SB 4.18.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

वत्सं कल्पय मे वीर येनाहं वत्सला तव । धोक्ष्ये क्षीरमयान्कामाननुरूपं च दोहनम् ॥ ९ ॥ दोग्धारं च महाबाहो भूतानां भूतभावन । अन्नमीप्सितमूर्जस्वद्भगवान् वाञ्छते यदि ॥ १० ॥

Verse text

vatsaṁ kalpaya me vīra yenāhaṁ vatsalā tava dhokṣye kṣīramayān kāmān anurūpaṁ ca dohanam dogdhāraṁ ca mahā-bāho bhūtānāṁ bhūta-bhāvana annam īpsitam ūrjasvad bhagavān vāṣchate yadi

Synonyms

vatsam — a calf ; kalpaya — arrange ; me — for me ; vīra — O hero ; yena — by which ; aham — I ; vatsalā — affectionate ; tava — your ; dhokṣye — shall fulfill ; kṣīra — mayān — in the form of milk ; kāmān — desired necessities ; anurūpam — according to different living entities ; ca — also ; dohanam — milking pot ; dogdhāram — milkman ; ca — also ; mahā — bāho — O mighty-armed one ; bhūtānām — of all living entities ; bhūta — bhāvana — O protector of the living entities ; annam — food grains ; īpsitam — desired ; ūrjaḥ — vat — nourishing ; bhagavān — your worshipable self ; vāṣchate — desires ; yadi — if .

Translation

O great hero, protector of living entities, if you desire to relieve the living entities by supplying them sufficient grain, and if you desire to nourish them by taking milk from me, you should make arrangements to bring a calf suitable for this purpose and a pot in which the milk can be kept, as well as a milkman to do the work. Since I will be very much affectionate towards my calf, your desire to take milk from me will be fulfilled.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O courageous King! O mighty-armed King! Nourisher of the living beings! If you want the desire foods producing strength, arrange for a calf so that I, being affectionate, will produce desired milk suitable for the living beings, and also arrange a pot and a milkman. Dohanam is a milk pot. Dhokṣye means I will fulfill. Urajsvat means “giving strength.”

Purport

These are nice instructions for milking a cow. The cow must first have a calf so that out of affection for the calf she will voluntarily give sufficient milk. There must also be an expert milkman and a suitable pot in which to keep the milk. Just as a cow cannot deliver sufficient milk without being affectionate to her calf, the earth cannot produce sufficient necessities without feeling affection for those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Even though the earth’s being in the shape of a cow may be taken figuratively, the meaning herein is very explicit. Just as a calf can derive milk from a cow, all living entities — including animals, birds, bees, reptiles and aquatics — can receive their respective foods from the planet earth, provided that human beings are not asat, or adhṛta-vrata, as we have previously discussed. When human society becomes asat, or ungodly, or devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the entire world suffers. If human beings are well-behaved, animals will also receive sufficient food and be happy. The ungodly human being, ignorant of his duty to give protection and food to the animals, kills them to compensate for the insufficient production of grains. Thus no one is satisfied, and that is the cause for the present condition in today’s world.