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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.
10.60.3310.60.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.60.34

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Rukmiṇīsince 10.60.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीरुक्‍मिण्युवाच

नन्वेवमेतदरविन्दविलोचनाह

यद्वै भवान् भगवतोऽसद‍ृशी विभूम्न: ।

क्व‍ स्वे महिम्न्यभिरतो भगवांस्‍त्र्यधीश:

क्व‍ाहं गुणप्रकृतिरज्ञगृहीतपादा ॥ ३४ ॥

śrī-rukmiṇy uvāca

nanv evam etad aravinda-vilocanāha

yad vai bhavān bhagavato ’sadṛśī vibhūmnaḥ

kva sve mahimny abhirato bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ

kvāhaṁ guṇa-prakṛtir ajña-gṛhīta-pādā

Translation

Śrī Rukmiṇī said: Actually, what You have said is true, O lotus-eyed one. I am indeed unsuitable for the almighty Personality of Godhead. What comparison is there between that Supreme Lord, who is master of the three primal deities and who delights in His own glory, and myself, a woman of mundane qualities whose feet are grasped by fools?

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.

Humility Recognizes Kṛṣṇa’s Unequaled Supremacy

  1. 1

    Rukmiṇī begins answering the statements Kṛṣṇa had made to present Himself as an unsuitable husband.

  2. 2

    She agrees that they are not equal, but explains this through His supremacy: no one can equal the Supreme Lord. He is master of the three primal deities and delights in His own glory.

  3. 3

    In extreme humility, Rukmiṇī identifies herself with the Lord’s external energy. The purport explains that this energy is actually her expansion, for she is the goddess of fortune.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī lists the faults Lord Kṛṣṇa had described in Himself that He claimed disqualified Him from being Rukmiṇī’s husband.
  • The Lord claimed that Rukmiṇī had failed to recognize these bad qualities in Him.
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī further points out that in her extreme humility Rukmiṇī is identifying herself with the Lord’s external energy, which in fact is her expansion, Rukmiṇī being the goddess of fortune.

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:

After all, no one is equal to You, the omnipotent master of the three principal deities — Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva.” Rukmiṇī went on to show how everything Kṛṣṇa had said denigrating Himself was actually glorification.
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-rukmiṇī uvācaŚrī Rukmiṇī said
  2. nanuwell
  3. evamso be it
  4. etatthis
  5. aravinda-vilocanaO lotus-eyed one
  6. āhasaid
  7. yatwhich
  8. vaiindeed
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

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “humility”

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 Rukmiṇī’s reply combine deep humility with recognition of Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer acknowledging Kṛṣṇa’s unequaled greatness and expressing a humble desire to serve Him.

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 todayHumility Recognizes Kṛṣṇa’s Unequaled SupremacyThis 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 10.60.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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