Shloka 4
Yayāti’s Renunciation: The Allegory of the He-Goat and She-Goat
तस्या उद्धरणोपायं बस्त: कामी विचिन्तयन् । व्यधत्त तीर्थमुद्धृत्य विषाणाग्रेण रोधसी ॥ ४ ॥
tasyā uddharaṇopāyaṁ bastaḥ kāmī vicintayan vyadhatta tīrtham uddhṛtya viṣāṇāgreṇa rodhasī
તે બકરીને બહાર કાઢવાનો ઉપાય વિચારી કામાસક્ત બકરાએ પોતાના શિંગના અગ્રથી કૂવાના કિનારેની માટી ખોદી એવો ઢાળ બનાવ્યો કે તે સહેલાઈથી બહાર આવી ગઈ।
Attraction for woman is the impetus for economic development, housing and many other things meant for living comfortably in this material world. Digging up the earth to make a way out for the she-goat was a laborious task, but before accepting the she-goat, the he-goat underwent this labor. Aho gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti. The union between male and female provides the impetus for gaining a nice apartment, a good income, children and friends. Thus one becomes entangled in this material world.
FAQs
It describes a lust-driven he-goat creating an escape route for the she-goat by piercing the embankment with his horn—an episode used in this chapter’s narrative to illustrate how desire can drive action and shape one’s entanglement and temporary relief.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating this verse to King Parīkṣit as part of the broader account in Canto 9, Chapter 19.
Desire can make one ingenious and active, but solutions motivated by lust often remain temporary; the Bhagavatam encourages redirecting desire toward dharma and devotion to avoid repeated entanglement.