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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 10.87.50

Who is speaking and story frame

योऽस्योत्प्रेक्षक आदिमध्यनिधने योऽव्यक्तजीवेश्वरो

य: सृष्ट्वेदमनुप्रविश्य ऋषिणा चक्रे पुर: शास्ति ता: ।

यं सम्पद्य जहात्यजामनुशयी सुप्त: कुलायं यथा

तं कैवल्यनिरस्तयोनिमभयं ध्यायेदजस्रं हरिम् ॥ ५० ॥

yo ’syotprekṣaka ādi-madhya-nidhane yo ’vyakta-jīveśvaro

yaḥ sṛṣṭvedam anupraviśya ṛṣiṇā cakre puraḥ śāsti tāḥ

yaṁ sampadya jahāty ajām anuśayī suptaḥ kulāyaṁ yathā

taṁ kaivalya-nirasta-yonim abhayaṁ dhyāyed ajasraṁ harim

Translation

He is the Lord who eternally watches over this universe, who exists before, during and after its manifestation. He is the master of both the unmanifest material energy and the spirit soul. After sending forth the creation He enters within it, accompanying each living entity. There He creates the material bodies and then remains as their regulator. By surrendering to Him one can escape the embrace of illusion, just as a dreaming person forgets his own body. One who wants liberation from fear should constantly meditate upon Him, Lord Hari, who is always on the platform of perfection and thus never subject to material birth.

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.

Surrender to Hari and Leave Fear

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord exists before, during and after creation. Everything emanates from Him, and He enters creation to accompany and regulate the living beings.

  2. 2

    The Lord provides the facilities living beings need for their different aims. For His devotees, He gives the understanding that leads to pure devotional service.

  3. 3

    By accepting His mercy and surrendering in worship, the soul casts aside illusion and false bodily identification. Knowing Kṛṣṇa’s unique position as the original Personality of Godhead, we should put aside fear and doubt and give ourselves fully to devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • By glancing upon the dormant universe at the time of sending forth the jīva souls into creation, the Supreme Lord provides all their necessities: For those living entities who are fruitive workers, He provides the intelligence and senses needed to achieve success in material work.
  • Thus the Lord is the nimitta-kāraṇam, or effective cause, of creation.
  • Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation.

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 10.87.50 quotesSB 2.9.33

That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead.”

The purport of SB 10.87.50 quotesSB 1.9.39

In the words of Śrī Bhīṣmadeva, yam iha nirīkṣya hatā gatāḥ svarūpam: “Those who simply saw Kṛṣṇa on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original forms after being killed.”

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:

Nārada Muni was equally satisfied to hear this account from Śrī Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi. Thus Nārada offered his obeisances to the Lord and then went to see his disciple Vedavyāsa, to whom he explained everything he had heard.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.87
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥwho
  2. asyathis (universe)
  3. utprekṣakaḥthe one who watches over
  4. ādiin its beginning
  5. madhyamiddle
  6. nidhaneand end
  7. yaḥwho
  8. avyaktaof the unmanifested (material nature)
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.87

    In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”, “worship”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “spirit soul”, “understanding”

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

What fear or doubt can I bring to Lord Hari as I turn toward His service?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute meditating on Lord Hari and asking for the understanding to serve Him.

5

Connected stories

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

Live this todaySurrender to Hari and Leave FearThis 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 10.87.50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.