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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.60.23

Who is speaking and story frame

पदा सुजातेन नखारुणश्रिया

भुवं लिखन्त्यश्रुभिरञ्जनासितै: ।

आसिञ्चती कुङ्कुमरूषितौ स्तनौ

तस्थावधोमुख्यतिदु:खरुद्धवाक् ॥ २३ ॥

padā su-jātena nakhāruṇa-śrīyā

bhuvaṁ likhanty aśrubhir añjanāsitaiḥ

āsiñcatī kuṅkuma-rūṣitau stanau

tasthāv adho-mukhy ati-duḥkha-ruddha-vāk

Translation

With her tender foot, effulgent with the reddish glow of her nails, she scratched the ground, and tears darkened by her eye makeup sprinkled her kuṅkuma-reddened breasts. There she stood, face downward, her voice choked up by extreme sorrow.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

Rukmiṇī’s Sorrow Silences Her Voice

  1. 1

    With her tender foot, shining with the reddish glow of her nails, she scratched the ground.

  2. 2

    Tears darkened by her eye makeup sprinkled her kuṅkuma-reddened breasts.

  3. 3

    She stood with her face downward. Extreme sorrow choked her voice.

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:

She began to cry, and soon she became stunned in extreme fear, pain and sadness and fell unconscious. Lord Kṛṣṇa saw that she had misunderstood His joking, and thus He felt compassion for her.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.60
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. padāwith her foot
  2. su-jātenavery tender
  3. nakhaof its nails
  4. aruṇareddish
  5. śrīyāhaving the effulgence
  6. bhuvamthe earth
  7. likhantīscratching
  8. aśrubhiḥwith her tears
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

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 do these quiet physical details help me appreciate the depth of her sorrow?

Practice

Pause over each of the verse’s details today, noticing how her sorrow appears through her foot, tears, posture and voice.

Live this todayRukmiṇī’s Sorrow Silences Her VoiceThis 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 10.60.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.