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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 89: Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna Retrieve a Brāhmaṇa’s Sons
10.89.1310.89.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.89.14-17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.89.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तन्निशम्याथ मुनयो विस्मिता मुक्तसंशया: ।

भूयांसं श्रद्दधुर्विष्णुं यत: शान्तिर्यतोऽभयम् ॥ १४ ॥

धर्म: साक्षाद् यतो ज्ञानं वैराग्यं च तदन्वितम् ।

ऐश्वर्यं चाष्टधा यस्माद् यशश्चात्ममलापहम् ॥ १५ ॥

मुनीनां न्यस्तदण्डानां शान्तानां समचेतसाम् ।

अकिञ्चनानां साधूनां यमाहु: परमां गतिम् ॥ १६ ॥

सत्त्वं यस्य प्रिया मूर्तिर्ब्राह्मणास्त्विष्टदेवता: ।

भजन्त्यनाशिष: शान्ता यं वा निपुणबुद्धय: ॥ १७ ॥

tan niśamyātha munayo

vismitā mukta-saṁśayāḥ

bhūyāṁsaṁ śraddadhur viṣṇuṁ

yataḥ śāntir yato ’bhayam

dharmaḥ sākṣād yato jñānaṁ

vairāgyaṁ ca tad-anvitam

aiśvaryaṁ cāṣṭadhā yasmād

yaśaś cātma-malāpaham

munīnāṁ nyasta-daṇḍānāṁ

śāntānāṁ sama-cetasām

akiñcanānāṁ sādhūnāṁ

yam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim

sattvaṁ yasya priyā mūrtir

brāhmaṇās tv iṣṭa-devatāḥ

bhajanty anāśiṣaḥ śāntā

yaṁ vā nipuṇa-buddhayaḥ

Translation

Amazed upon hearing Bhṛgu’s account, the sages were freed from all doubts and became convinced that Viṣṇu is the greatest Lord. From Him come peace; fearlessness; the essential principles of religion; detachment with knowledge; the eightfold powers of mystic yoga; and His glorification, which cleanses the mind of all impurities. He is known as the supreme destination for those who are peaceful and equipoised — the selfless, wise saints who have given up all violence. His most dear form is that of pure goodness, and the brāhmaṇas are His worshipable deities. Persons of keen intellect who have attained spiritual peace worship Him without selfish motives.

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.

Devotion Brings Knowledge and Detachment

  1. 1

    Hearing Bhṛgu’s account freed the sages from doubt. They became convinced that Viṣṇu is the greatest Lord, the source of peace and fearlessness.

  2. 2

    By rendering devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one acquires divine knowledge and detachment without separate endeavor.

  3. 3

    Pure devotees worship the Lord without selfish motives. Even mystic powers come as incidental fruits of devotional service, rather than its goal.

Key points from the purport
  • By becoming devoted to the Personality of Godhead, one easily attains divine knowledge and detachment from sense gratification, without separate endeavor.
  • Lord Śrī Kapila, in His instructions to His mother, Devahūti, proposes that the eightfold powers of yoga are also coincidental fruits of devotional service:
  • These are, in order of increasing importance, persons striving for liberation, those who have attained liberation, and those who are engaged in pure devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu.

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 10.89.14-17 quotesSB 11.2.42

As described in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.2.42): “Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things — these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person…

The purport of SB 10.89.14-17 quotesSB 3.25.37

Yet even without desiring them, My devotee enjoys, even in this life, all the offered benedictions.”

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 89: Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna Retrieve a Brāhmaṇa’s Sons

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Bhṛgu went back to the assembly of sages and told them all that had happened, they concluded that Lord Viṣṇu is certainly supreme. Once in Dvārakā a brāhmaṇa’s wife gave birth to a son who immediately died.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.89
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatthis
  2. niśamyahearing
  3. athathen
  4. munayaḥthe sages
  5. vismitāḥamazed
  6. muktafreed
  7. saṁśayāḥfrom their doubts
  8. bhūyāṁsamas the greatest
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 10.89

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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.89

    In this verse: “hearing”, “glorification”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 10.89

    In this verse: “religion”, “principles”

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 seeking to serve the Lord, or mainly seeking benefits from Him?

Practice

Offer one short prayer today asking to serve the Lord without selfish motives.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 11.2.42SB 3.25.37

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.89's connections

Live this todayDevotion Brings Knowledge and DetachmentThis 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 10.89.14-17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.