Text 18
pārāvatānyabhṛta-sārasa-cakravāka-
dātyūha-haṁsa-śuka-tittiri-barhiṇāṁ yaḥ
kolāhalo viramate ’cira-mātram uccair
bhṛṅgādhipe hari-kathām iva gāyamāne
pārāvata — pigeons; anyabhṛta — cuckoo; sārasa — crane; cakravāka — cakravāka; dātyūha — gallinule; haṁsa — 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.
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.
This verse reveals the absolute nature of Vaikuṇṭha. There is no difference between the birds there and the human residents. The situation in the spiritual sky is that everything is spiritual and variegated. Spiritual variegatedness means that everything is animate. There is nothing inanimate. Even the trees, the ground, the plants, the flowers, the birds and the beasts are all on the level of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The special feature of Vaikuṇṭhaloka is that there is no question of sense gratification, In the material world even an ass enjoys his sound vibration, but in the Vaikuṇṭhas such nice birds as the peacock, the cakravāka and the cuckoo prefer to hear the vibration of the glories of the Lord from the bees. The principles of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting, are very prominent in the Vaikuṇṭha world.