| Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 47: The Song of the Bee |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.47.17
mrigayur iva kapīndram vivyadhe lubdha-dharmā
striyam akrita virūpām strī-jitah kāma-yānām
balim api balim attvāveshtayad dhvāńksha-vad yas
tad alam asita-sakhyair dustyajas tat-kathārthah
SYNONYMS
mrigayuh — a hunter; iva — like; kapi — of the monkeys; indram — the king; vivyadhe — shot; lubdha-dharmā — behaving like a cruel hunter; striyam — a woman (namely, Śūrpanakhā); akrita — made; virūpām — disfigured; strī — by a woman (Sītā-devī); jitah — conquered; kāmayānām — who was impelled by lusty desire; balim — King Bali; api — also; balim — his tribute; attvā — consuming; aveshtayat — bound up; dhvāńkshavat — just like a crow; yah — who; tat — therefore; alam — enough; asita — with black Krishna; sakhyaih — of all kinds of friendship; dustyajah — impossible to give up; tat — about Him; kathā — of the topics; arthah — the elaboration.
TRANSLATION
Like a hunter, He cruelly shot the king of the monkeys with arrows. Because He was conquered by a woman, He disfigured another woman who came to Him with lusty desires. And even after consuming the gifts of Bali Mahārāja, He bound him up with ropes as if he were a crow. So let us give up all friendship with this dark-complexioned boy, even if we can't give up talking about Him.
PURPORT
In Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the meaning of this verse as follows: "[Śrīmatī Rādhārānī said to the bee,] 'You poor messenger, you are only a less intelligent servant. You do not know much about Krishna — how ungrateful and hardhearted He has been, not only in this life but in His previous lives also. We have heard this from Our grandmother Paurnamāsī. She has informed Us that Krishna was born in a kshatriya family previous to this birth and was known as Rāmacandra. In that birth, instead of killing Vālī, an enemy of His friend, in the manner of a kshatriya, He killed him just like a hunter. A hunter takes a secure hiding place and then kills an animal without facing it. So Lord Rāmacandra, as a kshatriya, should have fought with Vālī face to face, but instigated by His friend, He killed him from behind a tree. Thus He deviated from the religious principles of a kshatriya. Also, He was so attracted by the beauty of Sītā that He converted Śūrpanakhā, the sister of Rāvana, into an ugly woman by cutting off her nose and ears. Śūrpanakhā proposed an intimate relationship with Him, and as a kshatriya He should have satisfied her. But He was so henpecked that He could not forget Sītā-devī and converted Śūrpanakhā into an ugly woman. Before that birth as a kshatriya, He took birth as a brāhmana boy known as Vāmanadeva and asked charity from Bali Mahārāja. Bali was so magnanimous that he gave Him whatever he had, yet Krishna as Vāmanadeva ungratefully arrested him just like a crow and pushed him down to the Pātāla kingdom. We know all about Krishna and how ungrateful He is. But here is the difficulty: In spite of His being so cruel and hardhearted, it is very difficult for us to give up talking about Him.' "
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that this speech of Rādhārānī's is called avajalpa, as described by Rūpa Gosvāmī in the following verse from the Ujjvala-nīlamani (14.192):
dhaurtyād āsakty-ayogyatā
yatra sershyā-bhiyevoktā
"Saintly persons have concluded that when a lover, impelled by jealousy and fear, declares that Lord Hari is unworthy of her attachment because of His harshness, lustiness and dishonesty, such speech is called avajalpa."
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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