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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 81: The Lord Blesses Sudāmā Brāhmaṇa
10.81.1810.81.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.81.19

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.81.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स्वर्गापवर्गयो: पुंसां रसायां भुवि सम्पदाम् ।

सर्वासामपि सिद्धीनां मूलं तच्चरणार्चनम् ॥ १९ ॥

svargāpavargayoḥ puṁsāṁ

rasāyāṁ bhuvi sampadām

sarvāsām api siddhīnāṁ

mūlaṁ tac-caraṇārcanam

Translation

Devotional service to His lotus feet is the root cause of all the perfections a person can find in heaven, in liberation, in the subterranean regions and on earth.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Is the Root of Perfection

  1. 1

    Devotional service to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet is the root cause of all perfections.

  2. 2

    This includes all the perfections a person can find in heaven, on earth and in the subterranean regions.

  3. 3

    Even the perfections found in liberation have their root in devotional service to His lotus feet.

How it feels

Humility and separation → Friendship and reunion. The sweetness of relationship outweighs prestige.

Chapters 80–86 of Canto 10: Sudāmā and reunion with the residents of Vraja. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 81: The Lord Blesses Sudāmā Brāhmaṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Feeling as if he had gone back to Godhead, Sudāmā spent that night comfortably in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s palace, and the next morning he set off for home. As he passed along the highway, he thought of how fortunate he was to have been so honored by Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.81
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. svargaof heaven
  2. apavargayoḥand of ultimate liberation
  3. puṁsāmfor all men
  4. rasāyāmin the subterranean regions
  5. bhuviand on the earth
  6. sampadāmof opulences
  7. sarvāsāmall
  8. apialso
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.81

    In this verse: “devotional service”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might remembering this root cause help you make devotional service your goal?

Practice

Set aside a minute today to offer a prayer of service to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Is the Root of PerfectionThis 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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