SUMMARY OF THE TENTH CANTO
A short description of each chapter of this Tenth Canto is as follows. The First Chapter, which has sixty-nine verses, describes Mahārāja Parikṣit's eagerness to learn about the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and it also tells how Kaṁsa killed the six sons of Devakī because of his fear of being killed by her eighth child. The Second Chapter contains forty-two verses, describing the entrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, into the womb of Devakī to fulfill His mission of killing Kaṁsa. When Lord Kṛṣṇa was within Devakī's womb, all the demigods, headed by Brahmā, offered prayers to the Lord. The Third Chapter contains fifty-three verses. This chapter describes the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is. The Lord's father and mother, understanding the Lord's appearance, offered prayers. Fearing Kaṁsa, the Lord's father brought the child from Mathurā to Gokula Vṛndāvana. The Fourth Chapter contains forty-six verses, which tell of a prophecy by the goddess Caṇḍikā. After consulting demoniac friends, Kaṁsa began killing all the children born at that time, since he thought this would be to his benefit.
The Fifth Chapter contains thirty-two verses, describing how Nanda Mahārāja performed the birth ceremony of Kṛṣṇa and then went to Mathurā, where he met Vasudeva. The Sixth Chapter contains forty-four verses. In this chapter, Nanda Mahārāja, following the advice of his friend Vasudeva, returns to Gokula and on the way sees the dead body of the Pūtanā demoness and is astonished at her having been killed by Kṛṣṇa. The Seventh Chapter, which contains thirty-seven verses, describes Mahārāja Parikṣit's enthusiasm to hear about the boyhood pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who killed Śakaṭāsura and Tṛṇāvartāsura and showed within His mouth the entire cosmic manifestation. In the Eighth Chapter there are fifty-two verses, which describe Gargamuni's performing the name-giving ceremony of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma performed playful childish activities, crawling on the ground, trying to walk with Their small legs, and stealing butter and breaking the pots. This chapter also describes the vision of the universal form.
The Ninth Chapter, which has twenty-three verses, describes how Kṛṣṇa disturbed His mother while she was churning butter. Because she
1