FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.20.11

हरिता हरिभि: शष्पैरिन्द्रगोपैश्च लोहिता । उच्छिलीन्ध्रकृतच्छाया नृणां श्रीरिव भूरभूत् ॥ ११ ॥
haritā haribhiḥ śaṣpair
[haritaa haribhih shashpair]
indragopaiś ca lohitā
[indragopaish cha lohitaa]
ucchilīndhra-kṛta-cchāyā
[uchchileendhra-krita-chchaayaa]
nṛṇāṁ śrīr iva bhūr abhūt
[nrinaam shreer iva bhoor abhoot]
Word-for-word
haritāḥ — greenish haribhiḥ — which is green śaṣpaiḥ — because of the newly grown grass indragopaiḥ — because of the indragopa insects ca — and lohitā — reddish ucchilīndhra — by the mushrooms kṛta — afforded chāyā — shelter nṛṇām — of men śrīḥ — the opulence iva — just as bhūḥ — the earth abhūt — became .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
haritā haribhiḥ śaṣpair
haritāḥ
greenish
haribhiḥ
which is green
śaṣpaiḥ
because of the newly grown grass
indragopaiś ca lohitā
indragopaiḥ
because of the indragopa insects
ca
and
lohitā
reddish
ucchilīndhra-kṛta-cchāyā
ucchilīndhra
by the mushrooms
kṛta
afforded
chāyā
shelter
nṛṇāṁ śrīr iva bhūr abhūt
nṛṇām
of men
śrīḥ
the opulence
iva
just as
bhūḥ
the earth
abhūt
became .
Important Words
  • śrīḥ — wealth, splendour
    Śrī is also Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune. Gauḍīyas note: where Kṛṣṇa is, Lakṣmī follows naturally; where she is sought apart from Him, she becomes the brittle splendour of this verse.
  • haritāḥ — green
    Also a name for Viṣṇu (Hari) and His green-grass colour. The Bhāgavatam loves these resonances — even the field's green is a faint echo of Hari.
  • indragopaiḥ — by the indragopa-insects
    Indra-gopa — literally 'Indra's cowherd' or 'Indra's hidden one' — a tiny red velvet-mite of the rains. The name is a small joke in itself: even Indra's cowherd is overshadowed when the real gopa, Kṛṣṇa, is present in Vraja.
  • chāyā — shade, shadow
    The little white mushrooms make 'shade' — chāyā. The same word names Kṛṣṇa's protective shadow over His devotees (cf. śaraṇāgati's anga 'rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāsaḥ'). The earth's chāyā is fleeting; His is eternal.
  • ucchilīndhra — white mushrooms
    Ucchilīndhra — sprouting mushrooms. A surprising element in the simile: the wealth has a comic underside. Gauḍīyas use such poet-touches to remind us that material śrī is partly absurd.
The newly grown grass made the earth emerald green, the indragopa insects added a reddish hue, and white mushrooms added further color and circles of shade. Thus the earth appeared like a person who has suddenly become rich.
Purport

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī comments that the word nṛṇām indicates men of the royal order. Thus the colorful display of dark green fields decorated with bright red insects and white mushroom umbrellas can be compared to a royal parade displaying the military strength of a king.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The newly grown grass made the earth emerald green, the indragopa insects added a reddish hue, and white mushrooms added further color and circles of shade. Thus the earth appeared like a person who has suddenly become rich.
Commentary

The earth appeared green from the fresh sprouts of green (haribhi) grass (saspaih). In some places it appeared reddish because of the small red insects. The white mushrooms were like umbrellas. The earth then appeared like the wealth of a king displayed as his troops dressed in various colors with parasols. This is a positive comparison.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The indragopa insect is known as indracūḍa in Vṛndāvana. The combination of colors was like the colorful tent of a king.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The earth became red from the abundance of indragopa insects that appear in Vṛndāvana with the first rains. The earth green with grass was like the wealth and property of rulers made colorful with cloth and ornaments.

Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 15.9 BG 9.1 BG 4.8 BG 10.1 BG 18.64 BG 15.7 BG 2.62 BG 3.11 BG 10.4 BG 12.3 BG 15.2 SB 4.29.2 BG 2.21 BG 16.1 BG 9.11 BG 3.30 BG 7.1 BG 2.66
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Earth becomes emerald with grass, red with indragopa insects, dotted white with mushrooms — like a person who has suddenly become rich. Sudden beauty has its own dazzle, but it is layered, not unitary.
Reflection Questions
  • Which layers of my present 'wealth' have I been ignoring while focusing on one color?
  • Where could I notice the colorful particulars of an abundance I have flattened?
Analogy

The rain-soaked earth wears emerald grass, red indragopa-insects and white-mushroom umbrellas — three colours at once, like a man suddenly rich and walking out in fresh clothes. The Bhāgavatam smiles at the comparison; it is not flattering to the nouveau-riche. The earth's ornamentation is honest, given by Bhagavān; the man's is borrowed and brittle.

Stories
Sudāmā's broken rice and the real wealth

When Sudāmā Vipra came to Dvārakā with a knotted cloth of broken rice, Kṛṣṇa ate the offering, and Sudāmā's home was transformed into mansions by the time he returned (SB 10.80–81). The wealth was real, but its source was bhakti, not contrivance.

Gauḍīyas read this as the corrective to SB 10.20.11. The verse warns about ornamentation that is borrowed and thin; Sudāmā's wealth is given. The earth's monsoon-richness is in Sudāmā's category, not the upstart's.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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