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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
  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 8: Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth
10.8.2910.8.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.8.30

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.8.20inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

हस्ताग्राह्ये रचयति विधिं पीठकोलूखलाद्यै-

श्छिद्रं ह्यन्तर्निहितवयुन: शिक्यभाण्डेषु तद्वित् ।

ध्वान्तागारे धृतमणिगणं स्वाङ्गमर्थप्रदीपं

काले गोप्यो यर्हि गृहकृत्येषु सुव्यग्रचित्ता: ॥ ३० ॥

hastāgrāhye racayati vidhiṁ pīṭhakolūkhalādyaiś

chidraṁ hy antar-nihita-vayunaḥ śikya-bhāṇḍeṣu tad-vit

dhvāntāgāre dhṛta-maṇi-gaṇaṁ svāṅgam artha-pradīpaṁ

kāle gopyo yarhi gṛha-kṛtyeṣu suvyagra-cittāḥ

Translation

“When the milk and curd are kept high on a swing hanging from the ceiling and Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma cannot reach it, They arrange to reach it by piling up various planks and turning upside down the mortar for grinding spices. Being quite aware of the contents of a pot, They poke holes in it. While the elderly gopīs go about their household affairs, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma sometimes go into a dark room, brightening the place with the valuable jewels and ornaments on Their bodies and taking advantage of this light by stealing.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ingenious Ways of Stealing Butter

  1. 1

    Households kept yogurt and butter for emergencies. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma piled up planks and overturned a mortar to reach pots kept high above Them.

  2. 2

    They made holes in the pots so the contents would leak out and They could drink them.

  3. 3

    When butter and milk were kept in dark rooms, Their valuable jewels brightened the rooms. In these ways, They stole butter and milk from the neighborhood houses.

Key points from the purport
  • But Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would pile up planks so that They could reach the pots and would then pick holes in the pots with Their hands so that the contents would leak out and They could drink it.
  • When the butter and milk were kept in a dark room, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would go there and make the place bright with the valuable jewels on Their bodies.
  • On the whole, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma engaged in stealing butter and milk from the neighborhood houses in many ways.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

Worry and play → Parental tenderness. The Supreme becomes the beloved child of His devotees.

Chapters 5–11 of Canto 10: Gokula, Yaśodā and the infant Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

According to His various activities and qualities, He has many other names. After thus informing Nanda Mahārāja and completing the name-giving ceremony, Garga Muni advised Nanda Mahārāja to protect his son very carefully and then departed.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. hasta-agrāhyewhen the destination is out of the reach of His hands
  2. racayatiHe arranges to make
  3. vidhima means
  4. pīṭhakaby wooden planks piled together
  5. ulūkhala-ādyaiḥand by overturning the stone mortar for grinding spices
  6. chidrama hole
  7. hiindeed
  8. antaḥ-nihitaabout the contents of the pot
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.8

    In this verse: “household”, “households”

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

Which detail of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma’s resourcefulness most draws your attention?

Practice

Read the translation aloud once, noticing the different ways They reached the milk and curd.

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 10.8's connections

Live this todayIngenious Ways of Stealing ButterThis 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 10.8.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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