FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.69.29

हसन्तं हासकथया कदाचित् प्रियया गृहे । क्व‍ापि धर्मं सेवमानमर्थकामौ च कुत्रचित् ॥ २९ ॥
hasantaṁ hāsa-kathayā
[hasantam haasa-kathayaa]
kadācit priyayā gṛhe
[kadaachit priyayaa grihe]
kvāpi dharmaṁ sevamānam
[kvaapi dharmam sevamaanam]
artha-kāmau ca kutracit
[artha-kaamau cha kutrachit]
hasantam — laughing hāsa - kathayā — with joking conversation kadācit — at one time priyayā — with His beloved gṛhe — in the palace kva api — somewhere dharmam — religiosity sevamānam — practicing artha — economic development kāmau — sense gratification ca — and kutracit — somewhere .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
hasantaṁ hāsa-kathayā
hasantam
laughing
hāsa - kathayā
with joking conversation
kadācit
at one time
kadācit priyayā gṛhe
priyayā
with His beloved
gṛhe
in the palace
kvāpi dharmaṁ sevamānam
kva api
somewhere
dharmam
religiosity
sevamānam
practicing
artha-kāmau ca kutracit
artha
economic development
kāmau
sense gratification
ca
and
kutracit
somewhere .
  • hāsa-kathayā — with joking conversation
    Compound: hāsa (laughter, jest) + kathā (talk). Conjugal banter. Gauḍīyas read the verse as proof that hāsya — the laughter-rasa — has its proper place inside dāmpatya, the husband-wife rasa, when both are anchored in Bhagavān.
  • dharmam sevamānam — practicing religiosity
    dharma + present participle of √sev (to serve). Bhagavān doesn't merely uphold dharma intellectually; He serves it (sevā) — bows to it as one bows to a guru. The Lord's relationship to His own dharma is service, not ownership.
  • artha-kāmau — economic development and sense gratification
    Dvandva: artha + kāma. Two of the four puruṣārthas. Kṛṣṇa engages both — not because He needs them, but to authorize gṛhasthas to engage them under regulation. The fourth (mokṣa) is implicit in His person.
  • kadācit — at one time
    Adverb of indefinite time. The chapter uses kva api, kvacit, kadācit, kutracit — a deliberate cascade of indefinites that paint the scene as endlessly multiple. No single palace exhausts Him; in 'one time' He is always already in another time too.
Somewhere Lord Kṛṣṇa was found enjoying the company of a particular wife by exchanging joking words with her. Somewhere else He was found engaged, along with His wife, in religious ritualistic functions. Somewhere Kṛṣṇa was found engaged in matters of economic development, and somewhere else He was found enjoying family life according to the regulative principles of the śāstras.

This translation is based on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kṛṣṇa. Joking conversations take place during the nighttime, whereas religious rituals, economic development and family enjoyment occur during both the day and the night.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Somewhere Lord Kṛṣṇa was found enjoying the company of a particular wife by exchanging joking words with her. Somewhere else He was found engaged, along with His wife, in religious ritualistic functions. Somewhere Kṛṣṇa was found engaged in matters of economic development, and somewhere else He was found enjoying family life according to the regulative principles of the śāstras.
Commentary

He was joking with his wife in the late night. He was practicing dharma ,artha and kama both day and night.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

In some house he was engaged in dharma with devotion (sevanāman). Elsewhere he was enjoying (kaṁau) and elsewhere he was undertaking actions for attaining wealth (artha).

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Bhakti (Devotion)Vinaya (Humility / Modesty)Prema (Divine Love)
Related verses
Concepts
Dharma
Kṛṣṇa exchanged jokes with one wife, performed rituals with another, and engaged in economic and family matters. Sacred and ordinary are interwoven in His householder life; we need not choose between them.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I separate 'sacred' and 'ordinary' in a way that impoverishes both?
  • How can my economic and family life become part of my offering?

A husband teases his wife, then performs vrata with her, then balances the accounts of the estate, then keeps the regulations of the gṛhastha-āśrama — and each room of the same house shows one face of one householder. Kṛṣṇa is teaching the whole curriculum of gṛhastha-dharma by living all of it at once.

📝 My note

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