SB 10.47.6 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अन्येष्वर्थकृता मैत्री यावदर्थविडम्बनम् । पुम्भि: स्‍त्रीषु कृता यद्वत् सुमन:स्विव षट्पदै: ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

anyeṣv artha-kṛtā maitrī yāvad-artha-viḍambanam pumbhiḥ strīṣu kṛtā yadvat sumanaḥsv iva ṣaṭpadaiḥ

Synonyms

anyeṣu — toward others ; artha — for some motivation ; kṛtā — manifested ; maitrī — friendship ; yāvat — for as long ; artha — (as one is fulfilling his) motive ; viḍambanam — pretense ; pumbhiḥ — by men ; strīṣu — for women ; kṛtā — shown ; yadvat — as much ; sumanaḥsu — for flowers ; iva — as ; ṣaṭ — padaiḥ — by bees .

Translation

The friendship shown toward others — those who are not family members — is motivated by personal interest, and thus it is a pretense that lasts only until one’s purpose is fulfilled. Such friendship is just like the interest men take in women, or bees in flowers.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The friendship shown toward others—those who are not family members—is motivated by personal interest, and thus it is a pretense that lasts only until one's purpose is fulfilled. Such friendship is just like the interest men take in women, or bees in flowers. KB 10.47.6 “Friendships with those outside the family continue as long as there is some selfish interest in them; otherwise, why should one bother about those outside the family? Specifically, a person attached to the wives of others is interested in them as long as there is a need of sense gratification, just as bumblebees have interest in flowers as long as they want to take the honey out of them.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains here that attractive women, like flowers, possess beauty, fragrance, tenderness, charm and so on. And as bees drink only once of a flower’s nectar and then leave it for another, fickle men abandon beautiful and devoted women to pursue other pleasures. This tendency is condemned here by the gopīs, who gave their hearts completely to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs wanted only to exhibit their charms for Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure, and in the pain of separation they questioned the motives of His friendship with them. These are the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. Both Lord Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs are completely liberated souls engaged in spiritual loving affairs. By contrast, our so-called loving affairs, being perverted reflections of the perfect loving relationships in the spiritual world, are polluted with lust, greed, pride and so on. Like all liberated souls, the gopīs — and certainly Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself — are eternally free of these lower qualities, and their intense loving affairs are motivated exclusively by unalloyed devotion.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"Because he has no use for mother, fathe, brother,or anyone, he should not have possessiveness of them. But because he has a use for you women, since he is lusty, he should be remembering you all the more." This verse answers. "Friendship with those other than parents is motivated. Without those motives, the relationships do not exist. Thus they should be condemned. Those who make friendship, those who are the object of friendship and those who assist in bringing about friendship are all to be condemned because of the selfish motivation. There is friendship where there is motive, and there is no friendship where there is no motive. The friendship of man with woman is the same. The relationship of a man with a woman, who, like a flower, possesses beauty, fragrance, softness and sweetness, and is even with steady heart, is condemned. It is like the bee making friendship with the flower. The bee, drinking once the honey from the flower endowed with so many good qualities, gives up the flower and goes elsewhere. In the same way, the man gives up the woman after enjoying her, though she is worthy of enjoyment, endowed with good qualities and is faithful. In this case there is motivation, but no friendship at all. That relationship is considered even more despicable."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Making friends with others is self-motivated, for one’s own purposes, not like the relationship with relatives which is natural. One will pretend to be a friend until one’s goals are fulfilled. Men establish friendship with women just like bees with flowers, until their goal is fulfilled. The flower is like a person with a good mind (sumanaḥṣu), having no fault, but out of greed the bee comes.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Affection for persons other than family members is motivated. Or though it is difficult even for ātmārāmas to give up family members, we do not see anyone attractive to him in Vraja since he has no friends here. Does one see affection for persons who are not family members? That is very temporary. His friendship to others is motivated. It does not continue after his goal is achieved. It is a show only. Sometimes one sees strong friendship between some man and some woman. Thus another example is given. He is like a bee in a flower. Sumanaḥsu also means “in persons with good hearts.” They have no fault. The bee is fickle.