1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter

Canto

Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 64: The Deliverance of King Nṛga

10.64.37-38 10.64.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.64.39

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Kṛṣṇasince 10.64.32inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स्वदत्तां परदत्तां वा ब्रह्मवृत्तिं हरेच्च य: ।

षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि विष्ठायां जायते कृमि: ॥ ३९ ॥

sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ vā

brahma-vṛttiṁ harec ca yaḥ

ṣaṣṭi-varṣa-sahasrāṇi

viṣṭhāyāṁ jāyate kṛmiḥ

Translation

Whether it be his own gift or someone else’s, a person who steals a brāhmaṇa’s property will take birth as a worm in feces for sixty thousand years.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

A Gift Must Not Be Stolen Back

1
A brāhmaṇa’s property must not be stolen, even if the thief originally gave it to him.
2
The same warning applies to property given by someone else. Having been its donor does not exempt a person from the consequence.
3
The verse states that the thief takes birth as a worm in feces for sixty thousand years.

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

Chapter 64: The Deliverance of King Nṛga

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After quarreling for some time they approached me, and I implored them to each take one hundred thousand cows in exchange for that one cow, and to please forgive me for the offense I had unknowingly committed. But neither brāhmaṇa would accept my proposal, and the matter remained unsettled.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.64