Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 25
Purañjana Goes Hunting — The Chariot of the Body, Violence of Passion, and Return to Conjugal Bondage
वक्त्रं न ते वितिलकं मलिनं विहर्षं संरम्भभीममविमृष्टमपेतरागम् । पश्ये स्तनावपि शुचोपहतौ सुजातौ बिम्बाधरं विगतकुङ्कुमपङ्करागम् ॥ २५ ॥
vaktraṁ na te vitilakaṁ malinaṁ viharṣaṁ saṁrambha-bhīmam avimṛṣṭam apeta-rāgam paśye stanāv api śucopahatau sujātau bimbādharaṁ vigata-kuṅkuma-paṅka-rāgam
Hỡi ái thê, cho đến hôm nay ta chưa từng thấy gương mặt nàng thiếu dấu tilaka; cũng chưa từng thấy nó u ám, buồn bã, đáng sợ vì giận dữ, không trang sức và không còn tình ân. Ta cũng chưa từng thấy đôi nhũ hoa đẹp của nàng ướt vì lệ, hay đôi môi đỏ như trái bimba mất đi sắc đỏ của kumkum.
Every woman looks very beautiful when decorated with tilaka and vermillion. A woman generally becomes very attractive when her lips are colored with reddish saffron or vermillion. But when one’s consciousness and intelligence are without any brilliant thoughts about Kṛṣṇa, they become morose and lusterless, so much so that one cannot derive any benefit despite sharp intelligence.
FAQs
This verse shows the queen’s beauty fading due to grief—illustrating how material attachment and emotional upheaval disturb the mind and body, a key theme of the Puranjana allegory about the conditioned soul.
He contrasts her former auspicious, joyful appearance with her present grief-stricken state to express the intensity of separation and the destabilizing power of lamentation within household attachment.
It reminds us that unchecked anger and sorrow quickly erode clarity and well-being; cultivating sāttvika habits, prayer, and remembrance of the Lord helps steady the heart during loss and stress.