SB 10.15.25 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.15.25

विद्यन्तेऽभुक्तपूर्वाणि फलानि सुरभीणि च । एष वै सुरभिर्गन्धो विषूचीनोऽवगृह्यते ॥ २५ ॥

vidyante ’bhukta-pūrvāṇi

[vidyante ’bhukta-poorvaani]

phalāni surabhīṇi ca

[phalaani surabheeni cha]

eṣa vai surabhir gandho

[esha vai surabhir gandho]

viṣūcīno ’vagṛhyate

[vishoocheeno ’vagrihyate]

Word-for-word

vidyante — are present abhukta - pūrvāṇi — never before tasted phalāni — fruits surabhīṇi — fragrant ca — and eṣaḥ — this vai — indeed surabhiḥ — fragrant gandhaḥ — aroma viṣūcīnaḥ — spreading everywhere avagṛhyate — is perceived .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

vidyante ’bhukta-pūrvāṇi

vidyante

are present

phalāni surabhīṇi ca

abhukta - pūrvāṇi

never before tasted

phalāni

fruits

eṣa vai surabhir gandho

surabhīṇi

fragrant

and

eṣaḥ

this

viṣūcīno ’vagṛhyate

vai

indeed

surabhiḥ

fragrant

gandhaḥ

aroma

viṣūcīnaḥ

spreading everywhere

avagṛhyate

is perceived .

Important Words

abhukta-pūrvāṇi — never before tasted
a- (not) + bhukta (eaten) + pūrva (previously). Plural. Gauḍīya: like a-pūrva-rasa, never-before tastes. The Vraja boys eat what no one has ever eaten — like the Six Gosvāmīs receiving teachings on rasa that no one had ever heard.
surabhīṇi — fragrant
Plural of surabhi (fragrant; also the name of the wish-fulfilling cow). Gauḍīya: surabhi-fragrance in Vraja is doubly loaded — surabhi-gandha can refer simultaneously to the surabhi-cow's scent and to general fragrance. Vraja's vocabulary is layered.
gandhaḥ — aroma
Smell, aroma. Gauḍīya: gandha is one of the five tan-mātras; in Vraja each tan-mātra is heightened — fragrance carries further, sweetness tastes deeper, sight registers more. Vraja sensorium is amplified.
viṣūcīnaḥ — spreading everywhere
Spreading in all directions. Gauḍīya: like Kṛṣṇa's yaśas itself, which spreads viṣūcīna — in all directions — through Vṛndāvana. The fragrance is a kīrtana of the fruit's existence.
avagṛhyate — is perceived
Passive of ava + √grah — to seize, perceive. The fragrance is grasped by the nose. Gauḍīya: in Vraja, the senses are the first organs of bhakti; the gross body is not opposed to bhakti — it participates.

In the Tāla forest are sweet-smelling fruits no one has ever tasted. Indeed, even now we can smell the fragrance of the tāla fruits spreading all about.

Purport

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the sweet fragrance of the tāla fruits was carried by an easterly wind, which is conducive to rain in the Vṛndāvana area. This easterly wind generally blows in the month of Bhādra and thus indicates the excellent ripeness of the fruits, while the fact that the boys could smell them indicates the nearness of the Tāla forest.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

In the Tāla forest are sweet-smelling fruits no one has ever tasted. Indeed, even now we can smell the fragrance of the tāla fruits spreading all about.

Commentary

"In which direction is this forest?" This verse answers: "The fragrance from the forest is carried by the eastern winds of bhadra month. The forest is east from here."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

The word ca indicates that the fruits are sweet. Though the fruit have never been eaten, just by smelling the fragrance their sweetness can be known. The word vai indicates certainty. The sweet fragrance is experienced everywhere, for generally in that area the east wind favorable for rain blows in Bhādra month. The fragrance indicates the excellence and nearness of the fruit. Thinking that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma did not know, they inform them. When the two boys question the others about the demon, they show ignorance of Dhenuka as a joke.

Related values & verses

Related values

Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)

Related lectures

Vaisesika Pr SB 10-15-25 - Replacing Material Energy to Spiritual Energy - 2013-02-07 ISKCON Chowpatty
His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu· 2013-02-07· English

Personal Guidance

The fragrance of unprecedented tāla fruits drifts on the eastern wind. Sometimes the very nearness of a forbidden good is the prompt to action — smell of fruit means harvest is possible.

Reflection Questions

What 'fragrance' of unattainable good am I already smelling and dismissing as out of reach?
What if the smell itself is the Lord's signal that the harvest can happen?

Analogy

A forbidden fruit's scent reaches the children before any sight of it. The cowherd boys' nostrils are full of tāla-fragrance — never tasted, never even reached. They report sensation as evidence: this fruit exists, it is sweet, we can smell it from here. Vraja-bhakti often begins this way — fragrance precedes meeting, longing precedes union.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io