क्वचिद्रुदति वैकुण्ठ चिन्ताशबलचेतनः ।
क्वचिद्धसति तच्चिन्ता ह्लाद उद्गायति क्वचित् ॥३९॥

kvacid rudati vaikuṇṭha-
cintÄ-Å›abala-cetanaḥ
kvacid dhasati tac-cintÄ-
hlÄda udgÄyati kvacit

 kvacit - sometimes; rudati - cries; vaikuṇṭha-cintÄ - by thoughts of Kṛṣṇa; Å›abala-cetanaḥ - whose mind was bewildered; kvacit - sometimes; hasati - laughs; tat-cintÄ - by thoughts of Him; ÄhlÄdaḥ - being jubilant; udgÄyati - chants very loudly; kvacit - sometimes.


Text

Because of advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he sometimes cried, sometimes laughed, sometimes expressed jubilation and sometimes sang loudly.

Purport

This verse further clarifies the comparison of a devotee to a child. If a mother leaves her small child in his bed or cradle and goes away to attend to some family duties, the child immediately understands that his mother has gone away, and therefore he cries. But as soon as the mother returns and cares for the child, the child laughs and becomes jubilant. Similarly, PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja, being always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, sometimes felt separation, thinking, “Where is Kṛṣṇa?†This is explained by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu: śūnyÄyitaá¹ jagat sarvaá¹ govinda-viraheṇa me. When an exalted devotee feels that Kṛṣṇa is invisible, having gone away, he cries in separation, and sometimes, when he sees that Kṛṣṇa has returned to care for him, he laughs, just as a child sometimes laughs upon understanding that his mother is taking care of him. These symptoms are called bhÄva. In The Nectar of Devotion, various bhÄvas, ecstatic conditions of a devotee, are fully described. These bhÄvas are visible in the activities of a perfect devotee.