Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.47.12
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesRādhārāṇī Chastises the Imagined Messenger
“The gopī said: O honeybee, O friend of a cheater, don’t touch My feet with your whiskers, which are smeared with the kuṅkuma that rubbed onto Kṛṣṇa’s garland when it was crushed by the breasts of a rival lover! Let Kṛṣṇa satisfy the women of Mathurā. One who sends a messenger like you will certainly be ridiculed in the Yadus’ assembly.”
What the purport teaches
- Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī indirectly chastised Kṛṣṇa by chastising the bumblebee, which She took to be His messenger.
- She addressed the bee as madhupa, one who drinks flower nectar, and Kṛṣṇa as madhu-pati, the Lord of Madhu.
- The purport identifies Her speech as prajalpa, a lover’s criticism of the beloved’s tactlessness. It explains how Her phrases express envy, jealousy, pride and disrespect.
Try this today
Reread the translation and identify one phrase that the purport explains as an expression of prajalpa.
Ask yourself
How does the purport help me understand the carefully described moods in Rādhārāṇī’s words?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.