Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.20.7
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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tapaḥ-kṛśā
—
emaciated by austerity
Compound: tapas (heat, austerity) + kṛśa (thin). The earth was 'thinned by the heat'; the verse pivots tapas between physical heat and ascetic discipline. Gauḍīyas note: tapas without bhakti merely thins the body.
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kāmya-tapasaḥ
—
of austerity undergone for a material purpose
Kāmya = motivated by personal desire. The Bhāgavatam's standing concern: even saintly-looking austerity, when kāmya, only purchases body-restoration. Gauḍīyas oppose this with nirhetukī bhakti — causeless, motiveless service.
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deva-mīḍhā
—
satisfied by the god (Indra) with his shower
Compound: deva (god) + mīḍha (sprinkled). Mīḍha is from √mih (to sprinkle, to urinate) — a frank Vedic image of fertilization. The earth is impregnated by Indra's water; in Gauḍīya theology, the jīva is fertilized by Kṛṣṇa's grace.
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varṣīyasī
—
fully nourished, abundant
Comparative of vṛddha — 'more grown.' Material plenty looks like growth; Gauḍīyas note that real vṛddhi is bhakti-vṛddhi (cf. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu's stages of growth).
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phalam
—
fruit
Phala is the standing word for any result of action. Bhakti is unique in that its phala is identical with its method (cf. BG 9.2 — su-sukhaṁ kartum). All other tapas yields a phala distinct from itself.
In Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse as follows: “Before the rainfall, the whole surface of the globe becomes almost depleted of all kinds of energies and appears very lean. After the rainfall, the whole surface of the earth becomes green with vegetation and appears very healthy and strong. Here a comparison is made to the person undergoing austerities for fulfillment of a material desire. The flourishing condition of the earth after a rainy season is compared to the fulfillment of material desires. Sometimes, when a country is subjugated by an undesirable government, persons and parties undergo severe penances and austerities to get control of the government, and when they attain control they flourish by giving themselves generous salaries. This also is like the flourishing of the earth in the rainy season. Actually, one should undergo severe austerities and penances only to achieve spiritual happiness. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is recommended that tapasya, or austerity, should be accepted for realizing the Supreme Lord. By accepting austerity in devotional service, one regains his spiritual life, and as soon as one regains his spiritual life, he enjoys unlimited spiritual bliss. But if someone undertakes austerities and penances for some material gain, it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that the results are temporary and are desired only by persons of less intelligence.”
In this verse the body is compared to the earth. The earth is dried up by the sun. The tapasvi becomes rewarded (mida) by the devas. The earth becomes sprinkled (mida) with water (showers of rain), as the body of tapasvi becomes nourished (varsiyasi) by devas. The earth swells up. As the body of a person desiring material results becomes nourished on attaining his desires,, so the earth becomes nourished by the rains. This example is repugnant to the devotee striving for the ultimate goal.
Tapasaḥ tanuh samprāpya is poetic license for tapas tanuḥ samprāpya. The earth became thin because of the summer (tapaḥ-kṛśā).
- Which 'fruit' of an old austerity am I about to receive that I've stopped expecting?
- Where am I still in depletion, trusting the rain will come?
The summer-emaciated earth, watered by Indra, swells back to plenty — like a fasting sādhaka, thinned by tapas with a worldly motive, finally tasting his desired fruit. The verse is descriptive but stings: the Bhāgavatam quietly notes that material tapas, even when it succeeds, only restores the body. Kṛṣṇa-bhakti restores the soul.
Dhruva fasted in the Madhuvana forest with the aim of a kingdom higher than his great-grandfather's. The earth's restoration in SB 10.20.7 mirrors his story externally — but when Viṣṇu appeared, Dhruva's heart had been so transformed by darśana that he confessed: 'I came for broken glass and found a jewel' (SB 4.9.35).
Gauḍīyas use Dhruva as the corrective to the verse's image. Earth gets water back; Dhruva got the Lord. Bhakti is the only tapas whose fruit exceeds the asking.
My note
Source: vedabase.io