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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 ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 77: Lord Kṛṣṇa Slays the Demon Śālva
10.77.3010.77.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.77.31

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śālvasince 10.77.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्व‍ शोकमोहौ स्‍नेहो वा भयं वा येऽज्ञसम्भवा: ।

क्व‍ चाखण्डितविज्ञानज्ञानैश्वर्यस्त्वखण्डित: ॥ ३१ ॥

kva śoka-mohau sneho vā

bhayaṁ vā ye ’jña-sambhavāḥ

kva cākhaṇḍita-vijñāna-

jñānaiśvaryas tv akhaṇḍitaḥ

Translation

How can lamentation, bewilderment, material affection or fear, all born out of ignorance, be ascribed to the infinite Supreme Lord, whose perception, knowledge and power are all similarly infinite?

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.

Humanlike Pastimes Without Material Ignorance

  1. 1

    Lamentation, bewilderment, material affection and fear arise from ignorance. They cannot affect the Supreme Lord, whose perception, knowledge and power are infinite.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa was not misled by Śālva’s mystic jugglery. He was displaying His pastime of playing the role of a human being.

  3. 3

    The Lord plays an ordinary human role to relish transcendental pastimes with His devotees. One should never think the Personality of Godhead is an ordinary person.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Lamentation, aggrievement and bewilderment are characteristics of conditioned souls, but how can such things affect the person of the Supreme, who is full of knowledge, power and all opulence?
  • All the great Bhāgavatam commentators conclude that grief, illusion, attachment and fear, which arise out of ignorance of the soul, can never be present in the transcendental dramatic pastimes enacted by the Lord.
  • Thus the Lord plays the part of an ordinary human being so as to relish transcendental pastimes with His devotees.

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

War and pride → Justice and protection. The public expression of divine power comes to the foreground.

Chapters 70–79 of Canto 10: Kingship, Jarāsandha and royal challenges. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 77: Lord Kṛṣṇa Slays the Demon Śālva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, however, could understand the magic tricks of Śālva. Thus He pierced Śālva with a shower of arrows and struck the Saubha vehicle with His club, demolishing it.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.77
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvawhere
  2. śokalamentation
  3. mohauand bewilderment
  4. snehaḥmaterial affection
  5. vāor
  6. bhayamfear
  7. vāor
  8. yethose which
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 10.77

    In this verse: “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.77

    In this verse: “fear”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.77

    In this verse: “lamentation”

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

How can you appreciate Kṛṣṇa’s humanlike pastimes without considering Him an ordinary person?

Practice

Read the verse once more, then briefly reflect on the difference between a humanlike pastime and material ignorance.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 10.77's connections

Live this todayHumanlike Pastimes Without Material IgnoranceThis 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 10.77.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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