Shloka 49
Varṣā-Śarad Vṛndāvana-Śobha: The Beauty of the Rainy and Autumn Seasons in Vraja
वणिङ्मुनिनृपस्नाता निर्गम्यार्थान् प्रपेदिरे । वर्षरुद्धा यथा सिद्धा: स्वपिण्डान् काल आगते ॥ ४९ ॥
vaṇiṅ-muni-nṛpa-snātā nirgamyārthān prapedire varṣa-ruddhā yathā siddhāḥ sva-piṇḍān kāla āgate
The merchants, sages, kings, and brahmacārī students, kept in by the rains, were at last able to go out and attain their desired aims—just as perfected souls, when the proper time arrives, leave the material body and reach their respective forms.
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments, “In Vṛndāvana the autumn season was very beautiful then because of the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. The mercantile community, the royal order and great sages were free to move to achieve their desired benedictions. Similarly, the transcendentalists, when freed from the encagement of the material body, also achieved their desired goal. During the rainy season, the mercantile community cannot move from one place to another and so do not get their desired profit. Nor can the royal order go from one place to another to collect taxes from the people. As for saintly persons, who must travel to preach transcendental knowledge, they also are restrained by the rainy season. But during the autumn, all of them leave their confines. In the case of the transcendentalist, be he a jñānī, a yogī or a devotee, because of the material body he cannot actually enjoy spiritual achievement. But as soon as he gives up the body, or after death, the jñānī merges into the spiritual effulgence of the Supreme Lord, the yogī transfers himself to the various higher planets, and the devotee goes to the planet of the Supreme Lord, Goloka Vṛndāvana or one of the Vaikuṇṭhas, and thus enjoys his eternal spiritual life.”
FAQs
This verse compares the end of the rainy season—when people resume their journeys—to perfected souls who, when the destined time arrives, can give up the body without confusion or fear.
He uses common social movements after the monsoon as a natural metaphor, showing how worldly life follows seasons while also pointing to a higher truth: the self-realized are not bound by circumstances and depart the body consciously at the proper time.
Don’t remain stuck when obstacles pass—resume your dharma and spiritual practice; and cultivate detachment so that life’s transitions, including death, are faced with preparedness and clarity.