Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 60
Kṛṣṇa’s Impending Departure; Uddhava’s Surrender; King Yadu and the Avadhūta’s Twenty-Four Gurus
Beginnings
तासां पतत्रै: सुस्पर्शै: कूजितैर्मुग्धचेष्टितै: । प्रत्युद्गमैरदीनानां पितरौ मुदमापतु: ॥ ६० ॥
tāsāṁ patatraiḥ su-sparśaiḥ kūjitair mugdha-ceṣṭitaiḥ pratyudgamair adīnānāṁ pitarau mudam āpatuḥ
The parent birds became very joyful by observing the soft wings of their children, their chirping, their lovely innocent movements around the nest and their attempts to jump up and fly. Seeing their children happy, the parents were also happy.
FAQs
This verse shows how natural affection brings intense joy through a child’s touch, sounds, and eagerness—yet in the surrounding narrative it serves as a setup to warn that such sweetness can also bind the heart if not balanced with detachment and devotion.
He narrates the bird family episode within the Avadhūta’s teachings to illustrate how powerful emotional bonds form through everyday affection, preparing the listener for the lesson that unchecked attachment leads to suffering when separation comes.
Love and care for family can be honored, but one should remember life’s impermanence and anchor the heart in bhakti—so affection becomes service and responsibility, not possessiveness and anxiety.