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

10.85.41-43 10.85.45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.85.44

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:King Balisince 10.85.39inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

इदमित्थमिति प्रायस्तव योगेश्वरेश्वर ।

न विदन्त्यपि योगेशा योगमायां कुतो वयम् ॥ ४४ ॥

idam ittham iti prāyas

tava yogeśvareśvara

na vidanty api yogeśā

yoga-māyāṁ kuto vayam

Translation

What to speak of ourselves, O Lord of all perfect yogīs, even the greatest mystics do not know what Your spiritual power of delusion is or how it acts.

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.

Understanding the Limits of Our Knowledge

1
Bali addresses the Lord as the supreme master of all perfect yogīs. Even the greatest mystics do not know His spiritual power of delusion or how it acts.
2
Systematic understanding includes both svarūpa, a thing’s essential identity, and viśeṣas, the attributes distinguishing it from other things.
3
Māyā, the energy underlying material existence, is subtler than ordinary phenomena. Only God and His liberated devotees can know its essential identity and distinguishing attributes.

Key points from the purport

Systematic understanding of something should include knowledge of both its svarūpa, or essential identity, and also its viśeṣas, the attributes that make it different from other things.
Māyā, the energy underlying all material existence, is more subtle than ordinary phenomena.
Only God and His liberated devotees, therefore, can know its svarūpa and viśeṣa.

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:

King Bali greeted Them respectfully, offering Them seats of honor, worshiping Them and reciting prayers. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma then requested Bali to return Devakī’s dead sons.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

idamthis
itthamcharacterized like this
itiin such terms
prāyaḥfor the most part
tavaYour
yoga-īśvaraof the masters of yoga
īśvaraO supreme master
na vidantithey do not know

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: “māyā”, “material”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.85
In this verse: “devotees”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.85
In this verse: “understanding”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Can I acknowledge the limits of my understanding of the Lord’s energies?

Practice

Reread the purport slowly, then offer a brief prayer acknowledging what you do not yet understand.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUnderstanding the Limits of Our KnowledgeThis 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 10.85.44? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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