SB 6.13.12

SB 6.13.12

Devanagari

तां ददर्शानुधावन्तीं चाण्डालीमिव रूपिणीम् । जरया वेपमानाङ्गीं यक्ष्मग्रस्तामसृक्पटाम् ॥ १२ ॥ विकीर्य पलितान् केशांस्तिष्ठ तिष्ठेति भाषिणीम् । मीनगन्ध्यसुगन्धेन कुर्वतीं मार्गदूषणम् ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

tāṁ dadarśānudhāvantīṁ cāṇḍālīm iva rūpiṇīm jarayā vepamānāṅgīṁ yakṣma-grastām asṛk-paṭām vikīrya palitān keśāṁs tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti bhāṣiṇīm mīna-gandhy-asu-gandhena kurvatīṁ mārga-dūṣaṇam

Synonyms

tām the sinful reaction ; dadarśa he saw ; anudhāvantīm chasing ; cāṇḍālīm a woman of the lowest class ; iva like ; rūpiṇīm taking a form ; jarayā because of old age ; vepamāna aṅgīm — whose bodily limbs were trembling ; yakṣma grastām — infected with tuberculosis ; asṛk paṭām — whose clothes were covered with blood ; vikīrya scattering ; palitān grayed ; keśān hair ; tiṣṭha tiṣṭha wait, wait ; iti thus ; bhāṣiṇīm calling ; mīna gandhi — the smell of fish ; asu whose breath ; gandhena by the odor ; kurvatīm bringing about ; mārga dūṣaṇam — the pollution of the whole street .

Translation

Indra saw personified sinful reaction chasing him, appearing like a caṇḍāla woman, a woman of the lowest class. She seemed very old, and all the limbs of her body trembled. Because she was afflicted with tuberculosis, her body and garments were covered with blood. Breathing an unbearable fishy odor that polluted the entire street, she called to Indra, “Wait! Wait!”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Indra saw a caṇḍāla woman, trembling because of old age, afflicted with tuberculosis, covered with blood, and breathing an unbearable, fishy odor that polluted the entire street. With gray hair flying about, she pursued him, calling, "Wait! Wait!" Yakṣmā is tuberculosis. The street was polluted with the smell of her breath (asu) which had the odor of fish.

Purport

When a person is afflicted with tuberculosis, he often vomits blood, which makes his garments bloody.