Shloka 13

Uddhava Meets the Gopīs: Bhramara-gītā and Kṛṣṇa’s Message of Separation

Devanagari script

सकृदधरसुधां स्वां मोहिनीं पाययित्वा सुमनस इव सद्यस्तत्यजेऽस्मान् भवाद‍ृक् । परिचरति कथं तत्पादपद्मं नु पद्मा ह्यपि बत हृतचेता ह्युत्तम:श्लोकजल्पै: ॥ १३ ॥

Transliteration

sakṛd adhara-sudhāṁ svāṁ mohinīṁ pāyayitvā sumanasa iva sadyas tatyaje ’smān bhavādṛk paricarati kathaṁ tat-pāda-padmaṁ nu padmā hy api bata hṛta-cetā hy uttamaḥ-śloka-jalpaiḥ

Translation

Дав нам лишь однажды испить чарующий нектар Своих губ, Он (Кришна) внезапно оставил нас — как ты быстро покидаешь цветы. Тогда как же Падма (Лакшми) служит Его лотосным стопам? Увы! Несомненно, её сердце похищено обольстительными речами Уттамашлоки.

Synonyms

• sakṛt: once
• sakṛt: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sakṛt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• adhara-sudhām: the nectar of (his) lips
• adhara-sudhām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhara (प्रातिपदिक) + sudhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः: ‘अधरस्य सुधा’ (lip-nectar); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• svām: his own
• svām: Visheshana (विशेषण of सुधाम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (सुधाम् इति विशेषणम्)

• mohinīm: bewitching
• mohinīm: Visheshana (विशेषण of सुधाम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mohinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (सुधाम् इति विशेषणम्)

• pāyayitvā: having made (us) drink
• pāyayitvā: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √pā (धातु) णिच् + क्त्वा/अव्ययकृदन्त
• Form: णिच् (causative) + क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘पाययित्वा’

• sumanasaḥ: good-minded people
• sumanasaḥ: Upamana (उपमान/standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sumanas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• iva: as if/like
• iva: Upama (उपमा/marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (upamā-vācaka particle)

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• tatyaje: he abandoned
• tatyaje: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• asmān: us
• asmān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• bhavādṛk: one like you
• bhavādṛk: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधनार्थे—contextual)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + īdṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः: ‘भवान् ईदृक्’ (one like you); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• paricarati: serves/attends
• paricarati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√car (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• tat-pāda-padmam: his lotus feet
• tat-pāda-padmam: Karma (कर्म/Object of परिचरति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + padma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः: ‘तस्य पाद-पद्मम्’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• nu: indeed/then?
• nu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (interrogative/emphatic particle)

• padmā: Padmā (Lakṣmī)
• padmā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padmā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphatic)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: ‘also/even’)

• bata: alas/indeed!
• bata: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bata (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (exclamatory particle)

• hṛta-cetāḥ: whose mind is stolen (captivated)
• hṛta-cetāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण of पद्मा)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hṛta (√hṛ धातु, क्त/कृदन्त) + cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिः: ‘यस्य चेतः हृतम्’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (पद्मा इति विशेषणम्)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphatic)

• uttamaḥ-śloka-jalpaiḥ: by (his) words about Uttamaḥśloka / by the talk of the Lord
• uttamaḥ-śloka-jalpaiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument—cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttamaḥ-śloka (प्रातिपदिक; epithet of Bhagavān) + jalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः: ‘उत्तमश्लोकस्य जल्पाः’ (talk/words about Uttamaḥśloka); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

Purport

In this verse Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī continues to compare Śrī Kṛṣṇa to the bumblebee, and in Her distress She states that the reason the goddess of fortune is constantly devoted to His lotus feet must be that she has been fooled by Kṛṣṇa’s promises. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, this statement of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s illustrates parijalpa, as described in Śrī Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (14.184):

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Uttamaḥśloka)
• Lakṣmī (Padmā)
• Gopīs of Vraja

FAQs

What is the meaning of Bhramara-gītā in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10?

In Bhramara-gītā, the gopīs—through Rādhā’s intense speech to a bee—reveal the highest devotion in separation (viraha), where love for Kṛṣṇa becomes so powerful that even complaint and sarcasm are expressions of pure bhakti.

Why do the gopīs say Kṛṣṇa abandoned them after giving the nectar of His lips?

They speak from the pain of separation, remembering Kṛṣṇa’s intimate affection in Vraja and feeling that He left them for Mathurā; their words are not ordinary criticism but the emotional language of exalted love (prema) mixed with jealous devotion.

How can this verse be applied in modern spiritual life?

It teaches steadiness in devotion even when God feels distant—transforming longing, disappointment, and intense emotion into remembrance, prayer, and hearing/chanting about the Lord (Uttamaḥśloka-jalpa).