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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 90: Summary of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Glories
10.90.1610.90.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.90.17

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The queenssince 10.90.15inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

भो भो: सदा निष्टनसे उदन्व-

न्नलब्धनिद्रोऽधिगतप्रजागर: ।

किं वा मुकुन्दापहृतात्मलाञ्छन:

प्राप्तां दशां त्वं च गतो दुरत्ययाम् ॥ १७ ॥

bho bhoḥ sadā niṣṭanase udanvann

alabdha-nidro ’dhigata-prajāgaraḥ

kim vā mukundāpahṛtātma-lāñchanaḥ

prāptāṁ daśāṁ tvaṁ ca gato duratyayām

Translation

Dear ocean, you are always roaring, not sleeping at night. Are you suffering insomnia? Or is it that, as with us, Mukunda has taken your insignias and you are hopeless of retrieving them?

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.

Longing for the Marks on Kṛṣṇa’s Chest

  1. 1

    Hearing the ocean’s constant roaring, the queens asked whether it was sleepless because Mukunda had taken its insignias.

  2. 2

    They confused the sea around Dvārakā with the Ocean of Milk, from which Lakṣmī and the Kaustubha gem arose. Lord Viṣṇu took them, and they now reside on His chest.

  3. 3

    The queens imagined that the ocean, like themselves, longed to see these marks again. Still more, they wished to see the kuṅkuma marks Kṛṣṇa had taken from their breasts during their last embrace.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī states that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens here confuse the sea surrounding Dvārakā with the celestial Ocean of Milk, from which Lakṣmī and the Kaustubha gem arose long ago.
  • The queens presume that the ocean is anxious to see once again the mark of Lakṣmī’s residence and the Kaustubha jewel on the Lord’s chest, and they express their sympathy by saying that they also want to see these marks.
  • But the queens desire even more to see the kuṅkuma marks on the Lord’s chest, which He “took” from their breasts when they last embraced Him.

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 90: Summary of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Glories

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Sometimes, after playing with the Lord in the water, they would address various creatures — kurarī and cakravāka birds, the ocean, the moon, a cloud, a cuckoo, a mountain, a river and so on — declaring their great attachment to Śrī Kṛṣṇa on the pretext of commiserating with these creatures. Lord Kṛṣṇa begot ten sons in the womb of each of His queens.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.90
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhoḥdear
  2. bhoḥdear
  3. sadāalways
  4. niṣṭanaseyou are making a loud sound
  5. udanvanO ocean
  6. alabdhanot obtaining
  7. nidraḥsleep
  8. adhigataexperiencing
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 10.90

    In this verse: “suffering”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.90

    In this verse: “hearing”

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 do the queens express their own longing through their sympathy for the ocean?

Practice

Read the verse once more, then pause to remember the Lord whom the queens long to see.

Live this todayLonging for the Marks on Kṛṣṇa’s ChestThis 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 10.90.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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