Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.32.5
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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tāmbūla
—
of betel nut
The chewed betel-leaf prasāda from the Lord's mouth is the most intimate ucchiṣṭa (remnant). Gauḍīyas hold that even Mahā-Lakṣmī cannot taste it; only the gopīs receive it. To honor it in añjali is to know its rank.
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carvitam
—
His chewed remnants
Past participle of √carv. Ordinary food becomes mahā-prasāda after the Lord touches it; what He has already chewed is the highest order. The gopī's añjali around this remnant is the canonical image of receiving Kṛṣṇa's mercy through what He has personally consumed.
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aṅghri
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foot
Specifically the lower part of the foot; in bhakti-śāstra the lotus-feet (caraṇāravinda) are the object of all nine limbs' final repose. Smaraṇa, śravaṇa, kīrtana — all culminate at the feet.
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kamalam
—
lotus
The aṅghri-kamala — Kṛṣṇa's lotus foot — is the central image of śaraṇāgati. Prahlāda, Dhruva, Ambarīṣa, the Six Gosvāmīs all locate themselves at this single point. The gopī's gesture telescopes the entire path into one touch.
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santaptā
—
burning
Past participle of sam-√tap — fully heated. The viraha-agni of the night had cooked her body; only the cooling of His foot can answer that heat. Viśvanātha glosses this as proof that gopī-tāpa is not material lust but the heat of separation from her Lord.
One gopi took Krsna’s chewed tamula in her folded hands. She was a member of the daksina group, dependent, with friendship almost of the dasya mood. Another rgopi took Krsna’s right lotus foot and placed it on her breast, while sitting on the earth. Supporting himself with his left arm on the shoulder of a gopi, he was standing on his left foot. The seated gopi was of the daksina group, dependent, with dasya almost of friendly mood. Both were ghrta sneha (reverential), thinking of themselves as belonging to Krsna (sakhis of Candravali, Padma and Saibya)
Vṛndā-devī had placed betel nut along with garlands and other ingredients in all the groves. Or Yogamāyā accomplished this. The word śaurer (of Kṛṣṇa) should be added. One gopī took his chewed betel in her folded hands. She is similar to the gopī in the previous verse who took his hand in hers. She showed eagerness however in order to obtain the nectar from his lips. She is a mṛdu gopī with dāsya-prāya sakhya. Being dependent on her lover she is dakṣiṇā. Another gopī placed his right lotus foot on her breast since he put the weight of his body on his left foot, with his left arm on the shoulder of the other gopī. Later it will be explained that he was sitting at this time. She was sitting, holding his foot on her breast. She did this because she was burning with pain (santaptā) because of the bhāva called rati filled with separation. Sometimes the word hrḍaye is found instead of sthanayoḥ. The meaning is the same. This is a prakharā gopī with dāsya-prāya-sakhya, of the dakṣiṇā type, since she is dependent on her lover.
One gopī, folding her hands with devotion, took his betel nut. Or with a desire to receive a lot, she opened her hands to receive it. Or since it was full of taste, she feared some would fall on the ground. She was thin because of the separation. Because it was tasty, the Lord had previously brought the betel nut and was chewing it. Or it had been offered by Vṛndādevī. One gopī placed one of his feet on her breasts. This means he was seated. Later it is said tatropaviṣtḥaḥ: he was seated. (SB 10.32.14) She placed the foot there because her breast was suffering. Otherwise the fever of love arising from the pain of separation would not dissipate. One version has hṛdaye, with the same meaning.
- How does your unique temperament shape the way you receive Kṛṣṇa?
- Where do you compare your devotion to others' instead of trusting your own way?
One gopī receives His chewed betel-nut in her palms; another presses His feet to her burning chest. Both are extreme — one a maidservant's gesture, one a lover's — and both are right. Bhakti is not graded by decorum; it is graded by the heat of the receiver. The cooling of His feet on her breasts is itself a līlā image: agni-tāpa meeting ambuja-śīta.
My note
Source: vedabase.io