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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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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.
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Canto 10 · Chapter 8: Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth
10.8.3510.8.37-39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.8.36

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Kṛṣṇasince 10.8.35inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यद्येवं तर्हि व्यादेहीत्युक्त: स भगवान्हरि: ।

व्यादत्ताव्याहतैश्वर्य: क्रीडामनुजबालक: ॥ ३६ ॥

yady evaṁ tarhi vyādehī-

ty uktaḥ sa bhagavān hariḥ

vyādattāvyāhataiśvaryaḥ

krīḍā-manuja-bālakaḥ

Translation

Mother Yaśodā challenged Kṛṣṇa, “If You have not eaten earth, then open Your mouth wide.” When challenged by His mother in this way, Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā, to exhibit pastimes like a human child, opened His mouth. Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is full of all opulences, did not disturb His mother’s parental affection, His opulence was automatically displayed, for Kṛṣṇa’s opulence is never lost at any stage, but is manifest at the proper time.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Divine Opulence Within Loving Childhood

  1. 1

    At mother Yaśodā’s command, Kṛṣṇa opened His mouth like a human child. Yet He remained the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full of all opulences.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa’s opulence is never lost at any stage. It becomes manifest at the proper time.

  3. 3

    He displayed His natural opulences without disturbing His mother’s affection. Even while possessing all opulences, He did not neglect the transcendental sweetness of maternal affection.

Key points from the purport
  • Without disturbing the ecstasy of His mother’s affection, Kṛṣṇa opened His mouth and displayed His own natural opulences.
  • When a person is given varieties of food, there may be a hundred and one varieties, but if one likes ordinary śāka, spinach, he prefers to eat that.
  • Similarly, although Kṛṣṇa was full of opulences, now, by the order of mother Yaśodā, He opened wide His mouth like a human child and did not neglect the transcendental humor of maternal affection.

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:

After describing all this to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, at Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s request, praised the fortune of mother Yaśodā and Nanda. Nanda and Yaśodā were formerly Droṇa and Dharā, and by the order of Brahmā they came to this earth and had the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their son.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yadiif
  2. evamit is so
  3. tarhithen
  4. vyādehiopen Your mouth wide (I want to see)
  5. iti uktaḥin this way ordered by mother Yaśodā
  6. saḥHe
  7. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  8. hariḥthe Supreme Lord
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.8

    In this verse: “yaśodā”, “nanda”, “mother”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.8

    In this verse: “sweetness”

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

What does Kṛṣṇa’s response show about the place of loving affection in His pastimes?

Practice

Reflect for one minute on Kṛṣṇa’s opening His mouth: fully opulent, yet responding like His mother’s child.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDivine Opulence Within Loving ChildhoodThis 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.

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