SB 10.30.7 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कच्चित्तुलसि कल्याणि गोविन्दचरणप्रिये । सह त्वालिकुलैर्बिभ्रद् दृष्टस्तेऽतिप्रियोऽच्युत: ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

kaccit tulasi kalyāṇi govinda-caraṇa-priye saha tvāli-kulair bibhrad dṛṣṭas te ’ti-priyo ’cyutaḥ

Synonyms

kaccit — whether ; tulasi — O tulasī plant ; kalyāṇi — O kind one ; govinda — of Lord Kṛṣṇa ; caraṇa — the feet ; priye — you to whom are dear ; saha — together with ; tvā — you ; ali — of bees ; kulaiḥ — swarms ; bibhrat — carrying ; dṛṣṭaḥ — seen ; te — by you ; ati — priyaḥ — very dear ; acyutaḥ — Lord Acyuta .

Translation

O most kind tulasī, to whom the feet of Govinda are so dear, have you seen that infallible one walk by, wearing you and encircled by swarms of bees?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O most kind tulasī, to whom the feet of Govinda are so dear, have you seen that infallible one walk by, wearing you and encircled by swarms of bees? KB 10.30.7 The gopīs then addressed the tulasī plants: “Dear tulasī, you are much beloved by Lord Kṛṣṇa because your leaves are always at His lotus feet.

Purport

The ācāryas explain here that the word caraṇa is a term of respect, as in the expression evaṁ vadanty ācārya-caraṇāḥ. The bees humming around the garland worn by Śrī Govinda were attracted by the fragrance of the tulasī maṣjarīs offered to Him. The gopīs felt that the trees had not replied because they were male, but that tulasī, being female, would sympathize with their plight.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Approaching the tulasi, malati and other plants, the gopis thought, "These plants, being female, and therefore knowing the pain that women experience in love, will be favorable to us. Therefore we will ask them." Thinking like this, they approached the chief plant, tulasi and asked, "O fortunate one! You are fortunate, being dear to the feet of the Govinda, and we are unfortunate, because of separation from Krsna. (govinda carana priya can also mean dear to the respectable Govinda, where carana indicates respect, as in the phrase acarya carana , the respectable teacher.) "You are also dear to him." Expecting such an answer, the gopis said, " True, though that is so, you are more fortunate because of additional attractive qualities, for you never experience separation. Wearing a garland of your leaves (tva vibhrat), he has gone off. That is because of your greater qualification. Not even considering the disturbance of thousands of bees that go along with you, he has gone off. Being fond of fragrances, Krsna has not accepted us, because we do not have such fragrance."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Since these trees are males, and siding with Kṛṣṇa, out of malice, they do not speak to us on understanding our pride. They then question Tulasī, on their side since she was a female, imagining that she has seen him since it was known that she had unlimited fortune by gaining his affection. O Tulasī who makes our birth auspicious! Or O Tulasī, most fortunate! The reason for her fortunate is mentioned: O Tulasī, dear to the feet of Govinda, lord of Gokula! śrīr yat padāmbuja-rajaś cakame tulasyā labdhvāpi vakṣasi padaṁ kila bhṛtya-juṣṭam yasyāḥ sva-vīkṣaṇa utānya-sura-prayāsas tadvad vayaṁ ca tava pāda-rajaḥ prapannāḥ Goddess Lakṣmī, whose glance is sought after by the devatās with great endeavor, has achieved the unique position of always remaining on the chest of her Lord, Nārāyaṇa. Still, she desires the dust of his lotus feet, even though she has to share that dust with Tulasī and indeed with the Lord’s many other servants. Similarly, we have approached the dust of your lotus feet for shelter. SB 10.29.37 Or caraṇa can mean respect as in the phrase ācārya-caraṇā vadanti: the respected ācārya speaks. That respect is submitted with humility: O Tulasī, dear to the king of Gokula! Since he loves you, he must have come here! She must be dear because he wears her garlands. He cannot ignore you since he has affection for you. They hint that he has great affection for the gopīs also. Or even though the garland is surrounded by bees, Kṛṣṇa wears it. This shows his affection. The bees cannot avoid that garland because of it is dear to the Lord. Thus Tulasī’s great qualities are indicated. It is also impossible for him to hide because of the buzzing bees. Therefore he must have come here and you must have seen him. He will not leave you (acyutaḥ).

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Since these trees are males, and siding with Kṛṣṇa, out of malice, they do not speak to us on understanding our pride. They then question tulasī, on their side since she was a female, imagining that she has seen him since it was known that she had unlimited fortune by gaining his affection. O Tulasī who makes our birth auspicious! Or O Tulasī, most fortunate! The reason for her fortunate is mentioned: O Tulasī, dear to the feet of Govinda, lord of Gokula, revealing unlimited sweetness! You are dearer to him than Mahālakṣmī. She aspires for the dust from those feet with great endeavor. But you are naturally dear to Kṛṣṇa’s feet. They do not mention his lotus feet since they are angry with him. He wears you who are accompanied by bees. This means the tulasī leaves are within the vaijayantī garland. Or at this time he plucked tulasī and wore a garland of tulasī. Having you seen him, since he is affectionate to you? The garland is full of honey and thus the bees cannot leave it. Since they buzz with intoxication, it is impossible for him to hide. He must have come to you. And you have seen him. He never leaves you (acyuta). This confirms that he must be near. Ali-kulaih can also mean “with friends.” He wears you even though you have many friends. You are dear to him among many. Thus you are very dear to him. On the other hand, he holds many of us dear (atipriyaḥ). Or he holds everyone dear. This is a statement of hatred. śrīr yat padāmbuja-rajaś cakame tulasyā labdhvāpi vakṣasi padaṁ kila bhṛtya-juṣṭam yasyāḥ sva-vīkṣaṇa utānya-sura-prayāsas tadvad vayaṁ ca tava pāda-rajaḥ prapannāḥ Goddess Lakṣmī, whose glance is sought after by the devatās with great endeavor, has achieved the unique position of always remaining on the chest of her Lord, Nārāyaṇa. Still, she desires the dust of his lotus feet, even though she has to share that dust with Tulasī and indeed with the Lord’s many other servants. Similarly, we have approached the dust of your lotus feet for shelter. SB 10.29.37 Or caraṇa can mean respect as in the phrase ācārya-caraṇā vadanti: the respected ācārya speaks. That respect is submitted with humility: O Tulasī, dear to the king of Gokula! Since he loves you, he must have come here! You must be dear because he wears your garlands. He cannot ignore you since he has affection for you. They hint that he has great affection for the gopīs also. Or even though the garland is surrounded by bees, Kṛṣṇa wears it. This shows his affection. The bees cannot avoid that garland because it is dear to the Lord. Thus Tulasī’s great qualities are indicated. It is also impossible for him to hide because of the buzzing bees. Therefore he must have come here and you must have seen him. He will not leave you (acyutaḥ).