SB 1.6.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एकदा निर्गतां गेहाद्दुहन्तीं निशि गां पथि । सर्पोऽदशत्पदा स्पृष्ट: कृपणां कालचोदित: ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

ekadā nirgatāṁ gehād duhantīṁ niśi gāṁ pathi sarpo ’daśat padā spṛṣṭaḥ kṛpaṇāṁ kāla-coditaḥ

Synonyms

ekadā — once upon a time ; nirgatām — having gone away ; gehāt — from home ; duhantīm — for milking ; niśi — at night ; gām — the cow ; pathi — on the path ; sarpaḥ — snake ; adaśat — bitten ; padā — on the leg ; spṛṣṭaḥ — thus struck ; kṛpaṇām — the poor woman ; kāla — coditaḥ — influenced by supreme time .

Translation

Once upon a time, my poor mother, when going out one night to milk a cow, was bitten on the leg by a serpent, influenced by supreme time.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

One time, a snake, impelled by time, touched by her foot, bit my poor mother who had gone from the house to milk the cow at night and was walking along the path.

Purport

That is the way of dragging a sincere soul nearer to God. The poor boy was being looked after only by his affectionate mother, and yet the mother was taken from the world by the supreme will in order to put him completely at the mercy of the Lord.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Duhantīm means “to milk.”