Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.90.50
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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mukunda
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Kṛṣṇa, giver of liberation
mukti + da. Recurring through the chapter — the queens called Him this in verses 17 and 18; the phala-śruti closes with the same name. Gauḍīya: Mukunda gives liberation higher than mokṣa — entry into His own seva. Canto 10's last verse rests on this name.
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śravaṇa-kīrtana-cintayā
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by hearing, chanting and meditating
Triple compound: śravaṇa (hearing) + kīrtana (chanting) + cintā (meditating). Three of the nine limbs of bhakti (SB 7.5.23: śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam). The verse names them as sufficient: by these alone the goal is attained.
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tat-dhāma
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His abode
Compound: tat (His) + dhāma (abode, effulgence). Kṛṣṇa's eternal realm — Goloka Vṛndāvana in Gauḍīya theology, above Vaikuṇṭha (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.43). The mortal who hears properly reaches dhāma — not merging, but residing.
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dustara-kṛta-anta-java-apavargam
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freedom from the inviolable power of death
Long compound: dustara (insurmountable) + kṛta-anta (death, lit. 'end-maker') + java (force) + apavarga (release). Death's force is dustara — uncrossable — except by Mukunda-kathā. The Bhāgavatam's mahāvākya in compressed form.
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edhitayā
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ever-increasing
Past participle of √edh — to grow. Bhakti is described as edhitā — ever-augmenting. Gauḍīyas: bhakti has no plateau; even in prema there are ascending degrees (sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, mahābhāva). Verse 90.50 names this growth-property.
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martyaḥ
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a mortal being
From √mṛ — to die. 'One subject to death.' The verse's subject — the mortal — reaches the deathless dhāma by hearing Kṛṣṇa-kathā. Gauḍīyas: this is Bhāgavatam's promise to the conditioned soul. The book reads itself in the closing verse.
For the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s Tenth Canto, this verse is the phala-śruti, the promise of success given to one who hears it. The process of devotional service begins with hearing topics about the Supreme Lord. When one has heard these topics properly, he can then proceed to chant them for others’ benefit and reflect on their significance. This leads to faithful adherence to the principles of devotional service, which culminates in absolute faith in Lord Kṛṣṇa. Such perfect faith gives one the right to enter the Lord’s intimate service and, in due course of time, return to one’s eternal, spiritual life in one of the Lord’s personal domains. Humbly offering his comments on the Tenth Canto at the lotus feet of his worshipable Lord, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī prays: mad-gavīr api gopālaḥ svī-kuryāt kṛpayā yadi tadaivāsāṁ payaḥ pītvā hṛṣyeyus tat-priyā janāḥ “If Lord Gopāla mercifully accepts the cows of my words, then His dear devotees may enjoy the pleasure of drinking their milk — the nectar produced by hearing them.” Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Ninetieth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Summary of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Glories.” The Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was completed on December 27, 1988, the anniversary of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s disappearance. END OF THE TENTH CANTO
By hearing one will attain his service. That is described. O king! Anyone subject to death, by thinking of, reciting or hearing the topics of Kṛṣṇa who mercifully frees one from all suffering, attains his abode. Those topics are the producer of all wealth (śrīmat). One hears and then in joy sings them and then remembers them with eagerness. The remembrance continually increases by the singing. By that, the person attains Kṛṣṇa’s special abodes such as Vṛndāvana, according to his desires. The abode is described. It cannot be attained by Brahmā and others. It ends (apavargam) the force (java) of time which produces everyone’s end (kṛtānta). pravartate yatra rajas tamas tayoḥ sattvaṁ ca miśraṁ na ca kāla-vikramaḥ na yatra māyā kim utāpare harer anuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ In Vaikuṇṭha there are no rajas or tamas, and no sattva mixed with rajas and tamas. There is no influence of time. There is no influence of māyā at all, what to speak of its products such as material elements. In Vaikuṇṭha the inhabitants are fully dedicated to the Lord and are worshipable by the devas, asuras and devotees. SB 2.9.10 iti sañcintya bhagavān mahā-kāruṇiko hariḥ darśayām āsa lokaṁ svaṁ gopānāṁ tamasaḥ param Thus deeply considering the situation, the all-merciful Supreme Lord revealed to the cowherd men his abode, which is beyond prakṛti. SB 10.28.14 It has desirable beauty even for persons blind to the highest object. What to speak of being attractive to persons desiring liberation or the devotees, who successively value it more and more! Even many persons who enjoy the earth with its seven islands, having the highest goal in mind, gave up all places of human habitation as tasteless, and went to places without materialists, or Mathurā-maṇḍala with the twelve forests, since it is auspicious. Going there, they stayed there eternally since Mathurā-maṇḍala is the place of the highest sādhana (practice) and sādhya (result). Mahā-varāha Purāṇa says: na pāpebhyo bhayaṁ yatra na bhayaṁ yatra vai yamāt na garbhavāsabhīr yatra yat kṣetraṁ ko na saṁśrayet mathurām ca parityajya yo ‘nyatra kurute ratim mūḍho bhramati samṣāre mama māyāvimohitaḥ In Mathurā there is no fear of sins no fear of death, no miscarriages. Who would not take shelter of it? One who leaves Mathurā and develops attraction for another place is a fool. Bewildered by my māyā, he wanders in saṁsāra. tan maṇḍalaṁ māthuraṁ hi viṣṇu-cakropari sthitam padmākāraṁ sadā tatra vartate śāśvataṁ nṛpa O king! The area of Mathurā has Viṣṇu’s cakra situated above and has the shape of a lotus eternally. Skanda Purāṇa lābhānāṁ mathurā lābho jñānānāṁ jñānam uttamam prītīnāṁ paramā prītir gatīnāṁ gatir uttamaḥ Mathurā is the best of all attainments and the highest knowledge among all types of knowledge. It is the dearest among all dear things and is the highest goal among all goals. Varāha Purāṇa aho madhupurī dhanyā vaikuṇṭāc ca garīyasī Oh! Mathurā is most fortunate. It is greater than Vaikuṇṭha. Padma Purāṇa Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Ninetieth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Summary of Lord Kṛṣṇa's Glories." The Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was completed on December 27, 1988, the anniversary of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura's disappearance. END OF THE TENTH CANTO
Canto 11 Eleventh Canto General History Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 11: "General History" 1. The Curse Upon the Yadu Dynasty • Translations 1-24 2. Mahārāja Nimi Meets the Nine Yogendras • Translations 1-55 3. Liberation from the Illusory Energy • Translations 1-55 4. Drumila Explains the Incarnations of Godhead to King Nimi • Translations 1-23 5. Nārada Concludes His Teachings to Vasudeva • Translations 1-52 6. The Yadu Dynasty Retires to Prabhāsa • Translations 1-50 7. Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava • Translations 1-74 8. The Story of Piṅgalā • Translations 1-44 9. Detachment from All that Is Material • Translations 1-33 10. The Nature of Fruitive Activity • Translations 1-37 11. The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities • Translations 1-49 12. Beyond Renunciation and Knowledge • Translations 1-24 13. The Haṁsa-avatāra Answers the Questions of the Sons of Brahmā • Translations 1-42 14. Lord Kṛṣṇa Explains the Yoga System to Śrī Uddhava • Translations 1-46 15. Lord Kṛṣṇa's Description of Mystic Yoga Perfections • Translations 1-36 16. The Lord's Opulence • Translations 1-44 17. Lord Kṛṣṇa's Description of the Varṇāśrama System • Translations 1-58 18. Description of Varṇāśrama-dharma • Translations 1-48 19. The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge • Translations 1-45 20. Pure Devotional Service Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment • Translations 1-37 21. Lord Kṛṣṇa's Explanation of the Vedic Path • Translations 1-43 22. Enumeration of the Elements of Material Creation • Translations 1-61 23. The Song of the Avantī Brāhmaṇa • Translations 1-61 24. The Philosophy of Sāṅkhya • Translations 1-29 25. The Three Modes of Nature and Beyond • Translations 1-36 26. The Aila-gītā • Translations 1-35 27. Lord Kṛṣṇa's Instructions on the Process of Deity Worship • Translations 1-55 28. Jñāna-yoga • Translations 1-44 29. Bhakti-yoga • Translations 1-49 30. The Disappearance of the Yadu Dynasty • Translations 1-50 31. The Disappearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa • Translations 1-28 Appendix 11.1: The Curse Upon the Yadu Dynasty 1. The Curse Upon the Yadu Dynasty 11.1 Summary This chapter gives a hint of the destruction of the Yadu dynasty, which took place owing to the appearance of an iron club. Hearing this narration is a great impetus for becoming detached from the material world. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa expertly arranged the great Kurukṣetra battle between the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas and thus removed to a great extent the earth's burden. But the Supreme Lord, whose influence is inconceivable, was not yet satisfied, because of the continued presence of the undefeatable Yadu family. The Lord desired to bring about the destruction of the Yadu dynasty so that He could completely wind up His pastimes on the earth and go back to His own abode. Using the pretense of a curse by an assembly of brāhmaṇas, He withdrew His entire dynasty from the surface of the earth. By Śrī Kṛṣṇa's desire, many great sages, headed by Nārada and Viśvāmitra, assembled at the holy place named Piṇḍāraka, near the city of Dvārakā. The young boys of the Yadu family, absorbed in a playful mood, also arrived there. These boys dressed Sāmba in the guise of a pregnant woman about to give birth and inquired from the sages about the fruitfulness of Sāmba's so-called pregnancy. The sages cursed the mocking boys by saying, "She will give birth to a club that will destroy your family." The Yadus, frightened by this curse, immediately lifted the garment from Sāmba's abdomen and found a club. Hurrying to the assembly of Ugrasena, the King of the Yadus, they offered a report of everything that had taken place. Fearing the brāhmaṇas' curse, Yadurāja Ugrasena ordered the club ground to powder and thrown into the ocean. Within the ocean, a fish swallowed the last remaining lump of iron, and the waves carried all the bits of ground powder to the shore, where they were implanted and eventually grew into a grove of canes. Fishermen caught the fish, and a hunter named Jarā used the iron lump found in its belly to fashion an arrow. Although the Supersoul, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, understood what was happening, He did not wish to do anything to counteract it. Rather, in the form of time He sanctioned these events.
- What sincerity in my hearing and chanting could I deepen, even slightly, today?
- Where do I substitute intensity for sustained sincere practice?
By regularly hearing, chanting, and meditating on Mukunda's beautiful topics, the mortal attains His abode — where even death's inviolable power cannot reach. For this purpose kings abandoned thrones and walked into the forest. The Bhāgavatam ends Canto 10 by naming its own intended fruit.
SB 5.7-14 records Bharata Mahārāja, emperor of Bharata-varṣa (whence India's Sanskrit name), abandoning his throne in old age and walking into the forest of Pulahāśrama. SB 4 records Pṛthu the cakravartin departing similarly. Throughout Bhāgavatam great kings (Yudhiṣṭhira at Mahābhārata's end, Parīkṣit at the Gaṅgā) renounce their courts for śravaṇa-kīrtana.
Verse 90.50 names this as Bhāgavatam's final pattern: kings (grāmāt vanam kṣiti-bhujaḥ api yayuḥ) went to the forest precisely for this purpose — for Mukunda-kathā. Gauḍīyas: Caitanya Mahāprabhu's own sannyāsa at age twenty-four is the Vaiṣṇava completion of this pattern; He left family and city for Vraja-kathā.
My note
Source: vedabase.io