Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 12
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
आपणो व्यवहारोऽत्र चित्रमन्धो बहूदनम् । पितृहूर्दक्षिण: कर्ण उत्तरो देवहू: स्मृत: ॥ १२ ॥
āpaṇo vyavahāro ’tra citram andho bahūdanam pitṛhūr dakṣiṇaḥ karṇa uttaro devahūḥ smṛtaḥ
المدينة المسماة آپَṇَة ترمز إلى انشغال اللسان بالكلام، وبَهُودَنَة هي تنوّع الأطعمة. والأذن اليمنى تُسمّى باب پِتْرِهُو، واليسرى تُذكر باب دِيوَهُو.
FAQs
This verse portrays embodied life as a place of constant transactions—exchanging attention and energy for sense experiences—often without true spiritual vision, like a decorated but blind person.
In the allegory of the body as a city, Śukadeva assigns symbolic names to body parts; the right and left ears are personified as Pitṛhū and Devahū to show how hearing becomes a gateway either to worldly conditioning or to higher, sacred influence.
Guard what you hear: reduce degrading inputs and increase śravaṇa (hearing) of Bhagavatam and kīrtana, so the 'marketplace' of life becomes aligned with devotion rather than blind consumption.