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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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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 10.87.28

Who is speaking and story frame

त्वमकरण: स्वराडखिलकारकशक्तिधर-

स्तव बलिमुद्वहन्ति समदन्त्यजयानिमिषा: ।

वर्षभुजोऽखिलक्षितिपतेरिव विश्वसृजो

विदधति यत्र ये त्वधिकृता भवतश्चकिता: ॥ २८ ॥

tvam akaraṇaḥ sva-rāḍ akhila-kāraka-śakti-dharas

tava balim udvahanti samadanty ajayānimiṣāḥ

varṣa-bhujo ’khila-kṣiti-pater iva viśva-sṛjo

vidadhati yatra ye tv adhikṛtā bhavataś cakitāḥ

Translation

Though You have no material senses, You are the self-effulgent sustainer of everyone’s sensory powers. The demigods and material nature herself offer You tribute, while also enjoying the tribute offered them by their worshipers, just as subordinate rulers of various districts in a kingdom offer tribute to their lord, the ultimate proprietor of the land, while also enjoying the tribute paid them by their own subjects. In this way the universal creators faithfully execute their assigned services out of fear of You.

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.

The Supreme Lord Sustains All Our Powers

  1. 1

    The Lord has no material senses, but this does not mean He lacks a personal form. His beautiful spiritual features manifest His internal nature, and He and His body are identical.

  2. 2

    The Lord sustains everyone’s powers of hearing, thinking and speaking. His own powers have no material limitations, and no one is equal to or greater than Him.

  3. 3

    The demigods and universal creators serve under the Supreme Lord’s authority, carrying out their duties in fearful reverence. All intelligent living beings should likewise acknowledge His sovereignty and willingly engage in devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • All intelligent living beings should acknowledge the sovereignty of the Lord and willingly engage in devotional service to Him.
  • But Lord Nārāyaṇa, while hearing these prayers, may have reasonably asked, “Since I also have a bodily form with sense organs and limbs, am I not just another doer and enjoyer?
  • Thus, unlike the soul and body of conditioned living beings, the Lord and His bodily form are identical in all respects.

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:

Once these sages, feeling inquisitive about the nature of the Absolute Truth, chose Sanandana Kumāra to speak on the subject. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.87
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvamYou
  2. akaraṇaḥdevoid of material senses
  3. sva-rāṭself-effulgent
  4. akhilaof all
  5. kārakasensory functions
  6. śaktiof the potencies
  7. dharaḥthe maintainer
  8. tavaYour
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “kingdom”, “rulers”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worshipers”, “devotional service”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “fear”, “fearful”

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 might remembering that the Lord sustains my senses change the way I use them?

Practice

Use your voice to read aloud one sentence of this prayer, offering that small act as devotional service to the Lord.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Sustains All Our PowersThis 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 10.87.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.