SB 10.30.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

चूतप्रियालपनसासनकोविदार- जम्ब्वर्कबिल्वबकुलाम्रकदम्बनीपा: । येऽन्ये परार्थभवका यमुनोपकूला: शंसन्तु कृष्णपदवीं रहितात्मनां न: ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

cūta-priyāla-panasāsana-kovidāra jambv-arka-bilva-bakulāmra-kadamba-nīpāḥ ye ’nye parārtha-bhavakā yamunopakūlāḥ śaṁsantu kṛṣṇa-padavīṁ rahitātmanāṁ naḥ

Synonyms

cūta — O mango creeper ; priyāla — O priyāla tree (a kind of śāla tree) ; panasa — O jackfruit tree ; āsana — O āsana tree (a yellow śāla ) ; kovidāra — O kovidāra tree ; jambu — O rose-apple tree ; arka — O arka plant ; bilva — O bel -fruit tree ; bakula — O mimosa tree ; āmra — O mango tree ; kadamba — O kadamba tree ; nīpāḥ — O nīpa (a smaller kind of kadamba ) ; ye — who ; anye — others ; para — of others ; artha — for the sake ; bhavakāḥ — whose existence ; yamunā — upakūlāḥ — living near the bank of the river Yamunā ; śaṁsantu — kindly tell ; kṛṣṇa — padavīm — the path Kṛṣṇa has taken ; rahita — who have been deprived ; ātmanām — of our minds ; naḥ — to us .

Translation

O cūta, O priyāla, O panasa, āsana and kovidāra, O jambu, O arka, O bilva, bakula and āmra, O kadamba and nīpa and all you other plants and trees living by the banks of the Yamunā who have dedicated your very existence to the welfare of others, we gopīs have lost our minds, so please tell us where Kṛṣṇa has gone.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O cūta, O priyāla, O panasa, āsana and kovidāra, O jambu, O arka, O bilva, bakula and āmra, O kadamba and nīpa and all you other plants and trees living by the banks of the Yamunā who have dedicated your very existence to the welfare of others, we gopīs have lost our minds, so please tell us where Kṛṣṇa has gone. KB 10.30.9 “O mango trees, O trees of jackfruit, O pear trees and āsana trees! O blackberries and bael trees and trees of the kadamba flower—you are all very pious trees to be living on the bank of the Yamunā. Kṛṣṇa must have passed through this way. Will you kindly let us know which way He has gone?”

Purport

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the cūta is a mango creeper, whereas the āmra is a mango tree. He goes on to explain that the nīpa, though not a very prominent tree, bears large flowers, and that the gopīs’ desperation to find Kṛṣṇa is clearly shown by the fact that they approached the insignificant arka plant. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives the following information about Vṛndāvana’s trees: “The nīpa is ‘the dust kadamba, ’ and it has large flowers. The kadamba proper has smaller flowers and a very pleasant fragrance. The kovidāra is a particular kind of kaṣcanāra [mountain ebony tree]. Even though the arka plant is very insignificant, it always grows near Lord Gopīśvara [the Śiva deity in Vṛndāvana forest] because it is dear to him.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The jasmines, out of fear of their cowife tulasi and Krsna, are not speaking, though they know. What used do we have of them, since they are dependent on others? Saying this, they went elsewhere. "In front of us are the mango and piyala trees standing motionless on the bank of the Yamuna. From that we guess that they are in meditation on Visnu. They will not lie to us." With this faith, they inquired, "O cuta, mango with creepers, nipa (dhuli kadamba), O kadama, with sweet fragrance, O piyala (type of sala tree), O asata (yellow sala tree), O kovidara (type of kancanara tree), O arka (though small is always with Krsna), coconut, supari and others, please tell us, who are without our souls, where Krsna has gone." "Why should we tell you?" "You have taken birth to help others. And you live on the bank of the Yamuna."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Those trees will not speak because they are his servants. We will ask trees which are trustworthy like sages. Cūta is a creeper mango and āmra is a tree mango. The poets called the creeper mango natāmra. It was seen in the central states. Nīpa is the dhūli-kadamba, with huge flowers and plentiful pollen. The seed of the priyāla is famous as cārubīja and is eaten. Panasa is the jackfruit tree. Asana is the yellow sāla tree. Kovidāra has double leaves and is famous in the Vindyā region as koyilāva. It is similar to the kāñcanāra. Though the arka tree is considered inferior, they asked this tree also since they were full of longing. “What do we gain in telling you about him?” You are dedicated to helping others. You have taken birth to help others. Or another version has parārtha-bhāvikā: producing auspiciousness for others. Since you are living at a holy spot, near the bank (upakula) of the Yamunā, you speak the truth and are merciful. Thus please tell us the truth. Do not cheat us. “You should search for him yourself.” Fearing this answer the gopīs speak with pain, hoping to generate compassion for their suffering state, “We have lost all consciousness. We are near death. We cannot search by ourselves.” Previously they asked the other trees if they had seen Kṛṣṇa but did not receive an answer. Now they cleverly ask only for the path he took.