FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.52.31

सन्तुष्टो यर्हि वर्तेत ब्राह्मणो येन केनचित् । अहीयमान: स्वद्धर्मात् स ह्यस्याखिलकामधुक् ॥ ३१ ॥
santuṣṭo yarhi varteta
[santushto yarhi varteta]
brāhmaṇo yena kenacit
[braahmano yena kenachit]
ahīyamānaḥ svad dharmāt
[aheeyamaanah svad dharmaat]
sa hy asyākhila-kāma-dhuk
[sa hy asyaakhila-kaama-dhuk]
Word-for-word
santuṣṭaḥ — satisfied yarhi — when varteta — carries on brāhmaṇaḥ — a brāhmaṇa yena kenacit — with whatever ahīyamānaḥ — not falling short svāt — of his own dharmāt — religious duty saḥ — those religious principles hi — indeed asya — for him akhila — of everything kāma - dhuk — the mystic cow, milked for fulfillment of any desire .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
santuṣṭo yarhi varteta
santuṣṭaḥ
satisfied
yarhi
when
varteta
carries on
brāhmaṇo yena kenacit
brāhmaṇaḥ
a brāhmaṇa
yena kenacit
with whatever
ahīyamānaḥ svad dharmāt
ahīyamānaḥ
not falling short
svāt
of his own
dharmāt
religious duty
sa hy asyākhila-kāma-dhuk
saḥ
those religious principles
hi
indeed
asya
for him
akhila
of everything
kāma - dhuk
the mystic cow, milked for fulfillment of any desire .
Important Words
  • santuṣṭaḥ — satisfied
    Past participle of sam-√tuṣ (to be fully pleased). Santoṣa is the second yama in Patañjali's niyamas and the central brāhmaṇa-virtue across the Bhāgavatam. Gauḍīyas link santoṣa to bhakti-sukha — the bhakta is content because Kṛṣṇa is the wealth he already has.
  • ahīyamānaḥ — not falling short
    Present passive participle of a-√hā (to abandon, with negation). The brāhmaṇa does not fall away from dharma — even amid scarcity. Negative grammar marks the discipline: santoṣa is not the same as having; it is the not-abandoning.
  • svāt-dharmāt — from his own religious duty
    Phrase: sva (own) + dharma (duty), ablative. The technical phrase used in Gītā 18.45-47 — sva-dharma is what the verse hinges on. Generic spirituality is not in view; specific varṇa-aśrama duty is.
  • akhila-kāma-dhuk — (dharma is) the mystic cow milking-out all desires
    Compound: akhila (all) + kāma (desire) + dhuk (one who is milked, from √duh). The kāma-dhuk image is technical Vedic vocabulary — it elevates the brāhmaṇa's santoṣa-based dharma to the rank of celestial cow.
When a brāhmaṇa is satisfied with whatever comes his way and does not fall away from his religious duties, those very religious principles become his desire cow, fulfilling all his wishes.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When a brāhmaṇa is satisfied with whatever comes his way and does not fall away from his religious duties, those very religious principles become his desire cow, fulfilling all his wishes.
Commentary

If the brahmana is unwavering in his dharma (svatdharmat ahiyamanah) , that dharma (sah) yields all desires.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He praises satisfaction to praise the brāhmaṇa. When he is satisfied he does not deviate from dharma. Instead of yarhi sometimes yadi is seen. That satisfaction, and nothing else, fulfils all desires.

Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Brahmacharya (Self-discipline / Restraint)
Related verses
BG 15.9 BG 17.20 BG 18.64 BG 2.62 BG 3.11 BG 12.3 SB 4.29.2 BG 9.11 BG 7.8 BG 10.3 BG 13.1 BG 5.18 BG 6.1 BG 6.5
Concepts
Dharma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
When a brāhmaṇa is satisfied with whatever comes and doesn't fall from religious duties, those principles become his desire cow, fulfilling wishes. Contentment plus consistency turns religion into wish-fulfillment.
Reflection Questions
  • Where could increased contentment make your existing practice more potent?
  • What single act of consistency would be most worth investing in?
Analogy

For the contented brāhmaṇa, dharma itself becomes a kāma-dhuk — the wish-fulfilling cow. The image is exact: santoṣa is the milking-hand; svadharma is the udder; whatever the brāhmaṇa needs flows of itself, without grasping. Bhagavān is teaching the messenger his own science before letting him deliver the message.

Stories
Kāma-dhenu and the satisfied seer

Vasiṣṭha's Nandinī (in the Mahābhārata's Ādi Parva, and at Rāmāyaṇa Bāla-kāṇḍa 51-56) is the celestial cow that produces all desires for the brāhmaṇa who keeps his dharma. King Viśvāmitra tried to seize her by force and was repulsed by her own power — proving that the cow yields only to santoṣa, never to grasping.

Kṛṣṇa's verse names dharma itself as that cow for the satisfied brāhmaṇa. Gauḍīyas read the lesson: the bhakta who serves with santoṣa never lacks; the one who grasps loses even what he already has.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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