FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.22

श्रीशुक उवाच अथोद्धवो निशम्यैवं कृष्णदर्शनलालसा: । सान्‍त्‍वयन् प्रियसन्देशैर्गोपीरिदमभाषत ॥ २२ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
athoddhavo niśamyaivaṁ
[athoddhavo nishamyaivam]
kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasāḥ
[krishna-darshana-laalasaah]
sāntvayan priya-sandeśair
[saantvayan priya-sandeshair]
gopīr idam abhāṣata
[gopeer idam abhaashata]
Word-for-word
śrī - śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said atha — then uddhavaḥ — Uddhava niśamya — having heard evam — thus kṛṣṇa - darśana — after the sight of Kṛṣṇa lālasāḥ — who were hankering sāntvayan — pacifying priya — of their beloved sandeśaiḥ — with the messages gopīḥ — to the cowherd girls idam — this abhāṣata — he said .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī - śukaḥ uvāca
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
athoddhavo niśamyaivaṁ
atha
then
uddhavaḥ
Uddhava
niśamya
having heard
evam
thus
kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasāḥ
kṛṣṇa - darśana
after the sight of Kṛṣṇa
lālasāḥ
who were hankering
sāntvayan priya-sandeśair
sāntvayan
pacifying
priya
of their beloved
sandeśaiḥ
with the messages
gopīr idam abhāṣata
gopīḥ
to the cowherd girls
idam
this
abhāṣata
he said .
Important Words
  • kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasāḥ — hankering for the sight of Kṛṣṇa
    Compound: kṛṣṇa + darśana (sight) + lālasāḥ (intense longing). Lālasā is the technical term Rūpa Gosvāmī uses for the burning desire that precedes prema — Kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasā is the gopīs' standing condition.
  • sāntvayan — pacifying
    Present participle of √sāntv (to console). Uddhava attempts to console — yet the gopīs' grief is not a pathology to be eased but a rasa to be honored. Gauḍīyas read his initial mistake here, before his enlightenment at verse 58.
  • priya-sandeśaiḥ — with the messages of their beloved
    Compound: priya + sandeśaiḥ. The gopīs hear 'message from priya' before they hear any content — the very fact of a message is the substance. Form and matter inseparable in mādhurya.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Having heard this, Uddhava then tried to pacify the gopīs, who were most eager to see Lord Kṛṣṇa. He thus began relating to them the message of their beloved.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Having heard this, Uddhava then tried to pacify the gopīs, who were most eager to see Lord Kṛṣṇa. He thus began relating to them the message of their beloved.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Hearing the words of prema directly as the gopīs spoke, Uddhava, after their transformations arising from prema decreased, he spoke to pacify them. He spoke to inform them of Kṛṣṇa’s powers and the greatness of his prema (idam) in order to stop the transformations arising from their prema and to praise them in order to relieve their feelings of wretchedness. Out of respect Uddhava did not speak to Rādhā directly. She heard through others.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Atha indicates the beginning of the message. Since it was unsuitable to begin the message immediately, when they were so disturbed by prema, he began speaking later. Hearing about the gopīs’ previous love and lamenation (evam), he consoled them with the message from their lover. The messages themselves were also dear. The messages were dear since they were related to Kṛṣṇa. Or priya can mean “O dear Parīkṣit!” When the disturbance caused by prema lessened, it would be proper to hear the message. By starting with statements expressing the good fortune of the gopīs, he could counteract their misery, and make them give up their disturbance. In this way Uddhava begins speaking.

Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses
BG 15.9 BG 18.64 BG 2.62 BG 3.11 BG 12.3 SB 4.29.2 BG 9.11 BG 7.8 BG 10.3 BG 13.1 BG 5.18 BG 6.5 BG 1.1 BG 16.4
Concepts
Bhava
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Having heard this, Uddhava tries to pacify the gopīs, who are most eager to see Kṛṣṇa, by relating their beloved's message. Even messengers need to wait through complaint before delivering the actual word; pacification precedes message.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you rush to deliver a message before the recipient is ready?
  • How could pacification be your first job before content?
Analogy

The torrent of Bhramara-gītā ends; Uddhava finds his voice. He has come as diplomat and now must speak as theologian — yet he is shaken. Rūpa Gosvāmī observes that no scholar can answer what the gopīs have just sung; Uddhava will try, and his trying will undo him.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 47