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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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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 68: The Marriage of Sāmba

10.68.23 10.68.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.68.24

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The Kuru noblessince 10.68.24inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अहो महच्चित्रमिदं कालगत्या दुरत्यया ।

आरुरुक्षत्युपानद् वै शिरो मुकुटसेवितम् ॥ २४ ॥

aho mahac citram idaṁ

kāla-gatyā duratyayā

ārurukṣaty upānad vai

śiro mukuṭa-sevitam

Translation

[The Kuru nobles said:] Oh, how amazing this is! The force of time is indeed insurmountable: a lowly shoe now wants to climb on the head that bears the royal crown.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pride Sees Others as Beneath Us

1
The Kurus spoke of the insurmountable movement of time, alluding to the degraded Age of Kali that was about to begin.
2
They claimed that this fallen age had already begun because the supposedly lowly Yadus wanted to rise above them.
3
Their comparison of a shoe with a crowned head expressed their intolerance and sense of superiority.

Key points from the purport

By the words kāla-gatyā duratyayā, “the insurmountable movement of time,” the intolerant Kurus allude to the degraded Age of Kali, which was about to begin.
Here the Kurus indicate that the fallen Age of Kali had indeed already begun, since they claim that now “the shoe wants to climb on the head that bears the royal crown.”
In other words, they thought that the lowly Yadus now wanted to rise above the royal Kurus.

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

Chapter 68: The Marriage of Sāmba

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

This is like a shoe trying to climb atop one’s head. It is from us alone that the Yādavas have obtained their royal thrones, and yet now they are presuming themselves our equals.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.68