Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 23
Avadhūta’s Teachers: Python, Ocean, Moth, Bee, Elephant, Deer, Fish—and Piṅgalā’s Song of Detachment
सा स्वैरिण्येकदा कान्तं सङ्केत उपनेष्यती । अभूत् काले बहिर्द्वारे बिभ्रती रूपमुत्तमम् ॥ २३ ॥
sā svairiṇy ekadā kāntaṁ saṅketa upaneṣyatī abhūt kāle bahir dvāre bibhratī rūpam uttamam
Un jour, cette courtisane, désirant faire entrer un amant chez elle, se tint la nuit au seuil extérieur, déployant sa beauté exquise.
FAQs
This verse begins the courtesan’s episode (often identified as Pingalā), showing how attraction and expectation centered on a lover leads to agitation; the narrative will turn that frustration into renunciation and God-centered hope.
Śukadeva recounts the Avadhūta’s real-life “gurus,” where even an ordinary worldly person can teach spiritual truth—here, the courtesan’s longing becomes a lesson in vairāgya (detachment) and redirecting desire toward the Supreme.
Notice how the mind becomes restless through expectation of another person’s attention; reduce dependence on external validation and redirect longing into steady sādhana—chanting, prayer, and disciplined sense-control.