SB 7.4.39 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

क्‍वचिद्रुदति वैकुण्ठचिन्ताशबलचेतन: । क्‍वचिद्धसति तच्चिन्ताह्लाद उद्गायति क्‍वचित् ॥ ३९ ॥

Verse text

kvacid rudati vaikuṇṭha- cintā-śabala-cetanaḥ kvacid dhasati tac-cintā- hlāda udgāyati kvacit

Synonyms

kvacit — sometimes ; rudati — cries ; vaikuṇṭha — cintā — by thoughts of Kṛṣṇa ; śabala — cetanaḥ — whose mind was bewildered ; kvacit — sometimes ; hasati — laughs ; tat — cintā — by thoughts of Him ; āhlādaḥ — being jubilant ; udgāyati — chants very loudly ; kvacit — sometimes .

Translation

Because of advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he sometimes cried, sometimes laughed, sometimes expressed jubilation and sometimes sang loudly.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When his mind became troubled because of absence of the Lord, he would cry, and then he would laugh on seeing him again. Joyful on thinking of the Lord’s mercy, he sang loudly. Just as child, not seeing the mother, cries when the mother puts him down on the ground to do household chores, Prahlāda, not seeing the Lord would think, “Where has my Lord gone, giving me up?” Thinking in that way, his mind became troubled (śabala-cetanaḥ) and he would cry. Rudati should be rodati. When the Lord would appear again the Lord would say, “O Prahlāda! Child! Why are you crying, just by not seeing me for a moment?” Then Prahlāda would laugh like a happy child seeing his mother who would embrace him after a long time. He would think, “My Lord makes me happy by showing himself to me by his mercy.” Thinking in this way, he would be joyful (tat-cintā-hlādaḥ).

Purport

This verse further clarifies the comparison of a devotee to a child. If a mother leaves her small child in his bed or cradle and goes away to attend to some family duties, the child immediately understands that his mother has gone away, and therefore he cries. But as soon as the mother returns and cares for the child, the child laughs and becomes jubilant. Similarly, Prahlāda Mahārāja, being always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, sometimes felt separation, thinking, “Where is Kṛṣṇa?” This is explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me . When an exalted devotee feels that Kṛṣṇa is invisible, having gone away, he cries in separation, and sometimes, when he sees that Kṛṣṇa has returned to care for him, he laughs, just as a child sometimes laughs upon understanding that his mother is taking care of him. These symptoms are called bhāva. In The Nectar of Devotion, various bhāvas, ecstatic conditions of a devotee, are fully described. These bhāvas are visible in the activities of a perfect devotee.