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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
10.47.1810.47.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.47.19

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

वयमृतमिव जिह्मव्याहृतं श्रद्दधाना:

कुलिकरुतमिवाज्ञा: कृष्णवध्वो हरिण्य: ।

दद‍ृशुरसकृदेतत्तन्नखस्पर्शतीव्र-

स्मररुज उपमन्त्रिन् भण्यतामन्यवार्ता ॥ १९ ॥

vayam ṛtam iva jihma-vyāhṛtaṁ śraddadhānāḥ

kulika-rutam ivājñāḥ kṛṣṇa-vadhvo hariṇyaḥ

dadṛśur asakṛd etat tan-nakha-sparśa-tīvra

smara-ruja upamantrin bhaṇyatām anya-vārtā

Translation

Faithfully taking His deceitful words as true, we became just like the black deer’s foolish wives, who trust the cruel hunter’s song. Thus we repeatedly felt the sharp pain of lust caused by the touch of His nails. O messenger, please talk about something besides Kṛṣṇa.

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 Speaks Through a Hunter Comparison

  1. 1

    Rādhārāṇī compares the gopīs’ trust in Kṛṣṇa’s words to does trusting a hunter’s song. The comparison expresses Her sense of having been deceived.

  2. 2

    She recalls the sharp pain of desire caused by the touch of His nails. In distress, She asks the messenger to speak about something besides Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    The purport calls this ājalpa. Such speech describes the beloved as deceitful and a source of misery, while implying that He gives happiness to others.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī categorizes this statement of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s as ājalpa, as defined by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:

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. vayamwe
  2. ṛtamtrue
  3. ivaas if
  4. jihmadeceptive
  5. vyāhṛtamHis speech
  6. śraddadhānāḥtrusting
  7. kulikaof a hunter
  8. rutamthe song
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.47

    In this verse: “lust”

  • 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 the comparison with trusting does express Rādhārāṇī’s distress?

Practice

Reread the verse alongside the definition of ājalpa, noting how the definition clarifies Her emotional speech.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDistress Speaks Through a Hunter ComparisonThis 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 10.47.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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