| Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 47: The Song of the Bee |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.47.12
gopy uvāca
madhupa kitava-bandho mā spriśańghrim sapatnyāh
kuca-vilulita-mālā-kuńkuma-śmaśrubhir nah
vahatu madhu-patis tan-māninīnām prasādam
yadu-sadasi vidambyam yasya dūtas tvam īdrik
SYNONYMS
gopī uvāca — the gopī said; madhupa — O bumblebee; kitava — of a cheater; bandho — O friend; mā spriśa — please do not touch; ańghrim — the feet; sapatnyāh — of the lover who is our rival; kuca — the breast; vilulita — fallen from; mālā — from the garland; kuńkuma — with the red cosmetic; śmaśrubhih — with the whiskers; nah — our; vahatu — let Him bring; madhu-patih — the Lord of the Madhu dynasty; tat — His; māninīnām — to the women; prasādam — mercy or kindness; yadu-sadasi — in the royal assembly of the Yadus; vidambyam — an object of ridicule or contempt; yasya — whose; dūtah — messenger; tvam — you; īdrik — such.
TRANSLATION
The gopī said: O honeybee, O friend of a cheater, don't touch My feet with your whiskers, which are smeared with the kuńkuma that rubbed onto Krishna's garland when it was crushed by the breasts of a rival lover! Let Krishna satisfy the women of Mathurā. One who sends a messenger like you will certainly be ridiculed in the Yadus' assembly.
PURPORT
Śrīmatī Rādhārānī indirectly chastised Krishna by chastising the bumblebee, which She took for His messenger. She addressed the bumblebee as madhupa, "one who drinks the nectar (of flowers)," and She addressed Krishna as madhu-pati, "the Lord of Madhu."
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that this and the following nine verses exemplify ten kinds of impulsive speech spoken by a lover. This verse illustrates the qualities of prajalpa, as described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in the following verse from his Ujjvala-nīlamani (14.182):
yo 'vadhīrana-mudrayā
priyasyākauśalodgārah
"Prajalpa is speech that denigrates the tactlessness of one's lover with expressions of disrespect. It is spoken in a mood of envy, jealousy and pride." Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that the word kitava-bandho expresses envy; the phrase from sapatnyāh to nah, jealousy; the phrase mā spriśa ańghrim, pride; and the phrase from vahatu to prasādam, disrespect, while the phrase from yadu-sadasi to the end of the verse decries Krishna's tactless treatment of Rādhārānī.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari