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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.60.38

Who is speaking and story frame

त्वं वै समस्तपुरुषार्थमय: फलात्मा

यद्वाञ्छया सुमतयो विसृजन्ति कृत्‍स्‍नम् ।

तेषां विभो समुचितो भवत: समाज:

पुंस: स्‍त्रियाश्च रतयो: सुखदु:खिनोर्न ॥ ३८ ॥

tvaṁ vai samasta-puruṣārtha-mayaḥ phalātmā

yad-vāñchayā su-matayo visṛjanti kṛtsnam

teṣāṁ vibho samucito bhavataḥ samājaḥ

puṁsaḥ striyāś ca ratayoḥ sukha-duḥkhinor na

Translation

You are the embodiment of all human goals and are Yourself the final aim of life. Desiring to attain You, O all-powerful Lord, intelligent persons abandon everything else. It is they who are worthy of Your association, not men and women absorbed in the pleasure and grief resulting from their mutual lust.

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.

Kṛṣṇa Is Life’s Final Aim

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa embodies all human goals and is Himself the final aim of life. Intelligent people give up everything else out of a desire to attain Him.

  2. 2

    Those who abandon material conceptions of sense gratification and take exclusively to His loving service understand their real friend and companion: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    Fitness for the Lord’s association does not rest on worldly equality in wealth, birth or appearance. Those absorbed in mutual lust remain caught in its pleasure and grief.

Key points from the purport
  • In fact, only those who have given up all such material conceptions of sense gratification and have taken exclusively to the Lord’s loving service can understand who their real friend and companion is — Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself.

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:

Rukmiṇī went on to show how everything Kṛṣṇa had said denigrating Himself was actually glorification. Lord Kṛṣṇa then spoke to Rukmiṇī with deep affection: “I did not intend to agitate your mind with My joking words; rather, I wanted to demonstrate the strength of your chastity.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.60
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvamYou
  2. vaiindeed
  3. samastaall
  4. puruṣaof human life
  5. arthaof the goals
  6. mayaḥcomprising
  7. phalaof the ultimate goal
  8. ātmāthe very Self
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “lust”, “sense gratification”, “wealth”

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “friend”, “companion”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 10.60

    In this verse: “give up”

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

Am I seeking Kṛṣṇa as my real friend and final goal?

Practice

Set aside one optional pleasure today and use that time to reflect on Kṛṣṇa as your real friend and companion.

5

Connected stories

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

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is Life’s Final AimThis 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 10.60.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.