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
Certa vez, aquela cortesã, desejando conduzir um amante à sua casa, ficou à noite à porta exterior, ostentando sua forma belíssima.
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.