Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.24.17
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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ucca - avacān
—
high and low
Compound: ucca (high) + avaca (low). The full vertical range of births. Karma carries the jīva up and down this ladder. Gauḍīya frame: bhakti does not climb the ladder; it steps off it (kṛṣṇa-loka, beyond ucca-avaca).
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prāpya
—
obtaining
Absolutive of pra + √āp. Birth comes as something 'obtained' through karma, not chosen freely. The verb shows the jīva as recipient, not author, of his body.
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utsṛjati
—
gives up
Present from ud + √sṛj. Death is named as 'releasing.' Together with prāpya, the verse describes the saṁsāra-cycle in one breath — and traces both directions to karma.
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karma
—
action, the residue of past action
Nominative — repeated five times in two lines. Kṛṣṇa drowns the verse in this word to dissolve Indra's office. By the end of the line, the listener feels: it has always been karma — never Indra — that ran the show.
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guruḥ
—
spiritual master
From √gṝ — heavy, weighty. Kṛṣṇa's most cutting move: karma is even your guru in this world. Gauḍīya weight: the verse is not absolute praise of karma; it is showing what those who refuse a real guru end up serving. The chapter's next move is to install a true guru-object — Govardhana, and through Govardhana, Kṛṣṇa Himself.
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īśvaraḥ
—
controlling lord
The same word Nanda used for Indra in verse 9 — Kṛṣṇa reapplies it to karma itself. The displacement is now complete: whatever Indra-power Nanda named, Kṛṣṇa has rerouted to karma. The next step will be to redirect karma to Bhagavān.
Even the demigods are bound and limited by the laws of karma. That Indra himself is subordinate to the laws of karma is explicitly stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.54) : yas tv indra-gopam atha vendram aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam ātanoti. The Supreme Lord, Govinda, awards all creatures the appropriate results of their work. This is as true for mighty Indra, the lord of the material heavens, as it is for the germ called indra-gopa. The Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) also states, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ. Only those who have lost their intelligence because of various material desires surrender unto demigods rather than worship the Supreme Lord. In fact, the demigods cannot award benefits to anyone independently, as stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Gītā: mayaiva vihitān hi tān . All benefits are ultimately issued by the Lord Himself. Thus it is not altogether incorrect to say that demigod worship is useless, since even the demigods are under the laws of karma. In fact, this is the case. But Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is not subordinate to the law of karma; rather, He can independently offer or withhold His favor. This is confirmed in the verse from the Brahma-saṁhitā quoted above, the third line of which is karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām: “The Supreme Lord burns up all the accumulated karma of those engaged in His loving service.” Not only is Lord Kṛṣṇa above the laws of material action and reaction, but He can immediately dissolve these laws for anyone who satisfies Him through loving service. Thus the almighty God is supreme in absolute freedom, and by surrendering to Him we can escape the bonds of karma and stop accepting their dismal rule as supreme.
Action, based on previous impressions, gives all results. Therefore it is worshippable. That is the intention of this and half the next verse.
Living entities accept and give up bodies by previous actions. One’s action sometimes shows itself to be the enemy, sometimes becomes the friend and sometimes is neutral. “Since there is no inclination to action without knowledge, one will need a teacher to obtain knowledge.” Action is the teacher since without good karma one cannot attain a teacher and since without good karma results cannot be accomplished, even having attained instructions. “Since action is without consciousness, the giver of results must be the Lord.” Actions is the Lord since even the Lord follows after action, that being the power of action.
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- Where do I treat my work or output as my ultimate master rather than as service to Him?
- What master have I unknowingly enthroned in karma's place?
A craftsman lives inside his tools — chisel, lathe, file — and the same set of tools that built his fortune will, if mishandled, take his fingers. Karma is exactly this: the instrument by which the soul gains and loses bodies, befriends and is harmed, learns and is lorded over. Kṛṣṇa names karma five times in two lines to make the point inescapable.
My note
Source: vedabase.io