Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 3

Draupadī Meets Kṛṣṇa’s Queens — Narratives of the Lord’s Marriages and the Queens’ Bhakti

Devanagari script

कुतोऽशिवं त्वच्चरणाम्बुजासवं महन्मनस्तो मुखनि:सृतं क्व‍‍चित् । पिबन्ति ये कर्णपुटैरलं प्रभो देहंभृतां देहकृदस्मृतिच्छिदम् ॥ ३ ॥

Transliteration

kuto ’śivaṁ tvac-caraṇāmbujāsavaṁ mahan-manasto mukha-niḥsṛtaṁ kvacit pibanti ye karṇa-puṭair alaṁ prabho dehaṁ-bhṛtāṁ deha-kṛd-asmṛti-cchidam

Translation

[Lord Kṛṣṇa’s relatives said:] O master, how can misfortune arise for those who have even once freely drunk the nectar coming from Your lotus feet? This intoxicating liquor pours into the drinking cups of their ears, having flowed from the minds of great devotees through their mouths. It destroys the embodied souls’ forgetfulness of the creator of their bodily existence.

Synonyms

• kutaḥ: from where; how
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/हेतु-प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative adverb (प्रश्नाव्यय), ‘from where?/how?’

• aśivam: inauspiciousness; harm
• aśivam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tvat: your
• tvat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tva(d) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Ablative/Genitive stem used in compound (त्वत्-), ‘of/from you’

• caraṇa-ambuja-āsavam: nectar of (your) lotus feet
• caraṇa-ambuja-āsavam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ambuja (प्रातिपदिक) + āsava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘(your) lotus-feet’ + ‘nectar/āsava’

• mahat: great
• mahat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying ‘manas’

• manasaḥ: from the mind
• manasaḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis

• mukha-niḥsṛtam: uttered from the mouth
• mukha-niḥsṛtam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + niḥ√sṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); ‘issued forth from the mouth’

• kvacit: ever; at any time
• kvacit: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (काल/देशाव्यय), ‘ever/anywhere/at any time’

• pibanti: they drink
• pibanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun (यद्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• karṇa-puṭaiḥ: with (their) ears
• karṇa-puṭaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + puṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘with ear-cavities/ear-hollows’

• alam: indeed; sufficiently
• alam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: alam (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), ‘enough/indeed’ (emphatic)

• prabho: O Lord
• prabho: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• deha-bhṛtām: of embodied beings
• deha-bhṛtām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √bhṛ + कृत्)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘of embodied beings’

• deha-kṛt-asmṛti-chidam: that cuts the forgetfulness caused by bodily existence
• deha-kṛt-asmṛti-chidam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ) + asmṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + chid (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √chid)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘cutter (chid) of forgetfulness (asmṛti) caused by body-making (deha-kṛt)’; qualifying ‘āsavam’

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Rukmini

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the power of hearing (śravaṇam) about Krishna?

This verse says that those who drink the nectar of Krishna’s lotus feet through their ears—by hearing from great devotees—become free from inauspiciousness because such hearing destroys forgetfulness of the Lord.

Why does Rukmini speak about hearing from saints in Bhagavatam 10.83?

While addressing Krishna, Rukmini glorifies bhakti centered on śravaṇam—hearing Krishna-kathā from realized souls—as the direct remedy for the embodied soul’s delusion and suffering.

How can I apply this shloka in modern life?

Make regular time to hear Bhagavatam or Krishna-kathā from authentic devotees/teachers, and replace anxiety-driven media intake with devotional listening that reduces bodily obsession and strengthens remembrance of God.