Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.14.10
Ūti· What drives us to actStrong Desire Calls for Protection
“In that place the beautiful Diti expressed her desire: O learned one, Cupid is taking his arrows and distressing me forcibly, as a mad elephant troubles a banana tree.”
What the purport teaches
- Seeing her husband absorbed in trance, Diti spoke loudly and frankly about her distress. She did not try to attract him through bodily expressions.
- She compared her sex desire to a mad elephant troubling a banana tree. Although it was not natural for her to disturb her husband’s trance, she could not control her strong sexual appetite.
- The purport explains that, because her desire was so overwhelming, her husband’s prime duty was to give her protection by fulfilling her desire.
Try this today
Write one sentence describing what the image of a mad elephant and a banana tree conveys about Diti’s condition.
Ask yourself
What does Diti’s comparison help me understand about the distress caused by uncontrolled desire?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.