1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 · Text 10.85.46

Who is speaking and story frame

शाध्यस्मानीशितव्येश निष्पापान् कुरु न: प्रभो ।

पुमान् यच्छ्रद्धयातिष्ठंश्चोदनाया विमुच्यते ॥ ४६ ॥

śādhy asmān īśitavyeśa

niṣpāpān kuru naḥ prabho

pumān yac chraddhayātiṣṭhaṁś

codanāyā vimucyate

Translation

O Lord of all subordinate creatures, please tell us what to do and thus free us of all sin. One who faithfully executes Your command, O master, is no longer obliged to follow the ordinary Vedic rites.

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.

Purification Through Following the Lord’s Command

  1. 1

    Bali considers that his request for immediate deliverance may have been too bold. He reflects that he first needs to become sufficiently purified.

  2. 2

    He understands that Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma must have come for a specific purpose. Receiving and carrying out Their order would be his best opportunity for purification.

  3. 3

    A devotee acting under the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s instruction need no longer follow the sacrificial injunctions and prohibitions of the Vedas. Bali therefore asks for an opportunity to serve.

Key points from the purport
  • Reflecting on the possibility that his request for immediate deliverance may have been too bold, Bali Mahārāja considers that first he will need to become sufficiently purified.
  • In any case, he thinks, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma must have come to him for some specific purpose; if he can receive the Lords’ order and carry it out, that will be his best opportunity for purification.
  • Indeed, as Bali states, a devotee acting under the Personality of Godhead’s instruction need no longer follow the sacrificial injunctions and prohibitions of the Vedas.

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:

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma then requested Bali to return Devakī’s dead sons. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.85
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śādhiplease order
  2. asmānus
  3. īśitavyaof those who are subject to being controlled
  4. īśaO controller
  5. niṣpāpānsinless
  6. kuruplease make
  7. naḥus
  8. prabhoO master
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.85

    In this verse: “purified”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.85

    In this verse: “understands”

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

How can Bali’s desire to serve shape your own prayers?

Practice

Pray today for an opportunity to serve the Lord, rather than asking only for relief from difficulty.

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 todayPurification Through Following the Lord’s CommandThis 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 10.85.46? Get an answer from the verses themselves.