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Shloka 20

Mucukunda’s Departure; Jarāsandha’s Pursuit; Prelude to Rukmiṇī’s Abduction

Rukmiṇī’s Message Begins

ब्रह्मन् कृष्णकथा: पुण्या माध्वीर्लोकमलापहा: । को नु तृप्येत श‍ृण्वान: श्रुतज्ञो नित्यनूतना: ॥ २० ॥

brahman kṛṣṇa-kathāḥ puṇyā mādhvīr loka-malāpahāḥ ko nu tṛpyeta śṛṇvānaḥ śruta-jño nitya-nūtanāḥ

O brāhmaṇa, the narrations of Kṛṣṇa are holy, honey-sweet, and they cleanse away the world’s impurity; what discerning listener could ever be satiated, since they are eternally fresh?

brahmanO brāhmaṇa (sage)
brahman:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootbrahman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)
kṛṣṇa-kathāḥtalks of Kṛṣṇa
kṛṣṇa-kathāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkṛṣṇa + kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: kṛṣṇasya kathāḥ (talks of Kṛṣṇa)
puṇyāḥmeritorious/purifying
puṇyāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpuṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
mādhvīḥhoney-sweet
mādhvīḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootmādhvī (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘sweet as honey’
loka-malāpahāḥremovers of the world’s defilement
loka-malāpahāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootloka + mala + apahā (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: lokasya malaṃ apahanti iti (removing the world’s impurity)
kaḥwho
kaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkim (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); interrogative pronoun
nuindeed/then
nu:
Nipāta (निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootnu (अव्यय)
FormParticle (नु; emphasis/interrogative)
tṛpyetawould be satisfied
tṛpyeta:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Roottṛp (धातु)
FormOptative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); ātmanepada
śṛṇvānaḥhearing
śṛṇvānaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeVerb
Rootśru (धातु)
FormPresent active participle (शतृ), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); ‘while hearing’
śruta-jñaḥlearned (in scripture)
śruta-jñaḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootśruta + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); karmadhāraya: śrutam jānāti (one who knows what is heard/learned)
nitya-nūtanāḥever-fresh
nitya-nūtanāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootnitya + nūtana (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with kathāḥ; karmadhāraya: always new
K
Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

This verse says Krishna-katha is sacred and honey-sweet, and that it removes the impurities of worldly life; therefore a truly learned listener never feels fully satisfied hearing it because it is always fresh.

In the flow of the Rukmiṇī–Kṛṣṇa narrative (Canto 10, Chapter 52), Śukadeva emphasizes that the Lord’s qualities and pastimes reveal new depths each time they are heard, so devotion increases rather than ends in satiation.

Make daily time for attentive hearing/reading of Bhagavatam or Krishna’s pastimes; the verse teaches that this practice steadily cleanses mental negativity and renews devotion because the subject is inexhaustibly uplifting.