SB 10.18.15 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.18.15

क्‍वचिच्च दर्दुरप्लावैर्विविधैरुपहासकै: । कदाचित् स्यन्दोलिकया कर्हिचिन्नृपचेष्टया ॥ १५ ॥

kvacic ca dardura-plāvair

[kvachich cha dardura-plaavair]

vividhair upahāsakaiḥ

[vividhair upahaasakaih]

kadācit syandolikayā

[kadaachit syandolikayaa]

karhicin nṛpa-ceṣṭayā

[karhichin nripa-cheshtayaa]

Word-for-word

kvacit — sometimes ca — and dardura — like frogs plāvaiḥ — with jumping vividhaiḥ — various upahāsakaiḥ — with jokes kadācit — sometimes syandolikayā — with riding in swings karhicit — and sometimes nṛpa - ceṣṭayā — with pretending to be kings .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

kvacic ca dardura-plāvair

kvacit

sometimes

and

dardura

like frogs

plāvaiḥ

with jumping

vividhair upahāsakaiḥ

vividhaiḥ

various

upahāsakaiḥ

with jokes

kadācit syandolikayā

kadācit

sometimes

syandolikayā

with riding in swings

karhicin nṛpa-ceṣṭayā

karhicit

and sometimes

nṛpa - ceṣṭayā

with pretending to be kings .

Important Words

dardura-plāvaiḥ — with frog-like jumping
Dardura (frog) + plāva (jumping). The verse names the lowest creature in the imitation-register first. Vraja's play does not snobbishly select; even frog-jumping is a līlā-mode.
upahāsakaiḥ — with jokes
Upahāsa — joke, jest, humorous mimicry. Gauḍīya rasa-śāstra catalogues hāsya as a rasa; in sakhya it is constant. Bhagavān laughs, and is laughed with.
syandolikayā — with riding in swings
Syandolikā — swing. The swing-līlā will return in the Hindola festival of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The boys swing here; the Divine Couple swings later. Sakhya rehearses what mādhurya will perform.
nṛpa-ceṣṭayā — with pretending to be kings
Nṛpa (king) + ceṣṭā (gesture, behaviour). The boys imitate kingship — and the actual king of all kings is among them, imitating one of the imitators. Recursive disguise is the chapter's signature.
vividhaiḥ — various
Vi+vidha — many-fold. The chapter's adjective of choice for play. Bhakti in Vraja is not univocal; it is multimodal, jokes-frogs-swings-kings, all named in a single breath.

They would sometimes jump around like frogs, sometimes play various jokes, sometimes ride in swings and sometimes imitate monarchs.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains the word nṛpa-ceṣṭayā as follows: In Vṛndāvana there was a particular place on the riverbank where people who wanted to cross the Yamunā would pay a small tax. At times the cowherd boys would assemble in this area and prevent the young girls of Vṛndāvana from crossing the river, insisting that they had to pay a customs duty first. Such activities were full of joking and laughter.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

They would sometimes jump around like frogs, sometimes play various jokes, sometimes ride in swings and sometimes imitate monarchs.

Commentary

From the third day of the waxing phase of sravana month they would play on swings (syandolika). Acting like kings and taking fees at the toll gate, they would obstruct the young girls with the intention of taking their hands.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Sometimes they would imitate various things and cause laughter (upahāsakaiḥ). Sometimes one of them would sit on a rock of Govardhana and pretend it was a throne and others would serve the king with cāmara, umbrella, flower pollen and other ingredients.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

They would cause laughter by imitating various things or assuming various forms which were famous or present among the people, with particular descriptive elements to define them.

Related values & verses

Related values

Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Brahmacharya (Self-discipline / Restraint)

Personal Guidance

They jump like frogs, play jokes, swing, and pretend to be kings collecting tolls from the gopīs at the river. Even mock-authority becomes play in Vṛndāvana — power itself is comic when held by lovers.

Reflection Questions

Where in my life do I hold authority too seriously when playful exercise of it would serve better?
What 'mock-toll' moment of teasing have I been too austere to enjoy?

Analogy

Jumping like frogs and pretending to be kings — Bhagavān's friends practise every register from amphibian to royal in one afternoon. The Lord seated within them experiences every grade of being as His own game.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io