FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.20.31

गूहन्तीं व्रीडयात्मानं नीलालकवरूथिनीम् । उपलभ्यासुरा धर्म सर्वे सम्मुमुहु: स्त्रियम् ॥ ३१ ॥
gūhantīṁ vrīḍayātmānaṁ
[goohanteem vreedayaatmaanam]
nīlālaka-varūthinīm
[neelaalaka-varoothineem]
upalabhyāsurā dharma
[upalabhyaasuraa dharma]
sarve sammumuhuḥ striyam
[sarve sammumuhuh striyam]
gūhantīm — hiding vrīḍayā — out of shyness ātmānam — herself nīla — dark alaka — hair varūthinīm — a bunch upalabhya — upon imagining asurāḥ — the demons dharma — O Vidura sarve — all sammumuhuḥ — were captivated striyam — woman.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
gūhantīṁ vrīḍayātmānaṁ
gūhantīm
hiding
vrīḍayā
out of shyness
ātmānam
herself
nīlālaka-varūthinīm
nīla
dark
alaka
hair
varūthinīm
a bunch
upalabhyāsurā dharma
upalabhya
upon imagining
asurāḥ
the demons
dharma
O Vidura
sarve sammumuhuḥ striyam
sarve
all
sammumuhuḥ
were captivated
striyam
woman.
Adorned with dark tresses, she hid herself, as it were, out of shyness. Upon seeing that girl, the asuras were all infatuated with an appetite for sex.

The difference between demons and demigods is that a beautiful woman very easily attracts the minds of demons, but she cannot attract the mind of a godly person. A godly person is full of knowledge, and a demoniac person is full of ignorance. Just as a child is attracted by a beautiful doll, similarly a demon, who is less intelligent and full of ignorance, is attracted by material beauty and an appetite for sex. The godly person knows that this nicely dressed and ornamented attraction of high breasts, high hips, beautiful nose and fair complexion is māyā. All the beauty a woman can display is only a combination of flesh and blood. Śrī Śaṅkarācārya has advised all persons not to be attracted by the interaction of flesh and blood; they should be attracted by the real beauty In spiritual life. The real beauty is Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. One who is attracted by the beauty of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa cannot be attracted by the false beauty of this material world. That is the difference between a demon and a godly person or devotee.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The lusty demons imagined the twilight to be a woman and were delighted. They said, “The ankle bells on her feet are jingling. Her eyes quiver in intoxicating. Her hips are covered with fine cloth and a belt. Her breasts rub against each other, and are raised, without space between. Her nose and teeth are beautiful and her smile and glance are affectionate. Is she covering herself with the edge of her cloth out of shyness? The locks of her hair are black. In this way the demons became bewildered by the twilight whom they imaged was a woman. Verse 37 explains that this woman was imaginary. They took the twilight to be a woman. They imagined the sound of birds returning to their nests in the twilight to be the sound of the ankle bells. They imagined the clouds with specific shapes to be the woman’s feet, eyes, hips and breasts. This is suggested by the word payodhara, which means a cloud as well as a breast. The pink color of the sunset was her pink dress. Rodhas can mean the hips as well as a bank of clouds. Because of rubbing together the breasts became raised, without space between them. The disappearance of the clouds was her act of hiding in shyness. Her smile and glance were like a small amount of the sun’s rays. Her black hair extending from her head to her feet was a towering, black cloud. O Vidura (dharma)! The demons, thinking of (upalabhya) the twilight as a woman, became bewildered.
The verse names māyā as the quiet author of our recurring disappointments. Seeing her hand at work is itself the first relief from her grip.
Reflection Questions
  • Which recurring problem in your life keeps promising 'just one more fix' before it ends?
  • What would change if you read your suffering as a teacher rather than an enemy?
📝 My note

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