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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 ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 87: The Prayers of the Personified Vedas
10.87.1110.87.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.87.12-13

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Sanandanasince 10.87.12-13inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārāyaṇa Ṛṣi → Nārada MuniSanandana Kumāra → the sages of Janaloka

श्रीसनन्दन उवाच

स्वसृष्टमिदमापीय शयानं सह शक्तिभि: ।

तदन्ते बोधयां चक्रुस्तल्लिङ्गै: श्रुतय: परम् ॥ १२ ॥

यथा शयानं संराजं वन्दिनस्तत्पराक्रमै: ।

प्रत्यूषेऽभेत्य सुश्लोकैर्बोधयन्त्यनुजीविन: ॥ १३ ॥

śrī-sanandana uvāca

sva-sṛṣṭam idam āpīya

śayānaṁ saha śaktibhiḥ

tad-ante bodhayāṁ cakrus

tal-liṅgaiḥ śrutayaḥ param

yathā śayānaṁ saṁrājaṁ

vandinas tat-parākramaiḥ

pratyūṣe ’bhetya su-ślokair

bodhayanty anujīvinaḥ

Translation

Śrī Sanandana replied: After the Supreme Lord withdrew the universe He had previously created, He lay for some time as if asleep, and all His energies rested dormant within Him. When the time came for the next creation, the personified Vedas awakened Him by chanting His glories, just as the poets serving a king approach him at dawn and awaken him by reciting his heroic deeds.

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.

Praise the Lord With Enthusiasm

  1. 1

    After withdrawing the universe, the Supreme Lord lay as if asleep, with all His energies resting dormant within Him.

  2. 2

    At creation, the Vedas are the first emanation from Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu’s breathing. In personified form, they serve Him by awakening Him from His mystic sleep with praise.

  3. 3

    The Vedas knew that the all-knowing Lord did not need to be informed of His glories. Still, they enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity to praise Him.

Key points from the purport
  • At the time of creation, the Vedas are the first emanation from the breathing of Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, and in personified form they serve Him by waking Him from His mystic sleep.
  • Sanandana refers the question back to the example of the personified Vedas themselves in their address to Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu.
  • Even though the Vedas knew that the Lord, being omniscient, does not need to be informed of His glories, they enthusiastically took this opportunity to praise 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

Awe → Reverent fulfillment. The canto closes with theological wonder.

Chapters 87–90 of Canto 10: The Vedas praise and the Lord's glories conclude. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 87: The Prayers of the Personified Vedas

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

King Parīkṣit asked Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī how the Vedas can directly refer to the Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman, since the Vedas deal with the material realm governed by the three modes of nature and Brahman is completely transcendental to these modes. In reply, Śukadeva Gosvāmī described an ancient encounter between Śrī Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and Nārada Muni at Badarikāśrama.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.87
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-sanandanaḥŚrī Sanandana (the exalted mind-born son of Brahmā who was chosen to reply to the sages’ inquiry)
  2. uvācasaid
  3. svaby Himself
  4. sṛṣṭamcreated
  5. idamthis (universe)
  6. āpīyahaving withdrawn
  7. śayānamlying asleep
  8. sahawith
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “chanting”, “reciting”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “king”

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 I offer praise as service, rather than as something the Lord needs to learn?

Practice

Read the translation aloud today, then offer one sincere sentence praising the Supreme Lord.

5

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.87's connections

Live this todayPraise the Lord With EnthusiasmThis 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 10.87.12-13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.