FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.71.35

ऊचु: स्‍त्रिय: पथि निरीक्ष्य मुकुन्दपत्नी- स्तारा यथोडुपसहा: किमकार्यमूभि: । यच्चक्षुषां पुरुषमौलिरुदारहास- लीलावलोककलयोत्सवमातनोति ॥ ३५ ॥
ūcuḥ striyaḥ pathi nirīkṣya mukunda-patnīs
[oochuh striyah pathi nireekshya mukunda-patnees]
tārā yathoḍupa-sahāḥ kim akāry amūbhiḥ
[taaraa yathodupa-sahaah kim akaary amoobhih]
yac cakṣuṣāṁ puruṣa-maulir udāra-hāsa
[yach chakshushaam purusha-maulir udaara-haasa]
līlāvaloka-kalayotsavam ātanoti
[leelaavaloka-kalayotsavam aatanoti]
Word-for-word
ūcuḥ — said striyaḥ — the women pathi — upon the road nirīkṣya — seeing mukunda — of Lord Kṛṣṇa patnīḥ — the wives tārāḥ — stars yathā — like uḍu - pa — the moon sahāḥ — accompanying kim — what akāri — was done amūbhiḥ — by them yat — since cakṣuṣām — for their eyes puruṣa — of men mauliḥ — the diadem udāra — wide hāsa — with smiles līlā — playful avaloka — of His glances kalayā — with a small portion utsavam — a festival ātanoti — He bestows .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ūcuḥ striyaḥ pathi nirīkṣya mukunda-patnīs
ūcuḥ
said
striyaḥ
the women
pathi
upon the road
nirīkṣya
seeing
mukunda
of Lord Kṛṣṇa
patnīḥ
the wives
tārā yathoḍupa-sahāḥ kim akāry amūbhiḥ
tārāḥ
stars
yathā
like
yac cakṣuṣāṁ puruṣa-maulir udāra-hāsa
uḍu - pa
the moon
sahāḥ
accompanying
kim
what
līlāvaloka-kalayotsavam ātanoti
akāri
was done
amūbhiḥ
by them
yat
since
cakṣuṣām
for their eyes
puruṣa
of men
mauliḥ
the diadem
udāra
wide
hāsa
with smiles
līlā
playful
avaloka
of His glances
kalayā
with a small portion
utsavam
a festival
ātanoti
He bestows .
Important Words
  • puruṣa - mauliḥ — the crest of men, the topmost Person
    Mauli — crown, summit. Kṛṣṇa is the summit of all puruṣas — Puruṣottama. The city-women instinctively recognise rank by sight.
  • līlā - avaloka — playful glance
    Līlā-avaloka — His sportive sidelong glance, one of the great icons of mādhurya-rasa. Gauḍīyas note that Kṛṣṇa's avaloka, even a small fraction (kalayā), bestows utsava on the eye.
  • utsavam — a festival
    Kṛṣṇa's glance is itself an utsava — a festival is not scheduled but happens wherever His look lands. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu lists darśana-utsava as one of the joys of madhura-rasa.
  • kalayā — with a small portion
    Kalā — a fragment, a sixteenth. Even a fragment of His glance suffices; the doctrine of svalpam apy asya dharmasya (Bg 2.40) operates here at the level of look.
Observing Lord Mukunda’s wives passing on the road like stars accompanying the moon, the women exclaimed, “What have these ladies done so that the best of men bestows upon their eyes the joy of His generous smiles and playful sidelong glances?”
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Observing Lord Mukunda's wives passing on the road like stars accompanying the moon, the women exclaimed, "What have these ladies done so that the best of men bestows upon their eyes the joy of His generous smiles and playful sidelong glances?"
Commentary

The women are like stars accompanying the moon (udupa sahah).

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The women of the palace saw on the road the wives accompanying Kṛṣṇa. In order that Kṛṣṇa could enter the palace, they all left the road and came outside onto side streets. The wives moved along with Kṛṣṇa just as stars move along with the moon. They obtained only a glimpse of him since he was surrounded by great personalities. Thus they envied the queens. What have they done so that he, the best of men, completely distributes (ā--tanoti) to them an excellent smile or a smile that gives all bliss (udāra) and special happiness (utsava) of playful side glances, since, being the best of men, he is most suitable for service because of his beauty and qualities. Though he was capable of various sweet pastimes, only his glance is described since even by that they understood that he was most rare to attain. Or they did not want to show boldness.

Related values & verses
Related values
Kartavya (Duty / Responsibility)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)
Related verses
BG 2.60 BG 15.20 BG 14.3 BG 12.1 SB 1.2BG 12.3 BG 4.8 BG 18.54 BG 6.35 BG 7.1 BG 12.5 BG 2.66 BG 9.1 BG 5.4
Concepts
PurushaJiva
Personal Guidance
The women wondered what Kṛṣṇa's wives had done to deserve His smiling glances. Real saints often draw appreciation rather than envy — and reverent wonder at others' grace is itself a sign of growing devotion.
Reflection Questions
  • Do I respond to others' apparent spiritual fortune with wonder or with envy?
  • What practice helps me celebrate another's blessing as if it were my own?
Analogy

The women seeing Kṛṣṇa's queens pass like stars around the moon, and wondering what tapas earned them this glance, is like villagers at a river-bank watching swans drink directly from the spring and asking what they did to deserve that water — the question is its own act of bhakti.

Stories
Kim akāri amūbhiḥ

The phrase 'what have they done?' recurs across the Bhāgavata. SB 10.44, after Kṛṣṇa kills Kaṁsa, has the women of Mathurā asking the same question about Yaśodā: what tapas did she perform to nurse this child?

Gauḍīya ācāryas read this kim-akāri form as bhakti's spontaneous theology: the devotee, seeing another's intimacy with the Lord, does not envy but inquires — and the inquiry itself becomes ruci, the taste that pulls one onto the same path.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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