Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.64.2
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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krīḍitvā
—
after playing
Gerund of √krīḍ. The verb of play, again pointing toward līlā; but separated from Kṛṣṇa-smaraṇa, play exhausts the body and ends in pipāsā.
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pipāsitāḥ
—
thirsty
From √pā (to drink). In Upaniṣadic and Bhāgavata register, tṛṣṇā is the emblem of saṁsāra itself — the unquenchable thirst that drives the jīva from birth to birth. The boys feel its bodily form.
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nirudake kūpe
—
in a waterless well
Nir- (without) + udaka (water) + kūpa (well). The Bhāgavatam loves the kūpa image — Prahlāda's andha-kūpa of family life (SB 7.9.43), Gajendra's reservoir. A well that promised water but had none is the precise shape of Nṛga's heavenly enjoyment after it ran out.
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sattvam adbhutam
—
an amazing creature
Sattva (a being) + adbhuta (wonderful). The boys see a wonder; they do not yet know it is a king. Gauḍīyas note: the lesson begins as a curiosity and only later reveals itself as warning.
After playing in that forest (tatra) for a long time, looking for water because of thirst, they saw a creature astonishing because of its huge body and its living in the well. With such a big body, it would have been well known for living in the well for a long time. That they only saw the lizard at this time was the will of the Lord. But it could only be seen with difficulty because the water of the ancient well was deep, because the well was covered with creepers and because one had to search in the water for it.
- What empty place in my life have I been avoiding that may hold the next encounter?
- How do exhaustion and thirst sometimes lead me to look where I would not otherwise look?
The throat thirsts, the eye searches, and what the eye finally finds in the dry well is not water but a question. So Bhagavān: He lets us run after our enjoyments until the cup is empty, and then places at the bottom of the empty cup a creature who used to be a king.
My note
Source: vedabase.io