Shloka 18
Nārada Instructs Prācīnabarhiṣat: The Purañjana Narrative Begins
City of Nine Gates
हिमनिर्झरविप्रुष्मत्कुसुमाकरवायुना । चलत्प्रवालविटपनलिनीतटसम्पदि ॥ १८ ॥
hima-nirjhara-vipruṣmat- kusumākara-vāyunā calat-pravāla-viṭapa- nalinī-taṭa-sampadi
Spray from waterfalls descending the icy mountain was borne by the spring breeze and sprinkled the branches of trees along the lake’s bank. Coral-red tender shoots swayed, and the lotus-lined shore grew ever more splendid.
In this verse the word hima-nirjhara is particularly significant. The waterfall represents a kind of liquid humor or rasa (relationship). In the body there are different types of humor, rasa or mellow. The supreme mellow (relationship) is called the sexual mellow ( ādi-rasa ). When this ādi-rasa, or sex desire, comes in contact with the spring air moved by Cupid, it becomes agitated. In other words, all these are representations of rūpa, rasa, gandha, śabda and sparśa. The wind is sparśa, or touch; the waterfall is rasa, or taste; the spring air ( kusumākara ) is smell. All these varieties of enjoyment make life very pleasing, and thus we become captivated by material existence.
FAQs
This verse paints an enchanting natural scene—cool waterfalls, fragrant breezes, lotus banks—illustrating how the material world captivates the mind through beauty and sense-pleasure, drawing the conditioned soul deeper into enjoyment.
In the allegory of Purañjana, the attractive landscape sets the mood of temptation and comfort, showing how the living being becomes charmed by sensory surroundings and thus chooses continued residence in material life.
It teaches mindful detachment: recognize how pleasant environments and sensory comforts can capture attention, and consciously redirect the mind toward sādhana—hearing, chanting, and remembrance of the Lord—so beauty becomes appreciated without bondage.