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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 10.90.18

Who is speaking and story frame

त्वं यक्ष्मणा बलवतासि गृहीत इन्दो

क्षीणस्तमो न निजदीधितिभि: क्षिणोषि ।

कच्चिन्मुकुन्दगदितानि यथा वयं त्वं

विस्मृत्य भो: स्थगितगीरुपलक्ष्यसे न: ॥ १८ ॥

tvaṁ yakṣmaṇā balavatāsi gṛhīta indo

kṣīṇas tamo na nija-dīdhitibhiḥ kṣiṇoṣi

kaccin mukunda-gaditāni yathā vayaṁ tvaṁ

vismṛtya bhoḥ sthagita-gīr upalakṣyase naḥ

Translation

My dear moon, having contracted a severe case of tuberculosis, you have become so emaciated that you fail to dispel the darkness with your rays. Or is it that you appear dumbstruck because, like us, you cannot remember the encouraging promises Mukunda once made to you?

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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 Mukunda’s Encouraging Words

  1. 1

    The queens address the moon as though a severe illness has weakened it. Its faint rays seem unable to dispel the darkness.

  2. 2

    They wonder whether the moon is instead dumbstruck because it cannot remember Mukunda’s encouraging promises.

  3. 3

    By saying “like us,” they express their own longing for Mukunda’s words and see their feelings reflected in the moon.

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:

In this way the queens would become totally absorbed in thoughts of Him. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.90
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvamyou
  2. yakṣmaṇāby consumption
  3. bala-vatāpowerful
  4. asiare
  5. gṛhītaḥseized
  6. indoO moon
  7. kṣīṇaḥemaciated
  8. tamaḥdarkness
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

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.90

    In this verse: “longing”

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 does the queens’ speech reveal about how deeply they treasure Mukunda’s words?

Practice

Read the verse slowly once, paying attention to the queens’ longing for Mukunda’s encouraging promises.

Live this todayLonging for Mukunda’s Encouraging WordsThis 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 10.90.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.