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

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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.66.25

Who is speaking and story frame

शिर: पतितमालोक्य राजद्वारे सकुण्डलम् ।

किमिदं कस्य वा वक्त्रमिति संशिशिरे जना: ॥ २५ ॥

śiraḥ patitam ālokya

rāja-dvāre sa-kuṇḍalam

kim idaṁ kasya vā vaktram

iti saṁśiśire janāḥ

Translation

Seeing a head decorated with earrings lying at the gate of the royal palace, the people present were puzzled. Some of them asked, “What is this?” and others said, “It is a head, but whose is it?”

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.

Conjecture Is Not Recognition

  1. 1

    People gathered in astonishment at the head lying at the royal gate. Its earrings helped them recognize what they were seeing.

  2. 2

    Some thought it was Kṛṣṇa’s head, imagining that the King of Kāśī had killed his enemy.

  3. 3

    It was finally recognized as the head of Kāśirāja himself, not Kṛṣṇa. Their initial conjecture was mistaken.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Prabhupāda writes as follows: “When the head of the King of Kāśī was thrown through the city gate, people gathered and were astonished to see that wonderful thing.
  • Some thought it was Kṛṣṇa’s head because Kṛṣṇa was the enemy of Kāśirāja, and they calculated that the King of Kāśī might have thrown Kṛṣṇa’s head into the city so that the people might take pleasure in the enemy’s having been killed.
  • But it was finally detected that the head was not Kṛṣṇa’s but that of Kāśirāja 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 66: Pauṇḍraka, the False Vāsudeva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Kṛṣṇa beheaded Kāśirāja, the King’s head flew into his city, and when his queens, sons and other relatives saw it, they all began to lament. At that time a son of Kāśirāja’s named Sudakṣiṇa, wanting to avenge his father’s death, began worshiping Lord Śiva with the intention of destroying his father’s killer.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.66
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śiraḥthe head
  2. patitamfallen
  3. ālokyaseeing
  4. rāja-dvāreat the gate of the royal palace
  5. sa-kuṇḍalamwith earrings
  6. kimwhat
  7. idamis this
  8. kasyawhose
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 10.66

    In this verse: “king”

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

When do I accept a guess before checking what is actually known?

Practice

Before repeating one uncertain claim today, pause and distinguish what you know from what you are guessing.

Live this todayConjecture Is Not RecognitionThis 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 10.66.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.