FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.9

केचित् पुष्पैर्दलै: केचित्पल्लवैरङ्कुरै: फलै: । शिग्भिस्त्वग्भिर्द‍ृषद्भ‍िश्च बुभुजु: कृतभाजना: ॥ ९ ॥
kecit puṣpair dalaiḥ kecit
[kechit pushpair dalaih kechit]
pallavair aṅkuraiḥ phalaiḥ
[pallavair ankuraih phalaih]
śigbhis tvagbhir dṛṣadbhiś ca
[shigbhis tvagbhir drishadbhish cha]
bubhujuḥ kṛta-bhājanāḥ
[bubhujuh krita-bhaajanaah]
Word-for-word
kecit — someone puṣpaiḥ — by flowers dalaiḥ — by nice leaves of flowers kecit — someone pallavaiḥ — on the surface of bunches of leaves aṅkuraiḥ — on the sprouts of flowers phalaiḥ — and some on fruits śigbhiḥ — some actually in the basket or packet tvagbhiḥ — by the bark of trees dṛṣadbhiḥ — on rocks ca — and bubhujuḥ — enjoyed kṛta - bhājanāḥ — as if they had made their plates for eating .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kecit puṣpair dalaiḥ kecit
kecit
someone
puṣpaiḥ
by flowers
dalaiḥ
by nice leaves of flowers
kecit
someone
pallavair aṅkuraiḥ phalaiḥ
pallavaiḥ
on the surface of bunches of leaves
aṅkuraiḥ
on the sprouts of flowers
phalaiḥ
and some on fruits
śigbhis tvagbhir dṛṣadbhiś ca
śigbhiḥ
some actually in the basket or packet
tvagbhiḥ
by the bark of trees
dṛṣadbhiḥ
on rocks
ca
and
bubhujuḥ kṛta-bhājanāḥ
bubhujuḥ
enjoyed
kṛta - bhājanāḥ
as if they had made their plates for eating .
Important Words
  • puṣpaiḥ — with flowers
    Instrumental of puṣpa. Flowers as plates — Vraja's vegetation is participatory, not merely scenic. Every leaf, every petal is at the Lord's service. The same flowers later become garlands at His neck.
  • pallavaiḥ — with bunches of leaves
    Pallava — the fresh, tender sprouting leaf. A Gauḍīya devotional word: tender new leaves figure constantly in Vraja-līlā descriptions, including Rūpa Gosvāmī's verse-imagery.
  • tvagbhiḥ — with bark
    Instrumental of tvac (bark, skin). Even tree-bark serves as a plate. Vraja's poverty-of-paraphernalia is its richness — the kingdom of God needs no porcelain.
  • dṛṣadbhiḥ — on rocks
    Instrumental plural of dṛṣad (rock, stone slab). The flat stones of the riverbank become tables. Gauḍīyas treasure such words because the very stones of Vraja are part of the līlā — Govardhana itself is one such stone, scaled up.
  • kṛta-bhājanāḥ — as if they had made their plates
    Compound: kṛta (made) + bhājana (plate, vessel — same root as bhakta). The boys 'made plates' out of whatever was at hand. Gauḍīyas hear the wordplay: bhakta and bhājana share √bhaj — the devotee is himself the vessel that holds the Lord's food.
Among the cowherd boys, some placed their lunch on flowers, some on leaves, fruits, or bunches of leaves, some actually in their baskets, some on the bark of trees and some on rocks. This is what the children imagined to be their plates as they ate their lunch.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Among the cowherd boys, some placed their lunch on flowers, some on leaves, fruits, or bunches of leaves, some actually in their baskets, some on the bark of trees and some on rocks. This is what the children imagined to be their plates as they ate their lunch.
Commentary

For fun, each boy made his plate out of a different material, such as flowers, or leaves.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Kecit should be repeated with each item. Or, some made all types of plates. Thus there were a variety of plates. This was done because each boy desired to manufacture remarkable things. Or, they made a variety of plates suitable for different foods like rice and chappatis.

Related values & verses
Concepts
ChitJiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Each boy improvises a plate from flowers, leaves, fruits, baskets, bark, or rock. Devotional life does not require uniform conditions — it works with whatever is at hand.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'plate' do I have at hand that I keep refusing to use because it isn't the ideal setup?
  • Where am I postponing service until conditions are right that may never come?
Analogy

Children at a picnic turn whatever they find — leaves, bark, flat stones — into plates, and the meal becomes more delightful for the improvisation. The boys' inventiveness with Vraja's leaf and bark is the natural shape of sakhya: nothing is too humble to serve as Kṛṣṇa's table.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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