SB 6.13.12-13 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तां ददर्शानुधावन्तीं चाण्डालीमिव रूपिणीम् । जरया वेपमानाङ्गीं यक्ष्मग्रस्तामसृक्पटाम् ॥ १२ ॥ विकीर्य पलितान् केशांस्तिष्ठ तिष्ठेति भाषिणीम् । मीनगन्ध्यसुगन्धेन कुर्वतीं मार्गदूषणम् ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

tāṁ dadarśānudhāvantīṁ cāṇḍālīm iva rūpiṇīm jarayā vepamānāṅgīṁ yakṣma-grastām asṛk-paṭām vikīrya palitān keśāṁs tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti bhāṣiṇīm mīna-gandhy-asu-gandhena kurvatīṁ mārga-dūṣaṇam

Synonyms

tām — the sinful reaction ; dadarśa — he saw ; anudhāvantīm — chasing ; cāṇḍālīm — a woman of the lowest class ; iva — like ; rūpiṇīm — taking a form ; jarayā — because of old age ; vepamāna-aṅgīm — whose bodily limbs were trembling ; yakṣma-grastām — infected with tuberculosis ; asṛk-paṭām — whose clothes were covered with blood ; vikīrya — scattering ; palitān — grayed ; keśān — hair ; tiṣṭha tiṣṭha — wait, wait ; iti — thus ; bhāṣiṇīm — calling ; mīna-gandhi — the smell of fish ; asu — whose breath ; gandhena — by the odor ; kurvatīm — bringing about ; mārga-dūṣaṇam — the pollution of the whole street.

Translation

Indra saw personified sinful reaction chasing him, appearing like a caṇḍāla woman, a woman of the lowest class. She seemed very old, and all the limbs of her body trembled. Because she was afflicted with tuberculosis, her body and garments were covered with blood. Breathing an unbearable fishy odor that polluted the entire street, she called to Indra, “Wait! Wait!”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Indra saw a caṇḍāla woman, trembling because of old age, afflicted with tuberculosis, covered with blood, and breathing an unbearable, fishy odor that polluted the entire street. With gray hair flying about, she pursued him, calling, "Wait! Wait!" Yakṣmā is tuberculosis. The street was polluted with the smell of her breath (asu) which had the odor of fish.

Purport

When a person is afflicted with tuberculosis, he often vomits blood, which makes his garments bloody.