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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 84: The Sages’ Teachings at Kurukṣetra

10.84.16 10.84.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.84.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The great sagessince 10.84.16inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अनीह एतद् बहुधैक आत्मना

सृजत्यवत्यत्ति न बध्यते यथा ।

भौमैर्हि भूमिर्बहुनामरूपिणी

अहो विभूम्नश्चरितं विडम्बनम् ॥ १७ ॥

anīha etad bahudhaika ātmanā

sṛjaty avaty atti na badhyate yathā

bhaumair hi bhūmir bahu-nāma-rūpiṇī

aho vibhūmnaś caritaṁ viḍambanam

Translation

Indeed, the humanlike pastimes of the Almighty are simply a pretense! Effortlessly, He alone sends forth from His Self this variegated creation, maintains it and then swallows it up again, all without becoming entangled, just as the element earth takes on many names and forms in its various transformations.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Remains Complete and Independent

1
The one Supreme expands Himself as many without diminishing His completeness. He does so effortlessly, without depending on anyone or anything else.
2
He creates, maintains and withdraws the universe without becoming entangled. Earth and its many transformations offer some idea of this otherwise incomprehensible process.
3
Kṛṣṇa’s birth and humanlike pastimes imitate ordinary activities, but He remains the perfectly complete whole. He only pretends to be under higher control.

Key points from the purport

The one Supreme expands Himself as many without diminishing His completeness.
The same example is also presented in an often-cited passage of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1), vācārambhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttikety eva satyam: “Earth’s transformations are merely verbal creations of the process of naming; the substance earth itself is alone real.”
You simply pretend to be under higher control.”

The purport'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

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

Chapter 84: The Sages’ Teachings at Kurukṣetra

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The water at a holy place of pilgrimage and the deity forms of the gods can purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify just by being seen. Those who identify themselves with their bodies and neglect to honor transcendental sages like you are no better than asses.”

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.84