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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

10.85.46 10.85.48-49

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.85.47

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The Supreme Lordsince 10.85.47inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीभगवानुवाच

आसन्मरीचे: षट् पुत्रा ऊर्णायां प्रथमेऽन्तरे ।

देवा: कं जहसुर्वीक्ष्य सुतं यभितुमुद्यतम् ॥ ४७ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

āsan marīceḥ ṣaṭ putrā

ūrṇāyāṁ prathame ’ntare

devāḥ kaṁ jahasur vīkṣya

sutaṁ yabhitum udyatam

Translation

The Supreme Lord said: During the age of the first Manu, the sage Marīci had six sons by his wife Ūrnā. They were all exalted demigods, but once they laughed at Lord Brahmā when they saw him preparing to have sex with his own daughter.

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This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

Exalted Position Does Not Prevent Improper Conduct

1
The Supreme Lord describes six sons born to the sage Marīci and his wife Ūrnā during the age of the first Manu.
2
These six sons were all exalted demigods.
3
Yet they laughed at Lord Brahmā when they saw him preparing to have sex with his own daughter. Their exalted position did not prevent this response.

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:

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.85