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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

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 85: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Vasudeva and Retrieves Devakī’s Sons

10.85.3 10.85.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.85.4

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Vasudevasince 10.85.3inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यत्र येन यतो यस्य यस्मै यद् यद् यथा यदा ।

स्यादिदं भगवान् साक्षात् प्रधानपुरुषेश्वर: ॥ ४ ॥

yatra yena yato yasya

yasmai yad yad yathā yadā

syād idaṁ bhagavān sākṣāt

pradhāna-puruṣeśvaraḥ

Translation

You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who manifest as the Lord of both nature and the creator of nature [Mahā-Viṣṇu]. Everything that comes into existence, however and whenever it does so, is created within You, by You, from You, for You and in relation to You.

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.

Everything Exists in Relation to Kṛṣṇa

1
Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of nature and of its creator, Mahā-Viṣṇu.
2
Language appears to describe many separate agents through relationships such as doer, instrument, source and location.
3
The deeper truth is that all these grammatical forms refer first of all to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything is created within Him, by Him, from Him, for Him and in relation to Him.

Key points from the purport

To casual observers the known world appears to be produced by many different agents.
But although language thus seems to indicate the activity of many separate agents in the manifest creation, the deeper truth is that all grammatical forms refer first of all to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In this verse Vasudeva makes this point by glorifying his two exalted sons in terms of the different grammatical forms.

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 85: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Vasudeva and Retrieves Devakī’s Sons

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Having heard the visiting sages glorify Kṛṣṇa, Vasudeva ceased to regard Him and Balarāma as his sons and began praising Their omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After glorifying his sons, Vasudeva fell at Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet and begged Him to drive away the conception that the Lord was his son.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.85