Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.4
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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gaṅgāyām
—
in the Ganges (Mandākinī)
Locative of Gaṅgā. In Gauḍīya understanding, Gaṅgā is liquid form of Viṣṇu's grace — flowing from His lotus toe. To bathe in her without remembrance of Bhagavān is to handle the medicine without taking the dose.
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praviśya
—
entering
Absolutive from pra-√viś. The same verb is used when Vaiṣṇavas 'enter' a holy place with reverence — here the action is identical, the mood inverted. Bhakti is mood, not motion.
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ambhoja
—
of lotus flowers
From ambhas (water) + ja (born). The lotus is Kṛṣṇa's emblem — His feet, His eyes, His navel are all ambhoja. That these two are surrounded by lotuses and miss the cue is the chapter's quiet indictment.
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cikrīḍatuḥ
—
the two of them used to enjoy
Imperfect dual from √krīḍ, 'to sport.' The same root yields līlā when applied to Kṛṣṇa. Here, krīḍā divorced from līlā becomes mere indriya-prīti — the contrast is one consonant cluster wide.
People generally go to the Ganges to be purified of the effects of sinful life, but here is an example of how foolish persons enter the Ganges to become involved in sinful life. It is not that everyone becomes purified by entering the Ganges. Everything, spiritual and material, depends on one’s mental condition.
They began to enjoy in the Ganga. How? They entered into the Ganga decorated with clumps of lotuses, and began to play with the young women as an intoxicated elephant sports with she elephants.
After entering into the Gaṅgā they played there, where there were groups of lotus flowers.
Because they were drunk, they played in the water. An example is given. They enjoyed like two male elephants with female elephants. They entered the water shining with a forest of lotuses (ṛajinī).
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- Before opening any sacred text, japa-mālā, or stepping into a holy place today, pause and audit the mood you are bringing — viṣaya or service to Kṛṣṇa.
- Notice one 'spiritual' setting (temple, kīrtana, retreat) where you have quietly been hunting for sense-pleasure or status, and re-enter it tomorrow with a single offering to Kṛṣṇa.
- Refuse the assumption that mere proximity to holy things purifies you — today, ask one devotee senior to you what mental disposition your sādhana actually requires.
Two elephants step into the Gaṅgā, but only to splash their consorts in the lotus beds — the same river that washes the surrendered devotee of lifetimes of sin becomes, for them, just another pool for sport. The water is unchanged; the bhāva makes it tīrtha or swimming-bath.
Bhagīratha performed austerities for generations to bring the Gaṅgā down so the ashes of his ancestors could be purified. He approached her as a daughter of Viṣṇu's feet and walked before her as a humble guide.
Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva enter the same river with the opposite mood — not to be purified, but to display themselves. The contrast Śuka draws is exact: the Gaṅgā discriminates by the heart of the bather, not by the body that enters.
My note
Source: vedabase.io