Shloka 122
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
पुत्रस्नेहात् परिष्वज्य मूर्थ्नि चाप्राय माधव । कुतः क्षीरोदनं वत्स मुनीनां भावितात्मनाम्
putrasnehāt pariṣvajya mūrdhni cāprāya mādhava | kutaḥ kṣīrodanaṃ vatsa munīnāṃ bhāvitātmanām ||
Vāsudeva said: “Out of affection for a son, having embraced you and kissed you upon the head, O Mādhava, she said: ‘My child, how could there be milk-and-rice for sages whose selves are disciplined and perfected?’”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts natural affection (embracing and kissing out of parental love) with the disciplined lifestyle of realized sages. It implies that while tenderness may arise from love, indulgent comforts—symbolized by milk-rice—do not suit those who have cultivated self-mastery and austerity.
Vāsudeva addresses Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) in an intimate, affectionate manner—embracing and kissing him—then rhetorically questions the appropriateness of providing soft, indulgent food like milk-rice for munis who are bhāvitātmānaḥ, i.e., spiritually disciplined ascetics.