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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 47: The Song of the Bee
10.47.1210.47.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.47.13

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The gopīsince 10.47.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

सकृदधरसुधां स्वां मोहिनीं पाययित्वा

सुमनस इव सद्यस्तत्यजेऽस्मान् भवाद‍ृक् ।

परिचरति कथं तत्पादपद्मं नु पद्मा

ह्यपि बत हृतचेता ह्युत्तम:श्लोकजल्पै: ॥ १३ ॥

sakṛd adhara-sudhāṁ svāṁ mohinīṁ pāyayitvā

sumanasa iva sadyas tatyaje ’smān bhavādṛk

paricarati kathaṁ tat-pāda-padmaṁ nu padmā

hy api bata hṛta-cetā hy uttamaḥ-śloka-jalpaiḥ

Translation

After making us drink the enchanting nectar of His lips only once, Kṛṣṇa suddenly abandoned us, just as you might quickly abandon some flowers. How is it, then, that Goddess Padmā willingly serves His lotus feet? Alas! The answer must certainly be that her mind has been stolen away by His deceitful words.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Distress Expressed in Loving Speech

  1. 1

    Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī compares Kṛṣṇa to a bumblebee that quickly leaves flowers after tasting their nectar. She speaks in distress over His sudden departure.

  2. 2

    She wonders why the goddess of fortune constantly serves His lotus feet. In Her distress, She suggests that Kṛṣṇa’s promises have captured the goddess’s mind.

  3. 3

    The purport calls this speech parijalpa. It shows the speaker’s cleverness by exposing what She perceives as Her Lord’s mercilessness, duplicity and unreliability.

Key points from the purport
  • In this verse Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī continues to compare Śrī Kṛṣṇa to the bumblebee, and in Her distress She states that the reason the goddess of fortune is constantly devoted to His lotus feet must be that she has been fooled by Kṛṣṇa’s promises.
  • According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, this statement of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s illustrates parijalpa, as described in Śrī Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (14.184):

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Heartache → Unbroken remembrance. Love endures and deepens despite visible absence.

Chapters 46–49 of Canto 10: Uddhava, the gopīs and the Song of the Bee. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 47: The Song of the Bee

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Imagining the bee to be a messenger from Him, She said, “Just as bees wander among various flowers, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has abandoned the young girls of Vraja and developed affection for other women.” The gopī continued to speak in this way, contrasting Her own supposed ill fortune to Her rival lovers’ good fortune, all the while glorifying the names, forms, qualities and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.47
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sakṛtonce
  2. adharaof the lips
  3. sudhāmthe nectar
  4. svāmHis own
  5. mohinīmbewildering
  6. pāyayitvāmaking drink
  7. sumanasaḥflowers
  8. ivalike
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 10.47

    In this verse: “distress”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing Rādhārāṇī’s distress help me understand Her words about Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Reread the verse slowly, keeping in mind that these are Rādhārāṇī’s words of distress over separation.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDistress Expressed in Loving SpeechThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 10.47.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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