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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 9: Mother Yaśodā Binds Lord Kṛṣṇa
10.9.1210.9.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.9.13-14

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.9.1-2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

न चान्तर्न बहिर्यस्य न पूर्वं नापि चापरम् ।

पूर्वापरं बहिश्चान्तर्जगतो यो जगच्च य: ॥ १३ ॥

तं मत्वात्मजमव्यक्तं मर्त्यलिङ्गमधोक्षजम् ।

गोपिकोलूखले दाम्ना बबन्ध प्राकृतं यथा ॥ १४ ॥

na cāntar na bahir yasya

na pūrvaṁ nāpi cāparam

pūrvāparaṁ bahiś cāntar

jagato yo jagac ca yaḥ

taṁ matvātmajam avyaktam

martya-liṅgam adhokṣajam

gopikolūkhale dāmnā

babandha prākṛtaṁ yathā

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning and no end, no exterior and no interior, no front and no rear. In other words, He is all-pervading. Because He is not under the influence of the element of time, for Him there is no difference between past, present and future; He exists in His own transcendental form at all times. Being absolute, beyond relativity, He is free from distinctions between cause and effect, although He is the cause and effect of everything. That unmanifested person, who is beyond the perception of the senses, had now appeared as a human child, and mother Yaśodā, considering Him her own ordinary child, bound Him to the wooden mortar with a rope.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Unlimited Lord Accepts Loving Service

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is unlimited and all-pervading. He is not limited by space or by past, present and future.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa cannot be measured, yet mother Yaśodā bound Him as her own child. This took place only on the platform of pure transcendental love.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa cannot be measured or calculated by Vedic knowledge. He is available to devotees who act on the basis of loving service.

Key points from the purport
  • We have measurements of time, but although we are limited by past, present and future, for Kṛṣṇa these do not exist.
  • All these points considered, Kṛṣṇa cannot be measured.
  • Everything is one because Kṛṣṇa is the supreme cause of everything.

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

Connected verses· 3

The purport of SB 10.9.13-14 quotesBG 10.12

In Bhagavad-gītā (10.12), Kṛṣṇa is described as the Supreme Brahman (paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma).

Quoted in the purport ofSB 6.4.47

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura therefore quotes these verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.13-14):

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 19.205

This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.14) is in reference to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s exhibiting Himself like an ordinary child before mother Yaśodā.

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

Worry and play → Parental tenderness. The Supreme becomes the beloved child of His devotees.

Chapters 5–11 of Canto 10: Gokula, Yaśodā and the infant Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: Mother Yaśodā Binds Lord Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Unfortunately, when the time came to knot the rope, the rope with which she wanted to bind Him was short by a distance equal to the width of two fingers. When she made the rope longer by adding another rope, she again saw that it was short by two fingers.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. caalso
  3. antaḥinterior
  4. nanor
  5. bahiḥexterior
  6. yasyawhose
  7. naneither
  8. pūrvambeginning
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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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.9

    In this verse: “yaśodā”, “mother”, “child”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 10.9

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.9

    In this verse: “love”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I approaching Kṛṣṇa mainly through calculation or through a desire to serve Him?

Practice

Take one minute today to express your desire to serve Kṛṣṇa with love.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Unlimited Lord Accepts Loving ServiceThis 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 10.9.13-14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.