FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.10.20

अन्योन्यमासीत्सञ्जल्प उत्तमश्लोकचेतसाम् । कौरवेन्द्रपुरस्त्रीणां सर्वश्रुतिमनोहर: ॥ २० ॥
anyonyam āsīt sañjalpa
[anyonyam aaseet sanjalpa]
uttama-śloka-cetasām
[uttama-shloka-chetasaam]
kauravendra-pura-strīṇāṁ
[kauravendra-pura-streenaam]
sarva-śruti-mano-haraḥ
[sarva-shruti-mano-harah]
anyonyam — among each other āsīt — there was sañjalpaḥ — talking uttama-śloka — the Supreme, who is praised by selected poetry cetasām — of those whose hearts are absorbed in that way kaurava-indra — the king of the Kurus pura — capital strīṇām — all the ladies sarva — all śruti — the Vedas manaḥ-haraḥ — attractive to the mind.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
anyonyam āsīt sañjalpa
anyonyam
among each other
āsīt
there was
sañjalpaḥ
talking
uttama-śloka-cetasām
uttama-śloka
the Supreme, who is praised by selected poetry
cetasām
of those whose hearts are absorbed in that way
kauravendra-pura-strīṇāṁ
kaurava-indra
the king of the Kurus
pura
capital
strīṇām
all the ladies
sarva-śruti-mano-haraḥ
sarva
all
śruti
the Vedas
manaḥ-haraḥ
attractive to the mind.
Absorbed in the thought of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is sung in select poetry, the ladies on the roofs of all the houses of Hastināpura began to talk of Him. This talk was more attractive than the hymns of the Vedas.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that in all the Vedic literatures the goal is the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Factually the glories of the Lord are depicted in such literature as the Vedas, Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata. And in the Bhāgavatam they are specifically mentioned in respect to the Supreme Lord. Therefore, while the ladies on the tops of the houses in the capital of the kings of the Kuru dynasty were talking about the Lord, their talk was more pleasing than the Vedic hymns. Anything sung in the praise of the Lord is śruti-mantra. There are songs of Ṭhākura Narottama dāsa, one of the ācāryas in the Gauḍīya sampradāya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Ṭhākura Viśvanātha Cakravartī, another very learned ācārya of the same sampradāya, has approved the songs by Ṭhākura Narottama dāsa to be as good as Vedic mantras. And this is so because of the subject matter. The language is immaterial, but the subject matter is important. The ladies, who were all absorbed in the thought and actions of the Lord, developed the consciousness of Vedic wisdom by the grace of the Lord. And therefore although such ladies might not have been very learned scholars in Sanskrit or otherwise, still whatever they spoke was more attractive than the Vedic hymns. The Vedic hymns in the Upaniṣads are sometimes indirectly directed to the Supreme Lord. But the talks of the ladies were directly spoken of the Lord, and thus they were more pleasing to the heart. The ladies’ talks appeared to be more valuable than the learned brāhmaṇas ’ benedictions.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The Kuru women, fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, conversed about him with words attractive to all ears and minds.
Commentary

Their conversation was attractive to all ears and minds (sarva-śruti-mano-haraḥ). Another meaning is “their conversation was attractive to all the śruti scriptures.” Since their words were the embodiment of the Upaniṣads, the śrutis were happy with the conversation.

Absorbed in the Lord's qualities, the ladies on rooftops talked about Him — talk more attractive than Vedic hymns. Loving conversation about the Lord outshines even formal recitation. Talk is worship.
Reflection Questions
  • When did I last spend a long conversation simply enjoying the Lord's qualities?
  • Where could ordinary talk become extraordinary by topic?
📝 My note

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