| Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 47: The Song of the Bee |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.47.20
priya-sakha punar āgāh preyasā preshitah kim
varaya kim anurundhe mānanīyo 'si me 'ńga
nayasi katham ihāsmān dustyaja-dvandva-pārśvam
satatam urasi saumya śrīr vadhūh sākam āste
SYNONYMS
priya — of My beloved; sakha — O friend; punah — once again; āgāh — you have come; preyasā — by My beloved; preshitah — sent; kim — whether; varaya — please choose; kim — what; anurundhe — do you wish; mānanīyah — to be honored; asi — you are; me — by Me; ańga — My dear one; nayasi — you are bringing; katham — why; iha — here; asmān — us; dustyaja — impossible to give up; dvandva — conjugal connection with whom; pārśvam — to the side; satatam — always; urasi — on the chest; saumya — O gentle one; śrīh — the goddess of fortune; vadhūh — His consort; sākam — together with Him; āste — is present.
TRANSLATION
O friend of My dear one, has My beloved sent you here again? I should honor you, friend, so please choose whatever boon you wish. But why have you come back here to take us to Him, whose conjugal love is so difficult to give up? After all, gentle bee, His consort is the goddess Śrī, and she is always with Him, staying upon His chest.
PURPORT
In Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the context of this verse: "While Rādhārānī was talking with the bee and the bee was flying hither and thither, it all of a sudden disappeared from Her sight. She was in full mourning due to separation from Krishna and felt ecstasy by talking with the bee. But as soon as the bee disappeared, She became almost mad, thinking that the messenger-bee might have returned to Krishna to inform Him all about Her talking against Him. 'Krishna must be very sorry to hear it,' She thought. In this way She was overwhelmed by another type of ecstasy.
"In the meantime, the bee, flying hither and thither, appeared before Her again. She thought, 'Krishna is still kind to Me. In spite of the messenger's carrying disruptive messages, He is so kind that He has again sent the bee to take Me to Him.' Śrīmatī Rādhārānī was very careful this time not to say anything against Krishna."
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that the goddess of fortune, Śrī, has the power to assume many different forms. Thus when Krishna enjoys other women, she stays on His chest in the form of a golden line. When He is not consorting with other women, she puts aside this form and gives Him pleasure in Her naturally beautiful form of a young woman.
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, this statement of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī's expresses pratijalpa, as described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:
prāptir nārhety anuddhatam
dūta-sammānanenoktam
"When the lover humbly states that although she is unworthy of attaining her beloved she cannot give up hoping for a conjugal relationship with Him, such words, spoken with respect for her beloved's message, are called pratijalpa." (Ujjvala-nīlamani 14.198)
Here Śrīmatī Rādhārānī has given up Her harsh feelings and humbly acknowledges the greatness of Śrī Krishna.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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