SB 10.3.9 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तमद्भ‍ुतं बालकमम्बुजेक्षणं चतुर्भुजं शङ्खगदाद्युदायुधम् । श्रीवत्सलक्ष्मं गलशोभिकौस्तुभं पीताम्बरं सान्द्रपयोदसौभगम् ॥ ९ ॥ महार्हवैदूर्यकिरीटकुण्डल- त्विषा परिष्वक्तसहस्रकुन्तलम् । उद्दामकाञ्‍च्यङ्गदकङ्कणादिभि- र्विरोचमानं वसुदेव ऐक्षत ॥ १० ॥

Verse text

tam adbhutaṁ bālakam ambujekṣaṇaṁ catur-bhujaṁ śaṅkha-gadādy-udāyudham śrīvatsa-lakṣmaṁ gala-śobhi-kaustubhaṁ pītāmbaraṁ sāndra-payoda-saubhagam mahārha-vaidūrya-kirīṭa-kuṇḍala- tviṣā pariṣvakta-sahasra-kuntalam uddāma-kāṣcy-aṅgada-kaṅkaṇādibhir virocamānaṁ vasudeva aikṣata

Synonyms

tam — that ; adbhutam — wonderful ; bālakam — child ; ambuja — īkṣaṇam — with eyes resembling lotuses ; catuḥ — bhujam — with four hands ; śaṅkha — gadā — ādi — bearing a conchshell, club, disc and lotus (in those four hands) ; udāyudham — different weapons ; śrīvatsa — lakṣmam — decorated with a particular type of hair called Śrīvatsa, which is visible only on the chest of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; gala — śobhi — kaustubham — on His neck was the Kaustubha gem, which is particularly available in Vaikuṇṭhaloka ; pīta — ambaram — His garments were yellow ; sāndra — payoda — saubhagam — very beautiful, being present with the hue of blackish clouds ; mahā — arha — vaidūrya — kirīṭa — kuṇḍala — of His helmet and earrings, which were studded with very valuable Vaidūrya gems ; tviṣā — by the beauty ; pariṣvakta — sahasra — kuntalam — brilliantly illuminated by scattered, fully grown hair ; uddāma — kāṣcī — aṅgada — kaṅkaṇa — ādibhiḥ — with a brilliant belt on His waist, armbands on His arms, bracelets on His wrists, etc. ; virocamānam — very beautifully decorated ; vasudevaḥ — Vasudeva, the father of Kṛṣṇa ; aikṣata — saw .

Translation

Vasudeva then saw the newborn child, who had very wonderful lotuslike eyes and who bore in His four hands the four weapons śaṅkha, cakra, gadā and padma. On His chest was the mark of Śrīvatsa and on His neck the brilliant Kaustubha gem. Dressed in yellow, His body blackish like a dense cloud, His scattered hair fully grown, and His helmet and earrings sparkling uncommonly with the valuable gem Vaidūrya, the child, decorated with a brilliant belt, armlets, bangles and other ornaments, appeared very wonderful.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Vasudeva then saw the newborn child, who had very wonderful lotuslike eyes and who bore in His four hands the four weapons śaṅkha, cakra, gadā and padma. On His chest was the mark of Śrīvatsa and on His neck the brilliant Kaustubha gem. Dressed in yellow, His body blackish like a dense cloud, His scattered hair fully grown, and His helmet and earrings sparkling uncommonly with the valuable gem Vaidūrya, the child, decorated with a brilliant belt, armlets, bangles and other ornaments, appeared very wonderful. KB 10.3.9-10 Vasudeva saw that wonderful child born as a baby with four hands, holding conchshell, club, disc and lotus flower, decorated with the mark of Śrīvatsa, wearing the jeweled necklace of kaustubha stone, dressed in yellow silk, appearing dazzling like a bright blackish cloud, wearing a helmet bedecked with the vaidūrya stone, valuable bracelets, earrings and similar other ornaments all over His body, and beautified by an abundance of hair on His head.

Purport

To support the word adbhutam, meaning “wonderful,” the decorations and opulences of the newborn child are fully described. As confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.30) , barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam: the hue of the Lord’s beautiful form resembles the blackish color of dense clouds ( asita means “blackish,” and ambuda means “cloud”). It is clear from the word catur-bhujam that Kṛṣṇa first appeared with four hands, as Lord Viṣṇu. No ordinary child in human society has ever been born with four hands. And when is a child born with fully grown hair? The descent of the Lord, therefore, is completely distinct from the birth of an ordinary child. The Vaidūrya gem, which sometimes appears bluish, sometimes yellow and sometimes red, is available in Vaikuṇṭhaloka. The Lord’s helmet and earrings were decorated with this particular gem.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Verses nine and ten describe the astonishing child that Vasudeva saw, listing the features of astonishment-- his lotus eyes, four arms holding conch and club etc. Vaidurya refers to a jewel which shines blue, yellow and red. The Lord wore a crown of vaidurya, of triangular shape.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The two verses are one sentence. He had the small, tender form of a baby. The weapons quickly appeared (ut) or were most excellent in order to attack Kaṁsa and others. The specific arrangement is mentioned in Gautamīya-tantra and Bṛhad-gautamīya-tantra. dakṣyordhve smarec cakraṁ gadāṁ ca tad adaḥ kare vāmasyordhva śārṅga-dhanuḥ śaṅkhaṁ ca tad adaḥ smaret In his right upper hand is the cakra and in his right lower hand is the club. In his left upper hand is his bow and in his lower left hand was the conch. However text 30 mentions the lotus in place of the bow. The bow is indicated for a particular type of worship. However this is not impossible for the Lord since at all times he can hold both, without contradiction. His extraordinary beauty is indicated by the good fortune of his complexion like a dense rain cloud. The vaidūrya or vālavāyaja is a gem which glows blue, yellow and red. It shone most prominently among all the jewels that he wore. His many locks of hair were mixed with the effulgence of the vaidūrya in his crown from above and the effulgence of his earrings below. Or he had many locks of hair embraced by the crown and earrings so that the locks appeared to be a great vaidūrya gem, shining with many colors. The kirīṭa is triangular in shape, like a row of leaves. The mukuṭa covers all the hair. He shone greatly because of the effulgence of his belt, armlets and bracelets. Or he shone independently of the ornaments. He was decorated with the splendor of his innate beauty. This is also mentioned in the next verse. Thus Vasudeva saw him even though it was very dark. In Gautamīya-tantra Kṛṣṇa is depicted riding on Garuḍa and surrounded by his eight principal queens. That is not mentioned here since his parents never saw that.