Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.23.20
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesLifelike Art Among Living Birds
“Here and there in that palace were multitudes of live swans and pigeons, as well as artificial swans and pigeons so lifelike that the real swans rose above them again and again, thinking them live birds like themselves. Thus the palace vibrated with the sounds of these birds.”
What the purport teaches
- Multitudes of living swans and pigeons were present throughout the palace.
- Artificial swans and pigeons were so lifelike that real swans took them for birds of their own kind.
- The swans repeatedly rose above the artificial birds. The palace resounded with the sounds of its living birds.
Try this today
Read the verse once more, picturing both the birds’ movements and the sounds filling the palace.
Ask yourself
How do the birds’ movement and sounds make this palace description more vivid for me?
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.