From the Bhagavata Purana, Book 10, Chapter 14

The fourteenth chapter of the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana is the most celebrated hymn in all of Hindu devotional literature. After Brahma stole the cowherd boys and calves of Vraja to test Krishna’s power, and after witnessing the child-god become every boy and every calf, then reveal himself as four-armed Vishnu in every form, and finally withdraw the vision entirely — the creator of the universe falls face-down on the earth, washes Krishna’s feet with his tears, and speaks.

What follows is a forty-verse prayer that moves from astonishment to theology to confession to devotion. Brahma praises Krishna’s dark-cloud body and wildflower garlands, confesses his arrogance as “a spark that tried to examine the fire,” declares that devotion conquers the Unconquered while dry knowledge produces only empty husks, and finally proclaims the fortune of the cowherds of Vraja — whose friend is the Supreme Brahman. The prayer concludes with the most famous verse in the Bhagavata: for those who take shelter in the boat of Krishna’s feet, the ocean of birth and death is a calf’s hoofprint.

The chapter then closes with Shuka’s explanation to King Parikshit of why the love of Vraja for Krishna exceeded even parental love: because Krishna is the Self of all selves, and the Self is dearer than any child, any wealth, any body. To know Krishna is to know the Self. Everything that exists is his form. There is nothing else.

This is a Good Works Translation from the Sanskrit text of the Bhagavata Purana as published on vedabase.io (Bhaktivedanta VedaBase, IAST edition). The chapter follows directly from the Bewilderment of Brahma (chapter 13) and contains the four-chapter prayer that chapter set up.

Brahma spoke:

I bow to you, O Praiseworthy One — you whose body is dark as a thundercloud, whose garment is lightning, whose face gleams with guñjā-berry earrings and peacock feathers. You who wear garlands of wildflowers, whose beauty is marked by a morsel of rice, a herding-stick, a horn, and a flute — you with soft feet, O son of the cowherd.

Even this form of yours, Lord — a grace to me, born of your own will and not of material nature — no one can fully fathom even within the mind. How much less, then, can anyone know the bliss of your own self?

Those who cast aside the struggle for knowledge, who simply bow and live by hearing your story from the lips of the saints — remaining in their own station, with body, speech, and mind — these are the ones, O Unconquered, by whom you are conquered in all three worlds.

Those who abandon devotion to you, O Almighty, and struggle for knowledge alone — for them only toil remains and nothing else, as for those who beat empty husks.

Before this, O Infinite One, many yogis who had offered their desires to you, who had purified themselves through their own works — they attained your highest destination easily, through devotion awakened by hearing your story, O Infallible One.

And yet, O Infinite One, your greatness — which transcends the qualities — can be known only by those of pure heart, through your own nature which is changeless, self-evident, and formless, and in no other way.

Even for those who know you through the qualities — who could measure the qualities of you who have descended for the good of all? In time, with great effort, one might count the grains of earth, the snowflakes in the sky, the stars of heaven — but not your virtues.

One who endures the fruits of his own deeds, seeing in them your mercy — who with heart, speech, and body offers you reverence — he who lives this way is the rightful heir to liberation.

See, Lord, my unworthy act — that I, before you, the Infinite, the First, the Supreme Self, the master of all illusion — I spread my own illusion to test your power. What am I? A spark that tried to examine the fire.

Forgive me, O Infallible One — I who was born from the quality of passion, who did not know you, who thought myself a separate lord. Blinded by the pride of birth, with darkened eyes — have mercy, for I belong to you.

What am I — this seven-span body wrapped in an eggshell of darkness, ego, ether, air, fire, water, and earth? And what is your greatness — you in the pores of whose body countless such eggs drift like atoms in the wind?

Can a child kicking in the womb offend its mother? Can the terms “existence” and “non-existence” — however finely drawn — contain even a fraction of your belly, O Infinite One?

It is said truly that at the end of the three worlds, when all was an ocean, I emerged from the lotus in the navel of Narayana. This is no lie, Lord — and yet it is you from whom I have never truly emerged.

You are Narayana — the Self of all embodied beings, the sovereign witness of all worlds. And Narayana is your portion, for his name means “the resting-place of the waters born of Man” — and this too is truth, not your illusion.

If your true cosmic form was there in the waters — why did I not see you then, Lord? Or did I see you clearly in my heart even then? And why have you shown yourself again now, so suddenly?

Here, in this descent as the master of illusion, you have made the illusory nature of the world plain — this world that appears spread out before us and yet rests entirely within you, as a child rests in its mother’s womb.

In whose belly all this world shines forth, self-included — and in you also all this appears — what is any of this without illusion?

Have you not shown me this very day what illusion is? First you were one. Then you became all the friends and calves of Vraja. Then you stood as that many four-armed forms, each worshipped by all creation, including me. Then you became that many worlds. And then — nothing remained but the immeasurable, non-dual Brahman.

To those who do not know your way, you shine forth by spreading illusion over the non-self through the self. In creation, I appear as the maker. In preservation, you appear as the sustainer. In destruction, the three-eyed one appears as the destroyer.

Among the gods, among the sages, O Lord, among humans, among animals, among sea-creatures — you who are unborn take birth: to subdue the pride of the wicked and to bless the good.

Who knows, O Infinite One, O Supreme Self, the extent of your play in the three worlds — where, how, how many times, and when you expand your divine illusion?

Therefore this entire world — unreal in essence, dreamlike, with broken understanding, full of suffering upon suffering — only appears to be real because it arises from your illusion, O Infinite One, who are the body of eternal bliss and knowledge.

You are the one Self. The ancient Person. Truth. Self-luminous. Infinite. The first. Eternal. Imperishable. Unbroken bliss. Stainless. Complete. Non-dual. Free from all conditions. Immortal.

Those who see you as such — as the Self of all selves, as their own Self — seeing through the clear eye of the Upanishads received from the teacher like sunlight — they cross the ocean of birth and death as though it were nothing.

For those who do not know the Self as the Self — through that very ignorance, this whole manifold world arises. Through knowledge, it dissolves again — as when a snake seen in a rope appears and disappears.

Bondage and liberation — these two, born of ignorance — have no real existence from the standpoint of truth. In the pure, supreme Self of unbroken awareness, when truly examined, they vanish — as night and day merge in the sun.

Thinking yourself the supreme, and the Supreme as merely oneself — and then searching for the Self outside — what ignorance in the ignorant!

Within all that exists, O Infinite One, you alone dwell. The wise seek you by casting off what is not-self. If even those who seek a non-existent snake in a rope can find the rope — how much more surely do the wise find you, the real, within?

And yet, Lord, only one who has received even a trace of the grace that flows from your two lotus feet can know the truth of your greatness — not another, though he search for ages.

Let this great fortune be mine, my Lord — whether in this life or another, even among animals — that I may become one of your own and serve your tender feet.

How deeply blessed are the cows and women of Vraja, whose milk you drank with such delight — you who took the form of their calves and sons — you whom all the sacrifices in the world cannot satisfy.

What fortune! What fortune for the cowherds of Nanda’s Vraja — whose friend is the Supreme Bliss, the Full Brahman, the Eternal.

The magnitude of their fortune, O Infallible One — let that stand aside. We ourselves, the eleven lords beginning with Shiva, are greatly blessed — for we drink again and again, with the cups of our senses, the nectar-honey that flows from your lotus feet.

Great indeed is the fortune of any birth in this forest, even among the grasses of Gokula — anointed by the dust of his feet. For their whole life is Mukunda, whose foot-dust even the Vedas still seek.

Are you not the god of these cowherds, Lord? Our mind wanders — what fruit in all the universe surpasses the fruit of knowing you? Even Pūtānā, who came disguised as a friend, attained you with her whole clan. For these people, their home, their wealth, their friends, their loves, their selves, their children, their very life-breath — all exist for your sake.

As long as one is not yours, Krishna — that long do passions remain thieves, that long does the home remain a prison, that long does delusion remain a shackle on the feet.

Though you are beyond the world, you play at being in the world — to spread the harvest of joy among those who surrender, O Lord.

Let those who know, know. What use are many words? Your glory, my Lord, is beyond the reach of my mind, my body, and my speech.

Give me your leave, Krishna. You know everything, you see everything. You alone are the lord of all worlds. This world is surrendered to you.

O Shri Krishna — you who bring joy to the Vrishni clan like the sun to the lotus, who prosper the earth, the gods, the priests, the cattle, and the herds — you who dispel the darkness of lawlessness, who oppose the demons of the earth — worthy of worship as long as the sun endures: Lord, I bow to you.

Shuka said:

Having praised the Supreme One thus, having circumambulated him three times and bowed at his feet, the creator of the world departed to his own abode.

Then the Lord, having dismissed Brahma, brought back the original calves and boys to the riverbank, restored to their former companionship.

Though a full year had passed — even the life-breaths and inner selves of the boys had been suspended by Krishna’s illusion — O king, they thought only half a moment had gone by.

What do the deluded not forget? This whole world, bewildered by his illusion, forever forgets its own true self.

The friends said to Krishna: Welcome back! That was quick! Not one of us has eaten a single bite. Come, sit down — let us eat properly.

Then Hrishikesha laughed, ate with the boys, showed them the skin of the dead serpent, and turned from the forest toward Vraja.

Decorated with peacock feathers, flowers, and forest minerals, resplendent with the festive music of flute, leaf-whistle, and horn, calling the calves by name, his glory sung pure by his companions — a feast for the eyes of the cowherd women — he entered the village.

The children sang in Vraja: Today a great serpent was killed by the son of Yashoda and Nanda! And we were saved!

The king said:

O sage, how could such unprecedented love arise toward Krishna, who was born in another family — a love never shown even to one’s own children? Explain this.

Shuka said:

For all beings, O king, it is the Self alone that is truly dear. Others — children, wealth, and the rest — are dear only because of the Self.

Therefore, O king of kings, the love that embodied beings feel for their own Self is not equalled by their attachment to children, wealth, home, or anything else.

Even for those who identify the body as the Self, O best of kings — the body is dearest, and nothing that follows from it is loved as much.

Even when the body, which is an object of possession, is decaying — the desire to live is stronger still. Therefore the body is not as dear as the Self.

Therefore the Self is the dearest thing to all embodied beings. For the sake of the Self, this entire world — moving and unmoving — exists.

Know this Krishna to be the Self of all selves. For the good of the world, he appears here through illusion as though he were an embodied being.

For those who see truly, everything here — the still and the moving — is the form of the Lord. There is nothing else.

The being and meaning of all things is established in existence itself. And of that existence, Krishna is the Lord. What thing, then, could be called not-Him?

Those who take shelter in the tender-leaf boat of his feet — the feet of Murari, whose glory is holy and vast — for them the ocean of birth and death is a puddle, a calf’s hoofprint. The supreme abode — not a place of danger at every step — is theirs.

I have told you everything you asked. What Krishna did in early boyhood was told as news in later boyhood.

One who hears or tells of Murari’s deeds among his friends — the crushing of Agha, the picnic on the grass, the revelation of his true form, Brahma’s great hymn of praise — that person attains all things.

Thus, through the games of boyhood — hiding, building play-bridges, leaping about like monkeys — they passed their childhood in Vraja.

Colophon

The fourteenth chapter of the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana is the theological summit of the entire work. Where the thirteenth chapter ended with Brahma falling to the earth in silence, the fourteenth gives him voice — and what emerges is the most sustained meditation on divine identity in Hindu scripture.

The prayer moves through four phases. First, praise of Krishna’s physical form — the dark body, the peacock feathers, the wildflower garlands, the flute (verses 1–2). Second, a theological argument that devotion surpasses dry knowledge — culminating in the devastating image of scholars beating empty husks (verses 3–8). Third, Brahma’s confession and cosmological self-abasement — “What am I? A spark that tried to examine the fire” (verses 9–21). Fourth, the ecstatic declaration of the fortune of Vraja — where a calf’s hoofprint holds the ocean, and the friend of the cowherds is the Eternal Brahman (verses 22–40).

Verse 8 is the chapter’s ethical centre: one who endures the fruits of his own karma, seeing in them the Lord’s mercy, is the rightful heir to liberation. Verse 23 is its metaphysical heart: one Self, ancient, true, self-luminous, infinite, non-dual, immortal. Verse 58 is its most famous line — the calf’s hoofprint verse, which distils the entire Bhagavata soteriology into a single image.

The closing dialogue between Parikshit and Shuka (verses 49–58) provides the philosophical key to the preceding chapters. The love of Vraja for Krishna was not ordinary parental affection but the Self recognising the Self — because Krishna is the Ātman of all ātmans. Everything that exists is his form. There is nothing else.

This is a Good Works Translation from the Sanskrit text as published on vedabase.io (Bhaktivedanta VedaBase, IAST edition). Translated by the New Tianmu Anglican Church (Eld, with Claude), 2026. The gospel register is used throughout. The English is independently derived from the Sanskrit source text in IAST transliteration. Prabhupada’s English translation was consulted as reference for difficult compounds but the rendering is independently derived from the Sanskrit.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text

Brahma-stuti — Bhagavata Purana 10.14

Sanskrit source text in IAST transliteration from the vedabase.io edition of the Bhagavata Purana (Bhaktivedanta VedaBase). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

śrī-brahmovāca
naumīḍya te ’bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya
guñjāvataṁsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya
vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu-
lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāṅgajāya

asyāpi deva vapuṣo mad-anugrahasya
svecchā-mayasya na tu bhūta-mayasya ko ’pi
neśe mahī tv avasituṁ manasāntareṇa
sākṣāt tavaiva kim utātma-sukhānubhūteḥ

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva
jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir
ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho
kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye
teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate
nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām

pureha bhūman bahavo ’pi yoginas
tvad-arpitehā nija-karma-labdhayā
vibudhya bhaktyaiva kathopānītayā
prapedire ’ñjo ’cyuta te gatiṁ parām

tathāpi bhūman mahimāguṇāsya te
viboddhum arhaty amalāntar-ātmabhiḥ
avikṛyāt svānubhavād arūpato
hy ananya-bodhyātmatayā na cānyathā

guṇātmanas te ’pi guṇān vimātuṁ
hitāvatīrṇasya ka īśire ’sya
kālena yair vā vimitāḥ su-kalpair
bhū-pāṁśavaḥ khe mihikā dyu-bhāsaḥ

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

paśyeśa me ’nāryam ananta ādye
parātmani tvayy api māyī-māyini
māyāṁ vitatyekṣitum ātma-vaibhavaṁ
hy ahaṁ kiyān aiccham ivārcir agnau

ataḥ kṣamasvācyuta me rajo-bhuvo
hy ajānatas tvat-pṛthag-īśa-māninaḥ
ajāvalepāndha-tamo-’ndha-cakṣuṣa
eṣo ’nukampyo mayi nāthavān iti

kvāhaṁ tamo-mahad-ahaṁ-kha-carāgni-vār-bhū-
saṁveṣṭīṭāṇḍa-ghaṭa-sapta-vitasti-kāyaḥ
kvedṛg-vidhāvigaṇitāṇḍa-parāṇu-caryā-
vātādhva-roma-vivarasya ca te mahitvam

utkṣepaṇaṁ garbha-gatasya pādayoḥ
kiṁ kalpate mātur adhokṣajāgase
kim asti-nāsti-vyapadeśa-bhūṣitaṁ
tavāsti kukṣeḥ kiyad apy anantaḥ

jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavode
nārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālāt
vinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣā
kintv īśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi

nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām
ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī
nārāyaṇo ’ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt
tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā

tac cej jala-sthaṁ tava saj jagad-vapuḥ
kiṁ me na dṛṣṭaṁ bhagavaṁs tadaiva
kiṁ vā su-dṛṣṭaṁ hṛdi me tadaiva
kiṁ no sapady eva punar vyadaṛśi

atraiva māyā-dhamanāvatāre
hy asya prapañcasya bahiḥ sphuṭasya
kṛtsnasya cāntar jaṭhare jananyā
māyātvam eva prakaṭī-kṛtaṁ te

yasya kukṣāv idaṁ sarvaṁ
sātmaṁ bhāti yathā tathā
tat tvayy apiha tat sarvaṁ
kim idaṁ māyayā vinā

adyāiva tvad ṛte ’sya kiṁ mama na te māyātvam ādarśitam
eko ’si prathamaṁ tato vraja-suhṛd-vatsāḥ samastā api
tāvanto ’si catur-bhujās tad akhilaiḥ sākaṁ mayopāsitās
tāvanty eva jaganty abhūs tad amitaṁ brahmādvayaṁ śiṣyate

ajānātāṁ tvat-padavīm anātmany
ātmātmanā bhāsi vitatya māyām
sṛṣṭāv ivāhaṁ jagato vidhāna
iva tvaṁ eṣo ’nta iva triṇetraḥ

sureṣv ṛṣiṣv īśa tathaiva nṛṣv api
tiryakṣu yādaḥsv api te ’janasya
janmāsatāṁ durmada-nigrahāya
prabho vidhātaḥ sad-anugrahāya ca

ko vetti bhūman bhagavan parātman
yogeśvarotir bhavatas tri-lokyāṁ
kva vā kathaṁ vā kati vā kadeti
vistārayan krīḍasi yoga-māyām

tasmād idaṁ jagad aśeṣam asat-svarūpaṁ
svapnābham asta-dhiṣaṇaṁ puru-duḥkha-duḥkham
tvayy eva nitya-sukha-bodha-tanāv anante
māyāta udyad api yat sad ivāvabhāti

ekas tvam ātmā puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ
satyaḥ svayaṁ-jyotir ananta ādyaḥ
nityo ’kṣaro ’jasra-sukho nirañjanaḥ
pūrṇādvayo mukta upādhito ’mṛtaḥ

evaṁ-vidhaṁ tvāṁ sakalātmanām api
svātmānam ātmātmatayā vicakṣate
gurv-arka-labdhopaniṣat-sucakṣuṣā
ye te tarantī va bhavānṛtāmbudhim

ātmānam evātmatayāvijānatāṁ
tenaiva jātaṁ nikhilaṁ prapañcitam
jñānena bhūyo ’pi ca tat pralīyate
rajjvām aher bhoga-bhavābhavau yathā

ajñāna-saṁjñau bhava-bandha-mokṣau
dvau nāma nānyau sta ṛta-jña-bhāvāt
ajasra-city ātmani kevale pare
vicāryamāṇe taraṇā ivāhanī

tvām ātmānaṁ paraṁ matvā
param ātmānam eva ca
ātmā punar bahir mṛgya
aho ’jña-janatājñatā

antar-bhave ’nanta bhavantam eva
hy atat tyajanto mṛgayanti santaḥ
asantam apy anty ahim antareṇa
santaṁ guṇaṁ taṁ kim u yānti santaḥ

athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan

tad astu me nātha sa bhūri-bhāgo
bhave ’tra vānyatra tu vā tiraścām
yenāham eko ’pi bhavaj-janānāṁ
bhūtvā niṣeve tava pāda-pallavam

aho ’ti-dhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ
stanyāmṛtaṁ pītam atīva te mudā
yāsāṁ vibho vatsatarātmajātmanā
yat-tṛptaye ’dyāpi na cālam adhvarāḥ

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyam
nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām
yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ
pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

eṣāṁ tu bhāgya-mahimācyuta tāvad āstām
ekādaśaiva hi vayaṁ bata bhūri-bhāgāḥ
etad-dhṛṣīka-caṣakair asakṛt pibāmaḥ
śarvādayo ’ṅghry-udaja-madhv-amṛtāsavaṁ te

tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ
yad gokule ’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam
yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukundas
tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva

eṣāṁ ghoṣa-nivāsināṁ uta bhavān kiṁ deva rāteti naś
ceto viśva-phalāt phalaṁ tvad-aparaṁ kutrāny ayaṁ muhyati
sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā
yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte

tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenās
tāvat kārā-gṛhaṁ gṛham
tāvan moho ’ṅghri-nigaḍo
yāvat kṛṣṇa na te janāḥ

prapañcaṁ niṣprapañco ’pi
vidambayasi bhū-tale
prapanna-janatānanda-
sandohaṁ prathituṁ prabho

jānanta eva jānantu
kiṁ bahūktyā na me prabho
manaso vapuṣo vāco
vaibhavaṁ tava go-caraḥ

anujānīhi māṁ kṛṣṇa
sarvaṁ tvaṁ vetsi sarva-dṛk
tvam eva jagatāṁ nātho
jagad etat tavārpitam

śrī-kṛṣṇa vṛṣṇi-kula-puṣkara-joṣa-dāyin
kṣmā-nirjara-dvija-paśū-dadhi-vṛddhi-kārin
uddharma-śārvara-hara kṣiti-rākṣasa-dhrug
ā-kalpam arkaṁ arhan bhagavan namas te

śrī-śuka uvāca
ity abhiṣṭūya bhūmānaṁ
triḥ parikramya pādayoḥ
natvābhīṣṭaṁ jagad-dhātā
sva-dhāma pratyāpadyata

tato ’nujñāpya bhagavān
sva-bhuvaṁ prāg avasthitān
vatsān pulimān ānīnye
yathā-pūrva-sakhaṁ svakam

ekasminn api yāte ’bde
prāṇeṣāṁ cāntarātmanaḥ
kṛṣṇa-māyāhatā rājan
kṣaṇārdhaṁ menire ’rbhakāḥ

kiṁ kiṁ na vismaranti ha
māyā-mohita-cetasaḥ
yan-mohitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ
abhīkṣṇaṁ vismṛtātmakam

ūcuś ca suhṛdaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ
svāgataṁ te ’ti-raṁhasā
naiko ’py abhoji kavala
ehītaḥ sādhu bhujyatām

tato hasan hṛṣīkeśo
’bhyavahrṛtya sahārbhakāiḥ
darśayamś carmājāgaraṁ
nyavartata vanād vrajam

barha-prasūna-vana-dhātu-vicitṛitāṅgaḥ
proddāma-veṇu-dala-śṛṅga-ravotṣavāddhyaḥ
vatsān gṛṇann anuga-gīta-pavitra-kīrtir
gopī-dṛg-utsava-dṛśaḥ praviveśa goṣṭham

adyānena mahā-vyālo
yaśodā-nanda-sūnūnā
hato ’vitā vayaṁ cāsmād
iti bālā vraje jaguḥ

śrī-rājovaaca
brahman parodbhave kṛṣṇe
iyān premā kathaṁ bhavet
yo ’bhūta-pūrvas tokeṣu
svodbhaveṣv api kathyatām

śrī-śuka uvāca
sarveṣāṁ api bhūtānāṁ
nṛpa svātmaiva vallabhaḥ
itare ’patya-vittādyās
tad-vallabhatayaiva hi

tad rājendra yathā snehaḥ
sva-svakātmani dehinām
na tathā mamatālambi-
putra-vitta-gṛhādiṣu

dehātma-vādīnāṁ puṁsām
api rājanya-sattama
yathā dehaḥ priyatamaḥ
tathā na hy anu ye ca tam

deho ’pi mamatā-bhāk cet
tarhy asau nātma-vat priyaḥ
yaj jīryaty api dehe ’smin
jīvitāśā balīyasī

tasmāt priyatamaḥ svātmā
sarveṣām api dehinām
tad-artham eva sakalaṁ
jagad etac carācaram

kṛṣṇam enaṁ avehi tvaṁ
ātmānam akhilātmanām
jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra
dehīvābhāti māyayā

vastuto jānatāṁ atra
kṛṣṇaṁ sthāsnu cariṣṇu ca
bhagavad-rūpam akhilaṁ
nānyad vastv iha kiñcana

sarveṣāṁ api vastūnāṁ
bhāvārtho bhavati sthitaḥ
tasyāpi bhagavān kṛṣṇaḥ
kim atad vastu rūpyatām

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

etat te sarvam ākhyātaṁ
yat pṛṣṭo ’ham iha tvayā
tat kaumāre hari-kṛtaṁ
paugaṇḍe parikīrtitam

etat suhṛdbhiś caritaṁ murārer
aghārdanaṁ śādvala-jemanam ca
vyaktetarad rūpam ajorv-abhiṣṭavaṁ
śṛṇvan gṛṇann eti naro ’khilārthān

evaṁ vihāraiḥ kaumāraiḥ
kaumāraṁ jahatur vraje
nilāyanaiḥ setu-bandhair
markaṭotplavanādibhiḥ

Source Colophon

Sanskrit text of the Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 10, Chapter 14, in IAST transliteration. Based on the vedabase.io edition of the Bhagavata Purana (Bhaktivedanta VedaBase). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

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