Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.23.19
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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catuḥ-vidham
—
of four varieties
Compound: catuḥ (four) + vidham (kinds). The four classes — chewable, drinkable, lickable, suckable. Gauḍīya prasāda-tradition still uses this categorization. The food is the entire bhojya-jagat condensed into vessels.
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bahu-guṇam
—
endowed with many rich tastes and fragrances
Compound: bahu (many) + guṇam (qualities). The wives' food carries every rasa — the chapter is also a quiet meditation on what kind of offering Bhagavān accepts: not ritual purity but bhāva.
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abhisasruḥ
—
they went forward
Reduplicated perfect of abhi + √sṛ — 'to rush toward.' The compound conveys directed motion. Their feet know the way before their husbands have given permission.
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priyam
—
to their beloved
Accusative — Kṛṣṇa as their priyatama. The word that will dominate verses 23, 27, 29. Bhakti's vocabulary is the vocabulary of beloved-ness.
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nimna-gāḥ
—
the rivers (literally, the down-going ones)
Compound: nimna (low) + gāḥ (going). The classical simile of Bhāgavatam 1.2.6: yayā ātmā suprasīdati — bhakti flows downward toward Bhagavān as rivers to sea, without effort once the slope is given.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that the wives of the brāhmaṇas experienced conjugal feelings toward Kṛṣṇa, as if He were their paramour; thus they could not be checked as they rushed to see Him.
The four types of foods are those that are chewed, sucked, licked and drunk. The foods had been cooked skillfully with taste and fragrance (bahu guna). They went to meet Krsna (abhisasruh), playing the role of illicit lovers. In order to avoid censure for their conduct, they are described as rivers flowing down naturally towards the ocean, because they had heard for a long time about Krsna.
They brought the food in vessels for eating or in the cooking vessels in order to keep the food warm or out of respect. They came and faced him (abhisasruḥ). The four types of food are those which are chewed, those which are not chewed, those which are licked and those which are sucked.
They brought the food with vessels for eating or in the cooking vessels. Their special devotion for Kṛṣṇa is depicted by a comparison.
- What 'four kinds' of preparation do I have ready when an opening for Him appears?
- Where have I been a river dammed up, waiting to flow toward Him?
Rivers, having no choice in the matter, run downhill to the sea — the brāhmaṇa wives, no longer free, run toward Kṛṣṇa. The simile is decisive: bhakti is gravitational once bhāva is ripe; the alternative is no longer available.
My note
Source: vedabase.io