Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 18
The Kingdom of God (Vaikuṇṭha) and the Curse of Jaya and Vijaya
पारावतान्यभृतसारसचक्रवाक- दात्यूहहंसशुकतित्तिरिबर्हिणां य: । कोलाहलो विरमतेऽचिरमात्रमुच्चै र्भृङ्गाधिपे हरिकथामिव गायमाने ॥ १८ ॥
pārāvatānyabhṛta-sārasa-cakravāka- dātyūha-haṁsa-śuka-tittiri-barhiṇāṁ yaḥ kolāhalo viramate ’cira-mātram uccair bhṛṅgādhipe hari-kathām iva gāyamāne
തേനീച്ചകളുടെ രാജാവ് ഉയർന്ന സ്വരത്തിൽ ഹരികഥപോലെ ഭഗവാന്റെ മഹിമ മുഴക്കുമ്പോൾ, പ്രാവ്, കുയിൽ, സാരസ്, ചക്രവാകം, ഹംസം, തത്ത, തിത്തിരി, മയിൽ എന്നിവയുടെ കൂകൽ കുറച്ചുനേരം നിശ്ശബ്ദമാകുന്നു. ആ ദിവ്യ പക്ഷികൾ ഹരിഗുണം കേൾക്കാൻ സ്വന്തം പാട്ട് നിർത്തുന്നു.
This verse reveals the absolute nature of Vaikuṇṭha. There is no difference between the birds there and the human residents. The situation in the spiritual sky is that everything is spiritual and variegated. Spiritual variegatedness means that everything is animate. There is nothing inanimate. Even the trees, the ground, the plants, the flowers, the birds and the beasts are all on the level of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The special feature of Vaikuṇṭhaloka is that there is no question of sense gratification, In the material world even an ass enjoys his sound vibration, but in the Vaikuṇṭhas such nice birds as the peacock, the cakravāka and the cuckoo prefer to hear the vibration of the glories of the Lord from the bees. The principles of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting, are very prominent in the Vaikuṇṭha world.
FAQs
This verse depicts even the loudest natural sounds becoming subdued when the chief bee ‘sings’ like Hari-katha, illustrating that divine narration is the highest, harmonizing sound that eclipses ordinary noise.
Śukadeva describes Vaikuṇṭha as a realm where every aspect of nature supports devotion—creatures and their sounds seem to participate in glorifying Hari, unlike material nature which distracts the mind.
Make Hari-katha primary—daily śravaṇam (hearing) and kīrtanam (chanting). As devotion becomes central, distracting ‘noise’ naturally loses its hold on the mind.