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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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 8: Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth
10.8.4010.8.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.8.41

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Mother Yaśodāsince 10.8.40inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अथो यथावन्न वितर्कगोचरं

चेतोमन:कर्मवचोभिरञ्जसा ।

यदाश्रयं येन यत: प्रतीयते

सुदुर्विभाव्यं प्रणतास्मि तत्पदम् ॥ ४१ ॥

atho yathāvan na vitarka-gocaraṁ

ceto-manaḥ-karma-vacobhir añjasā

yad-āśrayaṁ yena yataḥ pratīyate

sudurvibhāvyaṁ praṇatāsmi tat-padam

Translation

Therefore let me surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offer my obeisances unto Him, who is beyond the conception of human speculation, the mind, activities, words and arguments, who is the original cause of this cosmic manifestation, by whom the entire cosmos is maintained, and by whom we can conceive of its existence. Let me simply offer my obeisances, for He is beyond my contemplation, speculation and meditation. He is beyond all of my material activities.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Surrender Beyond the Reach of Speculation

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of everything, beyond material speculation, words and arguments. His greatness cannot be understood by material means, subtle or gross.

  2. 2

    Unable to ascertain the cause of the vision, mother Yaśodā offered obeisances to the Supreme Lord to protect her child. When a cause cannot be understood, the devotee takes shelter at His lotus feet.

  3. 3

    A devotee accepts suffering as a small result of past misdeeds and continues offering obeisances to the Lord. Material suffering comes and goes, so one should tolerate it and continue the duty ordained by the spiritual master.

Key points from the purport
  • Mother Yaśodā, being a simple woman, could not find out the real cause of the vision; therefore, out of maternal affection, she simply offered obeisances unto the Supreme Lord to protect her child.
  • Whatever happens, the original cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam).
  • When the immediate cause cannot be ascertained, let us simply offer our obeisances at the lotus feet of the Lord.

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· 2

The purport of SB 10.8.41 quotesSB 10.14.8

jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk. The devotee accepts that it is due to his own past misdeeds that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has caused him some small amount of suffering.

The purport of SB 10.8.41 quotesBG 2.14

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.14): We should know that material suffering due to the material body will come and go.

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:

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. athotherefore she decided to surrender unto the Supreme Lord
  2. yathā-vatas perfectly as one can perceive
  3. nanot
  4. vitarka-gocarambeyond all arguments, reason and sense perception
  5. cetaḥby consciousness
  6. manaḥby mind
  7. karmaby activities
  8. vacobhiḥor by words
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

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

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 10.8

    In this verse: “surrender”, “shelter”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

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 might offering respectful obeisances help you respond to something you cannot understand?

Practice

Offer one respectful obeisance to the Supreme Lord, acknowledging the limits of your understanding and seeking His shelter.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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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 todaySurrender Beyond the Reach of SpeculationThis 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 10.8.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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