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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
10.8.4110.8.43

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.8.42

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

अहं ममासौ पतिरेष मे सुतो

व्रजेश्वरस्याखिलवित्तपा सती ।

गोप्यश्च गोपा: सहगोधनाश्च मे

यन्माययेत्थं कुमति: स मे गति: ॥ ४२ ॥

ahaṁ mamāsau patir eṣa me suto

vrajeśvarasyākhila-vittapā satī

gopyaś ca gopāḥ saha-godhanāś ca me

yan-māyayetthaṁ kumatiḥ sa me gatiḥ

Translation

It is by the influence of the Supreme Lord’s māyā that I am wrongly thinking that Nanda Mahārāja is my husband, that Kṛṣṇa is my son, and that because I am the queen of Nanda Mahārāja, all the wealth of cows and calves are my possessions and all the cowherd men and their wives are my subjects. Actually, I also am eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord. He is my ultimate shelter.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Everything Belongs to the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Whatever wealth or possessions we have belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not to us. He is everyone’s ultimate shelter and the ultimate owner of everything.

  2. 2

    Following mother Yaśodā, we should give up pride in possessions and the illusion of “I” and “mine.” Knowing the Lord as the owner and well-wisher of all living entities brings peace.

  3. 3

    Mother Yaśodā recognized that her own endeavors could not guarantee her son’s protection. She therefore surrendered to the Supreme Lord, on whom ultimate protection depends.

Key points from the purport
  • Whatever wealth, opulence or whatever else we may possess belongs not to us but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate shelter of everyone and the ultimate owner of everything.
  • I must therefore ultimately seek shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
  • One’s land, home, wealth and all of one’s possessions belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although we wrongly think, “I am this” and “These things are mine.”

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 10.8.42 quotesBG 5.29

As stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29): “The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

The purport of SB 10.8.42 quotesSB 7.9.19

As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja, bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha: a father and mother cannot ultimately take care of their children.

The purport of SB 10.8.42 quotesSB 5.5.8

Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti. One’s land, home, wealth and all of one’s possessions belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although we wrongly think, “I am this” and “These things are mine.”

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:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī next described how the two children crawled, walked on Their small legs, played with the cows and calves, stole butter and other milk products and broke the butter pots. In this way, he described many naughty activities of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ahammy existence (“I am something”)
  2. mamamy
  3. asauNanda Mahārāja
  4. patiḥhusband
  5. eṣaḥthis (Kṛṣṇa)
  6. me sutaḥis my son
  7. vraja-īśvarasyaof my husband, Nanda Mahārāja
  8. akhila-vitta-pāI am the possessor of unlimited opulence and wealth
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “māyā”, “wealth”, “illusion”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

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

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

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

    In this verse: “shelter”, “surrendered”

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 possession do you most easily think of as entirely yours?

Practice

Choose one possession and pause to acknowledge that it belongs to the Supreme Lord, not independently to you.

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 todayEverything Belongs to the Supreme LordThis 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 10.8.42? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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