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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.85.41-43

Who is speaking and story frame

दैत्यदानवगन्धर्वा: सिद्धविद्याध्रचारणा: ।

यक्षरक्ष:पिशाचाश्च भूतप्रमथनायका: ॥ ४१ ॥

विशुद्धसत्त्वधाम्न्यद्धा त्वयि शास्‍त्रशरीरिणि ।

नित्यं निबद्धवैरास्ते वयं चान्ये च ताद‍ृशा: ॥ ४२ ॥

केचनोद्बद्धवैरेण भक्त्या केचन कामत: ।

न तथा सत्त्वसंरब्धा: सन्निकृष्टा: सुरादय: ॥ ४३ ॥

daitya-dānava-gandharvāḥ

siddha-vidyādhra-cāraṇāḥ

yakṣa-rakṣaḥ-piśācāś ca

bhūta-pramatha-nāyakāḥ

viśuddha-sattva-dhāmny addhā

tvayi śāstra-śarīriṇi

nityaṁ nibaddha-vairās te

vayaṁ cānye ca tādṛśāḥ

kecanodbaddha-vaireṇa

bhaktyā kecana kāmataḥ

na tathā sattva-saṁrabdhāḥ

sannikṛṣṭāḥ surādayaḥ

Translation

Many who had been constantly absorbed in enmity toward You ultimately became attracted to You, who are the direct embodiment of transcendental goodness and whose divine form comprises the revealed scriptures. These reformed enemies include Daityas, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, Bhūtas, Pramathas and Nāyakas, and also ourselves and many others like us. Some of us have become attracted to You because of exceptional hatred, while others have become attracted because of their mood of devotion based on lust. But the demigods and others infatuated by material goodness feel no such attraction for 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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Attraction to the Lord Surpasses Material Goodness

  1. 1

    The Lord is the direct embodiment of transcendental goodness. Even some who constantly regarded Him as their enemy became so absorbed in Him that their fixed consciousness earned them liberation.

  2. 2

    Bali places himself among those who associate with the Lord while desiring position and prestige. Yet Lord Viṣṇu favored him by becoming his doorkeeper in Sutala, and favored the Gandharvas by engaging them in singing His glories.

  3. 3

    Those demigods who are proud of their material goodness receive sense gratification from the Lord. They thus become deluded and forget Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains this passage as follows: The Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas are adversaries of the Supreme Lord when they follow the lead of the Daitya and Dānava demons.
  • The Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas and so on tend to be inimical because they are generally covered by ignorance.
  • On the other hand, the Lord awards sense gratification to those demigods who are proud of their being situated in the mode of goodness; thus they become deluded and forget Him.

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

Further reading

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

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Lords received the boys from Bali and returned them to Devakī who felt such a surge of affection for them that milk began spontaneously flowing from her breasts. Overjoyed, Devakī fed the children her breastmilk, and by drinking the remnants of milk once drunk by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, they regained their original forms as demigods and went back to heaven.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.85
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. daitya-dānavathe Daitya and Dānava demons
  2. gandharvāḥand the Gandharvas, celestial singers
  3. siddha-vidyādhara-cāraṇāḥthe Siddha, Vidyādhara and Cāraṇa demigods
  4. yakṣathe Yakṣas (semipious spirits)
  5. rakṣaḥthe Rākṣasas (man-eating spirits)
  6. piśācāḥthe carnivorous Piśāca demons
  7. caand
  8. bhūtathe ghosts
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.85

    In this verse: “lust”, “material”, “sense gratification”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.85

    In this verse: “devotion”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 10.85

    In this verse: “proud”

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

Does my sense of being good help me remember the Lord, or make me proud and forgetful?

Practice

Spend a minute praising the Lord’s glories, setting aside thoughts of your own position or prestige.

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.

Live this todayAttraction to the Lord Surpasses Material GoodnessThis 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 10.85.41-43? Get an answer from the verses themselves.