SB 10.15.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

क्‍वचिद् गायति गायत्सु मदान्धालिष्वनुव्रतै: । उपगीयमानचरित: पथि सङ्कर्षणान्वित: ॥ १० ॥ अनुजल्पति जल्पन्तं कलवाक्यै: शुकं क्‍वचित् । क्‍वचित्सवल्गु कूजन्तमनुकूजति कोकिलम् । क्‍वचिच्च कालहंसानामनुकूजति कूजितम् । अभिनृत्यति नृत्यन्तं बर्हिणं हासयन् क्‍वचित् ॥ ११ ॥ मेघगम्भीरया वाचा नामभिर्दूरगान् पशून् । क्‍वचिदाह्वयति प्रीत्या गोगोपालमनोज्ञया ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

kvacid gāyati gāyatsu madāndhāliṣv anuvrataiḥ upagīyamāna-caritaḥ pathi saṅkarṣaṇānvitaḥ anujalpati jalpantaṁ kala-vākyaiḥ śukaṁ kvacit kvacit sa-valgu kūjantam anukūjati kokilam kvacic ca kāla-haṁsānām anukūjati kūjitam abhinṛtyati nṛtyantaṁ barhiṇaṁ hāsayan kvacit megha-gambhīrayā vācā nāmabhir dūra-gān paśūn kvacid āhvayati prītyā go-gopāla-manojṣayā

Synonyms

kvacit — sometimes ; gāyati — He sings ; gāyatsu — when they are singing ; mada — andha — blinded by intoxication ; aliṣu — the bees ; anuvrataiḥ — along with His companions ; upagīyamāna — being chanted ; caritaḥ — His pastimes ; pathi — upon the path ; saṅkarṣaṇa — anvitaḥ — accompanied by Lord Baladeva ; anujalpati — He chatters in imitation ; jalpantam — of the chattering ; kala — vākyaiḥ — with broken speech ; śukam — parrot ; kvacit — sometimes ; kvacit — sometimes ; sa — with ; valgu — charming ; kūjantam — cuckooing ; anukūjati — He imitates the cuckooing ; kokilam — of a cuckoo ; kvacit — sometimes ; ca — and ; kala — haṁsānām — of the swans ; anukūjati kūjitam — imitates the cooing ; abhinṛtyati — He dances in front of ; nṛtyantam — dancing ; barhiṇam — a peacock ; hāsayan — making laugh ; kvacit — sometimes ; megha — like clouds ; gambhirayā — grave ; vācā — with His voice ; nāmabhiḥ — by name ; dūra — gān — who had strayed far away ; paśūn — the animals ; kvacit — sometimes ; āhvayati — He calls ; prītyā — affectionately ; go — to the cows ; gopāla — and the cowherd boys ; manaḥ — jṣayā — which (voice) charms the mind .

Translation

Sometimes the honeybees in Vṛndāvana became so mad with ecstasy that they closed their eyes and began to sing. Lord Kṛṣṇa, moving along the forest path with His cowherd boyfriends and Baladeva, would then respond to the bees by imitating their singing while His friends sang about His pastimes. Sometimes Lord Kṛṣṇa would imitate the chattering of a parrot, sometimes, with a sweet voice, the call of a cuckoo, and sometimes the cooing of swans. Sometimes He vigorously imitated the dancing of a peacock, making His cowherd boyfriends laugh. Sometimes, with a voice as deep as the rumbling of clouds, He would call out with great affection the names of the animals who had wandered far from the herd, thus enchanting the cows and the cowherd boys.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Sometimes the honeybees in Vṛndāvana became so mad with ecstasy that they closed their eyes and began to sing. Lord Kṛṣṇa, moving along the forest path with His cowherd boyfriends and Baladeva, would then respond to the bees by imitating their singing while His friends sang about His pastimes. Sometimes Lord Kṛṣṇa would imitate the chattering of a parrot, sometimes, with a sweet voice, the call of a cuckoo, and sometimes the cooing of swans. Sometimes He vigorously imitated the dancing of a peacock, making His cowherd boyfriends laugh. Sometimes, with a voice as deep as the rumbling of clouds, He would call out with great affection the names of the animals who had wandered far from the herd, thus enchanting the cows and the cowherd boys. KB 10.15.10-12 The boys were singing, imitating the humming sound of the drones and accompanying Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, who were garlanded with forest flowers. While walking, the boys sometimes imitated the quacking sound of the swans in the lakes, or when they saw the peacocks dancing, they imitated them before Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa also moved His neck, imitating the dancing and making His friends laugh. The cows taken care of by Kṛṣṇa had different names, and Kṛṣṇa would call them with love. After hearing Kṛṣṇa calling, the cows would immediately respond by mooing, and the boys would enjoy this exchange to their hearts’ content.

Purport

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that Lord Kṛṣṇa would joke with His friends, saying, “Just look, this peacock does not know how to dance properly,” whereupon the Lord would vigorously imitate the peacock’s dancing, causing great laughter among His friends. The bees in Vṛndāvana would drink the sap of the forest flowers, and the combination of this nectar and the association of Śrī Kṛṣṇa made them mad with intoxication. Thus they closed their eyes in ecstasy and expressed their satisfaction by humming. And this humming was also expertly imitated by the Lord.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Krsna began to dance in imitation of the dancing peacocks (barhinam abhi nrtyati). The peacocks became more enthusiastic to dance, and this made the boys laugh.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

This verse shows the pleasure in his pleased mind (mentioned in the previous verse.) It is in the present tense to indicate that this type of activity was a daily event. Previously during his infant years he also performed similar activities (SB 10.12.7-10) but it was predominantly for play. Now Kṛṣṇa personally performed these acts with joyous mind. He sang somewhere (kvacit) on the path. Instead of pathi sometimes sragvī (wearing a garland) is seen. In that case kvacit can mean sometimes or in some places. The same meaning of kvacit can be taken in the following verse. The bees became intoxicated from drinking the nectar of Vṛndāvana flowers or from closeness to Kṛṣṇa. The bees became most intoxicated since they are described as “blind” with intoxication. This also indicates the sweetness of their singing. The word Saṅkarṣaṇa (the attractor) indicates that Balarāma became non-different from Kṛṣṇa when they sang. They sang along with other boys who had great affection for them (anuvrataiḥ). The bees sang one note together and Kṛṣṇa sang rāgas according to that note. The other boys sang about the pastimes according to the rāgas that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma sang. They sang in a responsive way. He imitated in soft words what the parrot said. This was sweet (valgu). The word ca is added in some editions. This indicates that valgu (sweetly) should be taken with all the items mentioned. Abhinṛtyati means he faced them and danced. The cows, being unintelligent (thus they are called paśu in this verse), wandered far away from Kṛṣṇa. They were not aware that they had gone far away because of Kṛṣṇa’s sphūrti behind them, just as he had previously been there in person. His voice was deep like clouds rumbling. This is a characteristic of a great person.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Being pleased, his play is shown in the following verses. Previously the play of all the small children was described (SB 10.12.7) Now particularly Kṛṣṇa’s individual actions with pleased mind are described. On some path (kvacit pathi) Kṛṣṇa sang. Another version has sragvī instead of pathi. In that case kvacit means at some place or at some times. This meaning will apply to the following verses as well. Intoxicated by honey from the Vṛndāvana flowers, or intoxicated by proximity to Bhagavān, the bees, closing their eyes out of happiness (andha) or blinded by the intoxication, sang. This indicates the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s singing. The word Saṅkarṣaṇa also indicates that Balarāma is non-different from Kṛṣṇa in singing. yadūnām apṛthag-bhāvāt saṅkarṣaṇam uśanty api Because he unites two families—Vasudeva’s family and the family of Nanda Mahārāja—he will be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa. SB 10.8.12 Kṛṣna is he whose pastimes are sung (upagīyamāna-caritaḥ), close by or as the highest by cowherd boys with exclusive devotion (anuvrataiḥ). Or Kṛṣ;na is he whose pastime of imitating the bees is praised as superior to the bees’ singing by the cowherd boys. This superiority should be inferred in the five following verses as well. He imitated in soft words what the parrot said. The cuckoos sing sweetly at the end of autumn. However Vṛndāvana is the shelter of all seasons. He imitated the sweet (the word valgu is understood) cooing of the swans as well. Facing (abhi) the dancing peacocks he danced. Clearly (ha) he taught (āsyana) the peacock. Or saying “The peacock does not dance properly” he made his friends laugh at the peacock. He called the cows, bulls and calves (paśūn). Or he called all the animals that wandered far from him. If they went far from him, they had less intelligence. Therefore they are called animals (to be tied up). With affection he called their names like Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Haṁsī, and Dhavalī. Out of special affection he called the cows by name (and not the other animals). He called the animals by attractive words, not by his flute. The words were deep like thunder. That is a quality of a great person. Or because the animals had wandered far way, he spoke loudly.