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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.8.4

Who is speaking and story frame

महद्विचलनं नृणां गृहिणां दीनचेतसाम् ।

नि:श्रेयसाय भगवन्कल्पते नान्यथा क्‍वचित् ॥ ४ ॥

mahad-vicalanaṁ nṝṇāṁ

gṛhiṇāṁ dīna-cetasām

niḥśreyasāya bhagavan

kalpate nānyathā kvacit

Translation

O my lord, O great devotee, persons like you move from one place to another not for their own interests but for the sake of poor-hearted gṛhasthas [householders]. Otherwise they have no interest in going from one place to another.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotees Work for the Welfare of Others

  1. 1

    Garga Muni had no personal needs; he visited Nanda Mahārāja for Nanda’s benefit. A pure Vaiṣṇava’s duty is to act for the welfare of others.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has no needs, yet He comes to protect devotees and vanquish miscreants. Those who carry out His mission of helping others are very dear to Him.

  3. 3

    Householders need guidance beyond the pursuit of sense gratification. Nanda Mahārāja was ready to receive Garga Muni’s instructions and execute his order.

Key points from the purport
  • As factually stated by Nanda Mahārāja, Garga Muni, being a devotee, had no needs.
  • Everyone has come to this material world for sense gratification, and the position of those who are too attached to sense gratification and who therefore accept the gṛhastha-āśrama is very precarious.
  • Garga Muni had no interest to serve by going to Nanda Mahārāja, but Nanda Mahārāja, as a gṛhastha, was always perfectly ready to receive instructions from a mahātmā to gain the real benefit in life.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 3

The purport of SB 10.8.4 quotesCC Ādi 9.41

“One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.”

The purport of SB 10.8.4 quotesBG 2.44

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.44), bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.10.17

It is said, mahad-vicalanaṁ nṝṇāṁ gṛhiṇāṁ dīna-cetasām.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

It also describes His crawling, His playing with the cows, and His eating earth and again showing the universal form to His mother. One day, Vasudeva sent for Garga Muni, the family priest of the yadu-vaṁśa, and thus Garga Muni went to the house of Nanda Mahārāja, who received him very well and requested him to give names to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.8
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. mahat-vicalanamthe movement of great personalities
  2. nṝṇāmin the houses of ordinary persons
  3. gṛhiṇāmespecially householders
  4. dīna-cetasāmwho are very simple-minded, being engaged in family maintenance and nothing more
  5. niḥśreyasāyaa great personality has no reason to go to the gṛhastha but to benefit him
  6. bhagavanO most powerful devotee
  7. kalpateis to be taken that way
  8. na anyathānot for any other purpose
  9. kvacitat any time
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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: “householders”, “sense gratification”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.8

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotees”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “nanda”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I ready to receive spiritual guidance and act on it?

Practice

Ask a qualified devotee for one instruction that can help your spiritual life, and take a small step to follow it.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 8 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 8 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayDevotees Work for the Welfare of OthersThis 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 10.8.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.