Shloka 10
Varṣā-Śarad Vṛndāvana-Śobha: The Beauty of the Rainy and Autumn Seasons in Vraja
आसन्नुत्पथगामिन्य: क्षुद्रनद्योऽनुशुष्यती: । पुंसो यथास्वतन्त्रस्य देहद्रविणसम्पद: ॥ १० ॥
āsann utpatha-gāminyaḥ kṣudra-nadyo ’nuśuṣyatīḥ puṁso yathāsvatantrasya deha-draviṇa-sampadaḥ
With the coming of the rains, the small streams that had dried up swelled and strayed from their proper courses. Similarly, the body, property, and money of a man ruled by the senses lose restraint and deviate from the right path.
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “During the rainy season, many small ponds, lakes and rivulets become filled with water; otherwise the rest of the year they remain dry. Similarly, materialistic persons are dry, but sometimes, when they are in a so-called opulent position, with a home or children or a little bank balance, they appear to be flourishing, but immediately afterwards they become dry again, like the small rivulets and ponds. The poet Vidyāpati said that in the society of friends, family, children, wife, etc., there is certainly some pleasure, but that pleasure is compared to a drop of water in the desert. Everyone is hankering after happiness, just as in the desert everyone is hankering after water. If in the desert there is a drop of water, it may of course be said that the water is there, but the benefit from that drop of water is very insignificant. In our materialistic way of life, which is just like a desert, we are hankering after an ocean of happiness, but in the form of society, friends and mundane love we are getting no more than a drop of water. Our satisfaction is never achieved, as the small rivulets, lakes and ponds are never filled with water in the dry season.”
FAQs
This verse teaches that when a person becomes unrestrained and follows improper paths, their bodily vitality and material assets naturally diminish—like small rivers drying up when misdirected.
While narrating the seasonal pastimes around Vṛndāvana, Śukadeva uses natural phenomena as spiritual analogies to instruct Parīkṣit Mahārāja on dharma and inner discipline.
Avoid “wrong channels” such as addictive habits and impulsive decisions; cultivate regulated living and devotion so that health, resources, and clarity are preserved and used in service to God.