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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

10.90.20 10.90.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.90.21

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

प्रियरावपदानि भाषसे मृत-

सञ्जीविकयानया गिरा ।

करवाणि किमद्य ते प्रियं

वद मे वल्गितकण्ठ कोकिल ॥ २१ ॥

priya-rāva-padāni bhāṣase

mṛta-sañjīvikayānayā girā

karavāṇi kim adya te priyaṁ

vada me valgita-kaṇṭha kokila

Translation

O sweet-throated cuckoo, in a voice that could revive the dead you are vibrating the same sounds we once heard from our beloved, the most pleasing of speakers. Please tell me what I can do today to please you.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sweet Sounds Awaken Longing for Kṛṣṇa

1
The queens hear in the cuckoo’s song the sounds of their beloved Kṛṣṇa, the most pleasing of speakers.
2
They describe the cuckoo’s voice as able to revive the dead and ask what they can do to please it.
3
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that the pleasant song also causes pain. It reminds the queens of Kṛṣṇa and increases their pain of separation.

Key points from the purport

As Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains, though the song of a cuckoo is very pleasant, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s wives perceive it as painful because it reminds them of their beloved Kṛṣṇa and exacerbates their pain of separation.

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

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.90

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

priyadear
rāvaof him whose sounds
padānithe vibrations
bhāṣaseyou are uttering
mṛtathe dead
sañjīvikayāwhich brings back to life
anayāin this
girāvoice

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
Prema · Transcendental love
The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.90
In this verse: “sweet-throated”
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.90
In this verse: “heard”
Viraha · Longing in separation
Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.90
In this verse: “separation”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can the same sound bring both sweetness and the pain of missing someone beloved?

Practice

Reread the queens’ offer to please the cuckoo, noticing their response to a reminder of Kṛṣṇa.

Live this todaySweet Sounds Awaken Longing for KṛṣṇaThis 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 10.90.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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