SB 10.47.8 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

खगा वीतफलं वृक्षं भुक्त्वा चातिथयो गृहम् । दग्धं मृगास्तथारण्यं जारा भुक्त्वा रतां स्‍त्रियम् ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

khagā vīta-phalaṁ vṛkṣaṁ bhuktvā cātithayo gṛham dagdhaṁ mṛgās tathāraṇyaṁ jārā bhuktvā ratāṁ striyam

Synonyms

khagāḥ — birds ; vīta — rid ; phalam — of its fruits ; vṛkṣam — a tree ; bhuktvā — having eaten ; ca — and ; atithayaḥ — guests ; gṛham — a house ; dagdham — burned down ; mṛgāḥ — animals ; tathā — similarly ; araṇyam — a forest ; jārāḥ — paramours ; bhuktvā — having enjoyed ; ratām — attracted ; striyam — a woman .

Translation

Birds abandon a tree when its fruits are gone, guests a house after they have eaten, animals a forest that has burnt down, and a lover the woman he has enjoyed, even though she remains attached to him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Birds abandon a tree when its fruits are gone, guests a house after they have eaten, animals a forest that has burnt down, and a lover the woman he has enjoyed, even though she remains attached to him. KB 10.47.8 “When the fruit season is over, birds are no longer interested in the tree. Just after eating in the house of a host, the guest gives up his relationship with him. After a forest fire, when there is a scarcity of green grass, deer and other animals give up the forest. And so a man, after enjoying his girlfriend, gives up his connection with her.” In this way, all the gopīs indirectly accused Kṛṣṇa by citing many examples.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The last verse explained that friendship do not exist without motivation . This verse illustrates that statement by listing a series of examples (dipaka nyaya). "The prostitute gives up the penniless man. As long as the man has money, she does not give him up. The citizens give up the king who cannot protect them. The priest gives up the sponsor once has given a donation. The bird gives up the tree once the fruit have rotted. A paramour gives up a woman though she is eager enjoyment. As long as she is young he does not give her up. Where the motivation no longer exists, the friendship ceases. Since Krsna has fulfilled his goals with the women of Mathura, how is it possible that we are worthy of his remembrance?" Therefore they indicate that Krsna did not have love for the gopis. In this verse woman in the singular and paramours is in the plural form. This implies that it is alright to reject a woman who is involved with many men out of lust. "However we are many, and we have only one male object of love. ( And it is not impelled by lust since we had prema for him since childhood.) Yet still he does not show us love. By neglecting so many of us, he shows unprecedented cruelty in his heart."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Animals give up a burned down forest. The word jārā (paramour) indicates criticism of the man, not the woman he gives up. The word prostitute is not used to describe the woman. She is simply described as attached. The examples are used to show that the gopīs are faultless. When he discerned our attraction for him, we accepted him with dedication. Having enjoyed us, he rejected us. He is a jāra. The gopīs use the plural for him (jārāḥ) and the singular for the woman (striyam). One woman attached to such men may have many such lovers. Thus she is also criticized. Such a woman regards these men as her own. Thus people expect money, protection, learning, livelihood from performing worship, food, shelter and love. Among these motives some are auspicious and others inauspicious, but all are conditional factors, not based on affection.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Birds, wandering in the sky and seeing fruit, come there. Guests by invitation or because of hunger come to a house to eat. Animals come to a forest for fresh grass but give it up when it is burned down. Men give up women they have enjoyed. Speaking generally, they do not actually indicate their own condition though they speak out of misery. Since they are dedicated to Kṛṣṇa with the highest prema, they cannot have a relationship like a material man and woman. The eight examples are related to material goals.