Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 25 Verse 24

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 25: The Descriptions of the Characteristics of King Purañjana

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.25.24

stanau vyañjita-kaiśorau

sama-vṛttau nirantarau

vastrāntena nigūhantīḿ

vrīḍayā gaja-gāminīm

SYNONYMS

stanau — breasts; vyañjita — indicating; kaiśorau — new youth; sama-vṛttau — equally round; nirantarau — fixed close, side by side; vastra-antena — by the end of the sārī; nigūhantīm — trying to cover; vrīḍayā — out of shyness; gaja-gāminīm — walking just like a great elephant.

TRANSLATION

With the end of her sārī the woman was trying to cover her breasts, which were equally round and well placed side by side. She again and again tried to cover them out of shyness while she walked exactly like a great elephant.

PURPORT

The two breasts represent attachment and envy. The symptoms of rāga and dveṣa (attachment and envy) are described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.34):

indriyasyendriyasyārthe

rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau

tayor na vaśam āgacchet

tau hy asya paripanthinau

"Attraction and repulsion for sense objects are felt by embodied beings, but one should not fall under the control of senses and sense objects because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization."

These representatives of attachment and envy are very much unfavorable for advancement in spiritual life. One should not be attracted by the breasts of young women. The great saint Śańkarācārya has described the breasts of women, especially young women, as nothing but a combination of muscles and blood, so one should not be attracted by the illusory energy of raised breasts with nipples. They are agents of māyā meant to victimize the opposite sex. Because the breasts are equally attractive, they are described as sama-vṛttau. The sex impulse remains in an old man's heart also, even up to the point of death. To be rid of such agitation, one must be very much advanced in spiritual consciousness, like Yāmunācārya, who said:

yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde

nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataḿ rantum āsīt

tad-avadhi bata nārī-sańgame smaryamāṇe

bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaḿ ca

"Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste." When one is spiritually advanced he can no longer be attracted by the lumps of flesh and blood which are the breasts of young women. The word nirantarau is significant because although the breasts are situated in different locations, the action is the same. We should not make any distinction between attachment and envy. As described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.37), they are both products of rajo-guṇa (kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ).

The word nigūhantīm ("trying to cover") indicates that even if one is tainted by kāma, lobha, krodha, etc., they can be transfigured by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In other words, one can utilize kāma (lust) for serving Kṛṣṇa. Being impelled by lust, an ordinary worker will work hard day and night; similarly a devotee can work hard day and night to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Just as karmīs are working hard to satisfy kāma-krodha, a devotee should work in the same way to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, krodha (anger) can also be used in the service of Kṛṣṇa when it is applied to the nondevotee demons. Hanumānjī applied his anger in this way. He was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, and he utilized his anger to set fire to the kingdom of Rāvaṇa, a nondevotee demon. Thus kāma (lust) can be utilized to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and krodha (anger) can be utilized to punish the demons. When both are used for Kṛṣṇa's service, they lose their material significance and become spiritually important.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness