SB 10.30.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

बाहुं प्रियांस उपधाय गृहीतपद्मो रामानुजस्तुलसिकालिकुलैर्मदान्धै: । अन्वीयमान इह वस्तरव: प्रणामं किं वाभिनन्दति चरन् प्रणयावलोकै: ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

bāhuṁ priyāṁsa upadhāya gṛhīta-padmo rāmānujas tulasikāli-kulair madāndhaiḥ anvīyamāna iha vas taravaḥ praṇāmaṁ kiṁ vābhinandati caran praṇayāvalokaiḥ

Synonyms

bāhum — His arm ; priyā — of His beloved ; aṁse — on the shoulder ; upadhāya — placing ; gṛhīta — holding ; padmaḥ — a lotus ; rāma — anujaḥ — Kṛṣṇa, the younger brother of Balarāma ; tulasikā — swarming around the tulasī maṣjarīs (which are ornamenting His garland) ; ali — kulaiḥ — by the many bees ; mada — with intoxication ; andhaiḥ — who are blind ; anvīyamānaḥ — being followed ; iha — here ; vaḥ — your ; taravaḥ — O trees ; praṇāmam — the bowing down ; kim vā — whether ; abhinandati — has acknowledged ; caran — while walking by ; praṇaya — imbued with love ; avalokaiḥ — with His glances .

Translation

O trees, we see that you are bowing down. When the younger brother of Rāma walked by here, followed by intoxicated bees swarming around the tulasī maṣjarīs decorating His garland, did He acknowledge your obeisances with His affectionate glances? He must have been resting His arm on the shoulder of His beloved and carrying a lotus flower in His free hand.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O trees, we see that you are bowing down. When the younger brother of Rāma walked by here, followed by intoxicated bees swarming around the tulasī maṣjarīs decorating His garland, did He acknowledge your obeisances with His affectionate glances? He must have been resting His arm on the shoulder of His beloved and carrying a lotus flower in His free hand. KB 10.30.12 “O fortunate trees, we are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, the younger brother of Balarāma. While passing through here, with one hand resting on the shoulder of the goddess of fortune and the other hand twirling a lotus flower, He must have been very much pleased to accept your obeisances, and He must have glanced at you with great pleasure.”

Purport

The gopīs saw that the trees, bent over with abundant fruits and flowers, were offering obeisances to Lord Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs supposed Kṛṣṇa must have recently passed that way, since the trees were still bowing down. Because Śrī Kṛṣṇa had left the gopīs to go with His favorite consort, they were jealous and thus imagined that He had become fatigued from His loving affairs and was resting His left arm on the soft shoulder of His beloved. The gopīs further imagined that Kṛṣṇa must have been carrying a blue lotus in His right hand to drive away the bees eagerly trying to attack His beloved’s face after smelling its aroma. The scene was so beautiful, the gopīs imagined, that the maddened bees had left the tulasī garden to follow the two lovers.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The gopis, discussing further clues that Krsna was right there, began to speak about the trees bending over with fruit and flowers as if bowing down to Krsna. "O trees! Did Krsna, wandering here, acknowledge or not, with an affectionate glance, your obeisance with offerings of fruit and flowers, your offspring, in your hands? But how could there an opportunity of his loving glancing upon saintly persons like you?" With envy they said, "This brother of Balarama (who is well known for his intoxicated love affairs), who must be similarly intoxicated, put his left arm on the shoulder of his weak beloved, using it as a pillow, due to fatigue after loving exchanges, and held in his right hand a blue lotus in order to fend off the bees swarming around because of the fragrance of his beloved face. Being absorbed in serving his beloved, how could he glance upon you trees? The bees have given up the tender tulasi groves and have followed behind Krsna to this place. Therefore we can understand that Krsna is hiding here somewhere. If that is so, should we follow the bees? No, it is improper for respectable persons to follow after intoxicated persons."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Unsure when doe remained silent and staring, thinking she was stunned with great sorrow on seeing the pain of separation in the gopīs, the sakhīs left the doe and, seeing trees bowing low with fruits and flowers, thinking they were offering respects, they inquired from them. In this verse also by praising the items they attain great joy. The meaning is this. O trees! Did the brother of Balarāma take joy in your respects or not, by showing affectionate glances? They praise the qualities of the seers by indicating that the trees are the qualified objects of his mercy and affection. “Why would he not acknowledge our respects?” He was absorbed in sweet pastimes with his beloved. They knew this because of the fragrance. They were skillful at understanding their intimate pastimes. That is indicated in this verse by the description of Kṛṣṇa resting his arm on her shoulder. The general reason for not acknowledging the trees was that he was wandering around (caran) anxious for a place for his pastimes. “He always wanders around looking. What is special about today?” His arm is on the shoulder of his beloved who has great affection for him. Because her shoulder is tender he places his arm there lightly (upa). “He has come to show her to us. Why would he not acknowledge us?” He is followed by swarms of bees and he is absorbed in swinging a lotus in his right hand to prevent the bees from approaching his beloved. How can he acknowledge you? This also indicates the superb fragrance of the tulasī plants in the pastime forest. divya-gandha-tulasī-madhu-mattaiḥ ali-kulai alaghu gītām abhīṣṭam: maddened by the divine, honeylike aroma of the tulasī flowers on the garland Kṛṣṇa wears, swarms of bees sing loudly for him. (SB 10.35.10) He is followed by bees blind with intoxication from drinking the nectar. The special fragrance which arises when he presses against her body (to protect her from the bees) is shown. This indicates praise for the tulasī. The vaijayantī garland was mentioned in SB 10.29.44 and in this chapter verse 7 it is mentioned that Kṛṣṇa wears tulasī. Because it is described as most excellent, it should be inferred that he wears a tulasī garland. A garland of kunda flowers was mentioned in verse 11. It should be inferred that the vaijayantī and kunda garlands were given up because they disintegrated. By praising the various items the gopīs show their pleasure. The meaning of each word can be studied as in the previous verse. The speakers of this verse were friends of Rādhā. On the other hand the following verse is spoken by an opposing faction: tasyā amūni naḥ kṣobhaṁ kurvanty uccaiḥ padāni yat yaikāpahṛtya gopīnām raho bhunkte ‘cyutādharam These footprints of that special gopī greatly disturb us. Of all the gopīs, she alone was taken away to a secluded place, where she is enjoying the lips of Kṛṣṇa. SB 10.30.30

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Unsure when the does remained staring, thinking they were stunned with great sorrow on seeing the pain of separation in the gopīs, the sakhīs left the does and, seeing trees bowing low with fruits and flowers, thinking they were decent and offering respects, they inquired from them. Inferring that a lover had come with Kṛṣna by her fragrance previously mentioned, they now imagine the fragrance of his shoulder mixed with his arm. The fragrance of his hand was mixed with the fragrance of a lotus he was holding. This was mixed with the fragrance of her shoulder. There was also the fragrance of the tulasī on his body. Or there should be such arrangements among women lovers. He was followed by swarms of bees, blind with intoxication attracted to the sweet fragrance of the tulasī. The bees were attracted to the tulasī because the tulasī was related to Kṛṣṇa. All of this manifests a special rasa. Thinking his secret pastimes with his lover would be detected by the loud humming of the bees which were blind with intoxication, he tried walking away to get rid of them and came here, or he came here to pick the flowers from you trees. Or he came here thinking of giving mercy to you since you are plants, similar to tulasī while fulfilling his own purposes. And particularly out of affection for your offering of respects he came here. Did he accept you with affectionate glances? Those glances are very rare. Kimvā indicates a question. Please tell us. Or seeing his foot prints and, to the left, a woman’s foot prints, and seeing, to the right, the trees bowing down as if having achieved relief, they assumed he held a lotus in his right hand. Seeing groups of a woman’s footprints, deep and grouped together as if running in fear, they assumed that intoxicated bees had come. Or seeing drops of honey everywhere on the footprints, they assumed the bees had come. Or in an insane condition they uttered these words. This is mentioned in verse 14. Or since the intoxicated bees followed him, he also by contact became intoxicated. They say this in anger. Or he is followed by bees with pride (mada). It is suitable then that he is followed by us, who have lots our pride.