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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
10.87.2310.87.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.87.24

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The śrutissince 10.87.14inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārāyaṇa Ṛṣi → Nārada MuniSanandana Kumāra → the sages of JanalokaThe personified Vedas → the Supreme Lord

क इह नु वेद बतावरजन्मलयोऽग्रसरं

यत उदगाद‍ृषिर्यमनु देवगणा उभये ।

तर्हि न सन्न चासदुभयं न च कालजव:

किमपि न तत्र शास्‍त्रमवकृष्य शयीत यदा ॥ २४ ॥

ka iha nu veda batāvara-janma-layo ’gra-saraṁ

yata udagād ṛṣir yam anu deva-gaṇā ubhaye

tarhi na san na cāsad ubhayaṁ na ca kāla-javaḥ

kim api na tatra śāstram avakṛṣya śayīta yadā

Translation

Everyone in this world has recently been born and will soon die. So how can anyone here know Him who existed prior to everything else and who gave rise to the first learned sage, Brahmā, and all subsequent demigods, both lesser and greater? When He lies down and withdraws everything within Himself, nothing else remains — no gross or subtle matter or bodies composed of these, no force of time or revealed scripture.

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.

Know the Lord Through Devotion

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead existed before Brahmā and all the demigods. Even these powerful beings know Him only to a limited extent.

  2. 2

    Identifying with body, mind and ego brings prejudices and misconceptions that obstruct knowledge of the Lord. As long as the finite soul remains envious of His supremacy, He does not reveal Himself.

  3. 3

    Devotional service is the surest and easiest path to knowledge of the Lord and liberation. Rather than pursuing knowledge without devotion, we should surrender to His mercy and respectfully hear descriptions of His personality and activities.

Key points from the purport
  • As the first speaker of the Vedas, Lord Brahmā should know their purport at least as well as any other authority, but even he knows the Personality of Godhead only to a limited extent.
  • If Brahmā and the demigods born from him cannot easily know the Supreme Lord, how then can mere mortals expect success in their independent pursuit of knowledge?
  • Therefore we should abandon our futile endeavors for knowledge without devotion and simply surrender ourselves to the Supreme Lord’s mercy, heeding the advice of Lord Brahmā:

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 10.87.24 quotesBG 7.25

As He states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25): “I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent.

The purport of SB 10.87.24 quotesSB 10.14.3

“Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise…

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

Sanandana told them how the numerous personified Vedas, appearing as the first emanations from the breathing of Lord Nārāyaṇa, recited prayers for His glorification just before the creation. Sanandana then proceeded to recite these elaborate prayers.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.87
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kaḥwho
  2. ihain this world
  3. nuindeed
  4. vedaknows
  5. bataah
  6. avararecent
  7. janmawhose birth
  8. layaḥand annihilation
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “mercy”

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

Am I approaching the Lord with a desire to surrender, or only a desire to understand Him independently?

Practice

Read this verse’s translation slowly, then offer a brief prayer asking the Lord to bless you with devotional service.

Live this todayKnow the Lord Through DevotionThis 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 10.87.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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