Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.90.18
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesLonging for Mukunda’s Encouraging Words
“My dear moon, having contracted a severe case of tuberculosis, you have become so emaciated that you fail to dispel the darkness with your rays. Or is it that you appear dumbstruck because, like us, you cannot remember the encouraging promises Mukunda once made to you?”
What the purport teaches
- The queens address the moon as though a severe illness has weakened it. Its faint rays seem unable to dispel the darkness.
- They wonder whether the moon is instead dumbstruck because it cannot remember Mukunda’s encouraging promises.
- By saying “like us,” they express their own longing for Mukunda’s words and see their feelings reflected in the moon.
Try this today
Read the verse slowly once, paying attention to the queens’ longing for Mukunda’s encouraging promises.
Ask yourself
What does the queens’ speech reveal about how deeply they treasure Mukunda’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.