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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.
10.60.3510.60.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.60.36

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Rukmiṇīsince 10.60.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

त्वत्पादपद्ममकरन्दजुषां मुनीनां

वर्त्मास्फुटं नृपशुभिर्ननु दुर्विभाव्यम् ।

यस्मादलौकिकमिवेहितमीश्वरस्य

भूमंस्तवेहितमथो अनु ये भवन्तम् ॥ ३६ ॥

tvat-pāda-padma-makaranda-juṣāṁ munīnāṁ

vartmāsphuṭaṁ nr-paśubhir nanu durvibhāvyam

yasmād alaukikam ivehitam īśvarasya

bhūmaṁs tavehitam atho anu ye bhavantam

Translation

Your movements, inscrutable even for sages who relish the honey of Your lotus feet, are certainly incomprehensible for human beings who behave like animals. And just as Your activities are transcendental, O all-powerful Lord, so too are those of Your followers.

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.

The Lord’s Path Is Transcendental

  1. 1

    Rukmiṇī explains that the Lord follows an unworldly path. His activities are transcendental, not governed by ordinary worldly behavior.

  2. 2

    People absorbed in enjoying this world cannot understand the Lord’s activities. Cultural sophistication alone does not lift a person beyond animal-like pursuit of enjoyment.

  3. 3

    Even sages who relish the honey of His lotus feet cannot perfectly understand His activities. The activities of His followers are also transcendental.

Key points from the purport
  • Here Queen Rukmiṇī replies to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s statement in text 13:
  • Even if such people are “culturally advanced,” they should simply be considered sophisticated or polished animals.
  • Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī points out that because the Lord’s activities are always transcendental, they are aspaṣṭa, or “unclear,” to ordinary people, and even the sages trying to know the Lord cannot perfectly understand these activities.

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:

It was only out of eagerness to see your lotus face adorned with a frown that I teased you. To joke with one’s beloved is the highest enjoyment for householders.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.60
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvatYour
  2. pādaof the feet
  3. padmalotuslike
  4. makarandathe honey
  5. juṣāmwho relish
  6. munīnāmfor sages
  7. vartma(Your) path
  8. asphuṭamnot apparent
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “governed”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “understand”

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

Do I judge the Lord’s activities only by ordinary worldly standards?

Practice

Read this translation slowly today, acknowledging that even devoted sages cannot fully understand 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 todayThe Lord’s Path Is TranscendentalThis 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 10.60.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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