
  8. avatiprotects
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “religion”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “material”

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 does seeing God’s laws as a bridge change your attitude toward following them?

Practice

Write one sentence describing how God’s laws guide people toward spiritual life.

5

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 6.3.19

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

Live this todayGod’s Laws Guide Us HomeThis 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 10.60.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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