SB 3.17.11

SB 3.17.11

Devanagari

खराश्च कर्कशै: क्षत्त: खुरैर्घ्नन्तो धरातलम् । खार्काररभसा मत्ता: पर्यधावन् वरूथश: ॥ ११ ॥

Verse text

kharāś ca karkaśaiḥ kṣattaḥ khurair ghnanto dharā-talam khārkāra-rabhasā mattāḥ paryadhāvan varūthaśaḥ

Synonyms

kharāḥ asses ; ca and ; karkaśaiḥ hard ; kṣattaḥ O Vidura ; khuraiḥ with their hooves ; ghnantaḥ striking ; dharā talam — the surface of the earth ; khāḥ kāra — braying ; rabhasāḥ wildly engaged in ; mattāḥ mad ; paryadhāvan ran hither and thither ; varūthaśaḥ in herds .

Translation

O Vidura, the asses ran hither and thither in herds, striking the earth with their hard hooves and wildly braying.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O Vidura! Wild Asses ran about in herds, striking the earth with their hard hooves and braying in glee. O Vidura! The asses were joyful (rabhasā), making braying sounds.

Purport

Asses also feel very respectable as a race, and when they run in flocks hither and thither in so-called jollity, it is understood to be a bad sign for human society.