SB 10.22.3 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

आप्लुत्याम्भसि कालिन्द्या जलान्ते चोदितेऽरुणे । कृत्वा प्रतिकृतिं देवीमानर्चुर्नृप सैकतीम् ॥ २ ॥ गन्धैर्माल्यै: सुरभिभिर्बलिभिर्धूपदीपकै: । उच्चावचैश्चोपहारै: प्रवालफलतण्डुलै: ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

āplutyāmbhasi kālindyā jalānte codite ’ruṇe kṛtvā pratikṛtiṁ devīm ānarcur nṛpa saikatīm gandhair mālyaiḥ surabhibhir balibhir dhūpa-dīpakaiḥ uccāvacaiś copahāraiḥ pravāla-phala-taṇḍulaiḥ

Synonyms

āplutya — bathing ; ambhasi — in the water ; kālindyāḥ — of the Yamunā ; jala — ante — on the shore of the river ; ca — and ; udite — as was arising ; aruṇe — the dawn ; kṛtva — making ; prati — kṛtim — a deity ; devīm — the goddess ; ānarcuḥ — they worshiped ; nṛpa — O King Parīkṣit ; saikatīm — made of earth ; gandhaiḥ — with sandalwood pulp and other fragrant articles ; mālyaiḥ — with garlands ; surabhibhiḥ — fragrant ; balibhiḥ — with gifts ; dhūpa — dīpakaiḥ — with incense and lamps ; ucca — avacaiḥ — opulent and also simple ; ca — and ; upahāraiḥ — with presentations ; pravāla — newly grown leaves ; phala — fruit ; taṇḍulaiḥ — and betel nuts .

Translation

My dear King, after they had bathed in the water of the Yamunā just as the sun was rising, the gopīs made an earthen deity of goddess Durgā on the riverbank. Then they worshiped her with such aromatic substances as sandalwood pulp, along with other items both opulent and simple, including lamps, fruits, betel nuts, newly grown leaves, and fragrant garlands and incense.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

My dear King, after they had bathed in the water of the Yamunā just as the sun was rising, the gopīs made an earthen deity of goddess Durgā on the riverbank. Then they worshiped her with such aromatic substances as sandalwood pulp, along with other items both opulent and simple, including lamps, fruits, betel nuts, newly grown leaves, and fragrant garlands and incense. KB 10.22.2-3 All the unmarried gopīs in Vṛndāvana used to daily worship Goddess Kātyāyanī early in the morning after taking a bath in the river Yamunā. Kātyāyanī is another name for Goddess Durgā. The goddess is worshiped by preparing a doll made of sand from the bank of the Yamunā. It is recommended in the Vedic scriptures that a deity may be made from different kinds of material elements: it can be painted, made of metal, made of jewels, made of wood, earth or stone or can be conceived within the heart of the worshiper. The Māyāvādī philosopher takes all these forms of the deity to be imaginary, but actually they are accepted in the Vedic scriptures to be identical with either the Supreme Lord or a respective demigod. The unmarried gopīs used to prepare the deity of Goddess Durgā and worship it with candana pulp, garlands, incense, lamps and all kinds of presentations—fruits, grain and twigs of plants. After worshiping, it is the custom to pray for some benediction.

Purport

The word balibhiḥ in this verse indicates offerings of clothing, ornaments, food and so on.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

balibih means that they worshipws using cloth, ornaments, and food offerings.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Having shown the young girls great attraction for Kṛṣṇa, Śukadeva now describes their method of worship to inform those who wish to know. Immersing themselves in the cold winter water shows the severity of their vow. The shore (jalānte) is famous even today as Ghaṭtavāsinī-devī. They worshipped at the dawn. They made a deity of sand and installed it so that it was non-different from Kātyāyanī. They made a temporary deity of sand, with the hope that soon their goal would be accomplished. “O king these young girls who have not attained youth worship with such attachment.” They have been enchanted by Kṛṣṇa. The word “fragrant” should be attached to all suitable items in the list. The plural is used to show the great profusion of ingredients they brought. Balibhiḥ indicates cloth, ornaments, and food. Ucchāvacaiḥ means various. The items are mentioned—leaves, rice and fruit. The order of the items is not normal, since they forgot, because their minds were stolen by Kṛṣṇa, or Śukadeva became bewildered in telling their story.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

The method of worship is shown in three and half verses. They bathed without clothing in the cold water which was most purifying. The description of the worship shows the austerity involved. They worshipped on the bank of the Yamunā. This could be the western or eastern bank. They did this when the sun rose or when dawn manifested according to the vow. There was a small forest nearby. They made a deity out of sand in order to quickly fulfill their desire. O king! Though they should be worshipped by the world they worshipped this sand form to attain Kṛṣṇa. See the intensity of their longing! The word “fragrant” should be attached to all suitable items in the list. The plural is used to show the great profusion of ingredients they brought. Balibhiḥ indicates cloth, ornaments, and food. Ucchāvacaiḥ means various. The items are mentioned—leaves, rice and fruit. The order of the items is not normal, since they forgot, because their minds were stolen by Kṛṣṇa, or Śukadeva became bewildered in telling their story. Or the first members of the list simply indicates that those items were properly purified for worship (balibhiḥ). Then upahāra indicates naivedyam and leaves, fruits, and rice at the end indicates aroti. Uccavācaiḥ (many varieties) modifies all words.