Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 12
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
आपणो व्यवहारोऽत्र चित्रमन्धो बहूदनम् । पितृहूर्दक्षिण: कर्ण उत्तरो देवहू: स्मृत: ॥ १२ ॥
āpaṇo vyavahāro ’tra citram andho bahūdanam pitṛhūr dakṣiṇaḥ karṇa uttaro devahūḥ smṛtaḥ
アーパナという都は舌が言葉を交わす働きを表し、バフーダナは多様な食物を示す。右耳はピトリフーの門、左耳はデーヴァフーの門と記される。
FAQs
This verse portrays embodied life as a place of constant transactions—exchanging attention and energy for sense experiences—often without true spiritual vision, like a decorated but blind person.
In the allegory of the body as a city, Śukadeva assigns symbolic names to body parts; the right and left ears are personified as Pitṛhū and Devahū to show how hearing becomes a gateway either to worldly conditioning or to higher, sacred influence.
Guard what you hear: reduce degrading inputs and increase śravaṇa (hearing) of Bhagavatam and kīrtana, so the 'marketplace' of life becomes aligned with devotion rather than blind consumption.