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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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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 78: The Killing of Dantavakra, Vidūratha and Romaharṣaṇa

10.78.22 10.78.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.78.23

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.78.1-2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अप्रत्युत्थायिनं सूतमकृतप्रह्वणाञ्जलिम् ।

अध्यासीनं च तान् विप्रांश्चुकोपोद्वीक्ष्य माधव: ॥ २३ ॥

apratyutthāyinaṁ sūtam

akṛta-prahvaṇāñjalim

adhyāsīnaṁ ca tān viprāṁś

cukopodvīkṣya mādhavaḥ

Translation

Lord Balarāma became extremely angry upon seeing how this member of the sūta caste had failed to stand up, bow down or join his palms, and also how he was sitting above all the learned brāhmaṇas.

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.

Respect Requires a Proper Greeting

1
Romaharṣaṇa failed to stand up, bow down or join his palms to greet Lord Balarāma.
2
The purport explains that he neglected all the standard ways of welcoming a superior personality.
3
The purport also notes that, despite his lower caste, he sat above the exalted brāhmaṇas. Seeing this conduct, Lord Balarāma became extremely angry.

Key points from the purport

Romaharṣaṇa had failed to greet Lord Balarāma in any of the standard ways for welcoming a superior personality.
Also, despite being of a lower caste, he sat in a seat above the assembly of exalted brāhmaṇas.

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

Chapter 78: The Killing of Dantavakra, Vidūratha and Romaharṣaṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

While being worshiped by the assembled sages and offered a seat of honor, the Lord noticed that Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, sitting on the speaker’s seat, had failed to stand in deference to Him. Greatly angered by this offense, Lord Balarāma killed Romaharṣaṇa by touching him with the tip of a blade of kuśa grass.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.78