Text 18]
Description of the Kingdom of God
587
tual sky with their sweethearts. There is a breeze carrying the fragrance of blossoming flowers, and this breeze is so nice that it also carries the honey of the flowers. The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha, however, are so interested in glorifying the Lord that they do not like the disturbance of such a nice breeze while they are chanting the Lord's glories. In other words, they are pure devotees. They consider glorification of the Lord more important than their own sense gratification. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets there is no question of sense gratification. To smell the fragrance of a blossoming flower is certainly very nice, but it is simply for sense gratification. The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha give first preference to the service of the Lord, not their own sense gratification. Serving the Lord in transcendental love yields such transcendental pleasure that, in comparison, sense gratification is counted as insignificant.
TEXT 18
पारावतान्यभृतसारसचक्रवाक-
दात्यूहंसशुकतित्तिरिवहिणां यः ।
कोलाहलो विरमतेऽचिरमात्रमुच्चै-
भृङ्गाधिपे हरिकथामिव गायमाने ॥१८॥
pārāvatānyabhṛta-sārasa-cakravāka-
dātyūha-hamsa-śuka-tittiri-barhiṇām yaḥ
kolāhalo viramate 'cira-mātram uccair
bhṛṅgādhipe hari-kathām iva gāyamāne
pārāvata—pigeons; anyabhṛta—cuckoo; sārasa—crane; cakravāka—cakravāka; dātyūha—a gallinule; hamsa—swan; śuka—parrot; tittiri—partridge; barhiṇām—of the peacock; yaḥ—which; kolāhalaḥ—tumult; viramate—stops; acira-mātram—temporarily; uccaiḥ—loudly; bhṛṅga-adhipe—king of the bumblebees; hari-kathām—the glories of the Lord; iva—as; gāyamāne—while singing.
TRANSLATION
When the king of bees hums in a high pitch, singing the glories of the Lord, there is a temporary lull in the noise of the pigeon, the cuckoo, the crane, the cakravāka, the swan, the parrot, the partridge and the peacock. Such transcendental birds stop their own singing simply to hear the glories of the Lord.