SB 10.69.5 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच नरकं निहतं श्रुत्वा तथोद्वाहं च योषिताम् । कृष्णेनैकेन बह्वीनां तद् दिद‍ृक्षु: स्म नारद: ॥ १ ॥ चित्रं बतैतदेकेन वपुषा युगपत्पृथक् । गृहेषु द्वय‍ष्टसाहस्रं स्‍त्रिय एक उदावहत् ॥ २ ॥ इत्युत्सुको द्वारवतीं देवर्षिर्द्रष्टुमागमत् । पुष्पितोपवनारामद्विजालिकुलनादिताम् ॥ ३ ॥ उत्फुल्ल‍ेन्दीवराम्भोजकह्लारकुमुदोत्पलै: । छुरितेषु सर:सूच्चै: कूजितां हंससारसै: ॥ ४ ॥ प्रासादलक्षैर्नवभिर्जुष्टां स्फाटिकराजतै: । महामरकतप्रख्यै: स्वर्णरत्नपरिच्छदै: ॥ ५ ॥ विभक्तरथ्यापथचत्वरापणै: शालासभाभी रुचिरां सुरालयै: । संसिक्तमार्गाङ्गनवीथिदेहलीं पतत्पताकध्वजवारितातपाम् ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca narakaṁ nihataṁ śrutvā tathodvāhaṁ ca yoṣitām kṛṣṇenaikena bahvīnāṁ tad-didṛkṣuḥ sma nāradaḥ citraṁ bataitad ekena vapuṣā yugapat pṛthak gṛheṣu dvy-aṣṭa-sāhasraṁ striya eka udāvahat ity utsuko dvāravatīṁ devarṣir draṣṭum āgamat puṣpitopavanārāma- dvijāli-kula-nāditām utphullendīvarāmbhoja- kahlāra-kumudotpalaiḥ churiteṣu saraḥsūccaiḥ kūjitāṁ haṁsa-sārasaiḥ prāsāda-lakṣair navabhir juṣṭāṁ sphāṭika-rājataiḥ mahā-marakata-prakhyaiḥ svarṇa-ratna-paricchadaiḥ vibhakta-rathyā-patha-catvarāpaṇaiḥ śālā-sabhābhī rucirāṁ surālayaiḥ saṁsikta-mārgāṅgana-vīthi-dehalīṁ patat-patāka-dhvaja-vāritātapām

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; narakam — the demon Naraka ; nihatam — killed ; śrutvā — hearing ; tathā — also ; udvāham — the marriage ; ca — and ; yoṣitām — with women ; kṛṣṇena — by Lord Kṛṣṇa ; ekena — one ; bahvīnām — with many ; tat — that ; didṛkṣuḥ — wanting to see ; sma — indeed ; nāradaḥ — Nārada ; citram — wonderful ; bata — ah ; etat — this ; ekena — with a single ; vapuṣā — body ; yugapat — simultaneously ; pṛthak — separate ; gṛheṣu — in residences ; dvi — two times ; aṣṭa — eight ; sāhasram — thousand ; striyaḥ — women ; ekaḥ — alone ; udāvahat — He married ; iti — thus ; utsukaḥ — eager ; dvāravatīm — to Dvārakā ; deva — of the demigods ; ṛṣiḥ — the sage, Nārada ; draṣṭum — to see ; āgamat — came ; puṣpita — flowery ; upavana — in parks ; ārāma — and pleasure gardens ; dvija — of birds ; ali — and bees ; kula — with flocks and swarms ; nāditām — resounding ; utphulla — blooming ; indīvara — with blue lotuses ; ambhoja — day-blooming lotuses ; kahlāra — white esculent lotuses ; kumuda — moonlight-blooming lotuses ; utpalaiḥ — and water lilies ; churiteṣu — filled ; saraḥsu — within lakes ; uccaiḥ — loudly ; kūjitām — filled with the calling ; haṁsa — by swans ; sārasaiḥ — and cranes ; prāsāda — with palaces ; lakṣaiḥ — hundreds of thousands ; navabhiḥ — nine ; juṣṭām — adorned ; sphāṭika — made of crystal glass ; rājataiḥ — and silver ; mahā — marakata — with great emeralds ; prakhyaiḥ — splendorous ; svarṇa — of gold ; ratna — and jewels ; paricchadaiḥ — whose furnishings ; vibhakta — systematically divided ; rathyā — with main avenues ; patha — roads ; catvara — intersections ; āpaṇaiḥ — and marketplaces ; śālā — sabhābhiḥ — with assembly houses ; rucirām — charming ; sura — of the demigods ; ālayaiḥ — with temples ; saṁsikta — sprinkled with water ; mārga — whose roads ; aṅgana — courtyards ; vīthi — commercial streets ; dehalīm — and patios ; patat — flying ; patāka — with banners ; dhvaja — by the flagpoles ; vārita — warded off ; ātapām — the heat of the sun .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Hearing that Lord Kṛṣṇa had killed Narakāsura and had alone married many brides, Nārada Muni desired to see the Lord in this situation. He thought, “It is quite amazing that in a single body Lord Kṛṣṇa simultaneously married sixteen thousand women, each in a separate palace.” Thus the sage of the demigods eagerly went to Dvārakā. The city was filled with the sounds of birds and bees flying about the parks and pleasure gardens, while its lakes, crowded with blooming indīvara, ambhoja, kahlāra, kumuda and utpala lotuses, resounded with the calls of swans and cranes. Dvārakā boasted nine hundred thousand royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and splendorously decorated with huge emeralds. Inside these palaces, the furnishings were bedecked with gold and jewels. Traffic moved along a well-laid-out system of boulevards, roads, intersections and marketplaces, and many assembly houses and temples of demigods graced the charming city. The roads, courtyards, commercial streets and residential patios were all sprinkled with water and shaded from the sun’s heat by banners waving from flagpoles.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Hearing that Lord Kṛṣṇa had killed Narakāsura and had alone married many brides, Nārada Muni desired to see the Lord in this situation. He thought, "It is quite amazing that in a single body Lord Kṛṣṇa simultaneously married sixteen thousand women, each in a separate palace." Thus the sage of the demigods eagerly went to Dvārakā. The city was filled with the sounds of birds and bees flying about the parks and pleasure gardens, while its lakes, crowded with blooming indīvara, ambhoja, kahlāra, kumuda and utpala lotuses, resounded with the calls of swans and cranes. Dvārakā boasted nine hundred thousand royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and splendorously decorated with huge emeralds. Inside these palaces, the furnishings were bedecked with gold and jewels. Traffic moved along a well-laid-out system of boulevards, roads, intersections and marketplaces, and many assembly houses and temples of demigods graced the charming city. The roads, courtyards, commercial streets and residential patios were all sprinkled with water and shaded from the sun's heat by banners waving from flagpoles. KB 10.69.1-6 When the great sage Nārada heard that Lord Kṛṣṇa had married sixteen thousand wives after He had killed the demon Narakāsura, sometimes called Bhaumāsura, he was astonished that Lord Kṛṣṇa had expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms and married these wives simultaneously in different palaces. Being inquisitive as to how Kṛṣṇa was managing His household affairs with so many wives, Nārada, desiring to see these pastimes, set out to visit Kṛṣṇa’s different homes. When Nārada arrived in Dvārakā, he saw gardens and parks full of various flowers of different colors, and also orchards overloaded with a variety of fruits. Beautiful birds were chirping, and peacocks crowed delightfully. There were ponds full of blue and red lotus flowers, and some of these ponds were filled with varieties of lilies. The lakes were full of nice swans and cranes, and the voices of these birds resounded everywhere. In the city there were as many as 900,000 great palaces built of first-class marble, with gates and doors made of silver. The pillars of the houses and palaces were bedecked with jewels such as touchstone, sapphire and emerald, and the floors gave off a beautiful luster. The highways, lanes, streets, crossings and marketplaces were all beautifully decorated. The whole city was full of residential homes, assembly houses and temples, all of different architectural beauty. All of this made Dvārakā a glowing city. The big avenues, crossings, lanes and streets, and also the thresholds of every residential house, were very clean. On both sides of every path there were bushes, and at regular intervals there were large trees that shaded the avenues so that the sunshine would not bother the passersby.

Purport

In Kṛṣṇa, Śrīla Prabhupāda beautifully describes the city of Dvārakā as follows: “Being inquisitive as to how Kṛṣṇa was managing His household affairs with so many wives, Nārada desired to see these pastimes and so set out to visit Kṛṣṇa’s different homes. When Nārada arrived in Dvārakā, he saw that the gardens and parks were full of various flowers of different colors and orchards that were overloaded with a variety of fruits. Beautiful birds were chirping, and peacocks were delightfully crowing. There were tanks and ponds full of blue and red lotus flowers, and some of these sites were filled with varieties of lilies. The lakes were full of nice swans and cranes, whose voices resounded everywhere. In the city there were as many as 900,000 great palaces built of first-class marble, with gates and doors made of silver. The posts of the houses and palaces were bedecked with jewels such as touchstone, sapphires and emeralds, and the floors gave off a beautiful luster. The highways, lanes, streets, crossings and marketplaces were all beautifully decorated. The whole city was full of residential homes, assembly houses and temples, all of different architectural beauty. All of this made Dvārakā a glowing city. The big avenues, crossings, lanes and streets, and also the thresholds of every residential house, were very clean. On both sides of every path there were bushes, and at regular intervals there were large trees that shaded the avenues so that the sunshine would not bother the passersby.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the sixty ninth chapter Krsna shows Narada how he expanded one form into each of the palaces in Dvaraka. Narada desired to see this (didrksuh). That he married with one body at one time each of the sixteen thousand queens in separate courtyards of separate houses surrounded by separate walls was indeed astonishing. Saubari and others, by expanding as kaya vyuha enjoyed with many women at once with different bodies, but not with one body alone. For this reason (iti) Narada went to Dvaraka. Dvaraka is described in three and a half verses. It was resounding with the loud cries of swans and herons in lakes spread (churitesu) with lotuses. The turrets and spires were bright with emeralds. The attendants there wore clothing of gold and jewels. It was charming with wide roads, lanes, intersections, marketplaces, assembly halls and temples. It was shaded by flagpoles with flags moving in the wind.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

After killing Naraka, Kṛṣṇa brought all the captive girls to Dvārakā and married them. Nārada wanted to see this. Since Nārada went there, Śukadeva settled on a new story suitable for narration since it was filled with rasa. Concentrating, he begins to praise Dvārakā. Hearing that Naraka had been killed along with his troops (ni—hatam) by Kṛṣṇa and being joyful, Nārada wanted to see how he had married so many women. This is most astonishing (citram bataitad). He was surprised on hearing about this, even though he was omniscient and could know all of this by his nature. The events were always being glorified by everyone with the greatest astonishment. He wanted to see Kṛṣṇa’s powers. Sma indicates that this was well known. Having shown Nārada’s astonishment, and related his going to Dvārakā to see the powers of Kṛṣṇa, Śukadeva then describes Dvārakā in five verses in order to nourish the story. His astonishment on seeing and his going there are described in one and a half verses. Ah! This is amazing, filled with his acintya-śakti. What was astonishing? One person had married sixteen thousand women. “One sees persons marrying even more that number of women.” But he did this simultaneously. “Like Ṣaubhari, Nārada and others could expand their bodies. They could simultaneously do this. Why is it amazing for him?” He did this with one body. “One body can be expanded into many. It is not astonishing that these many bodies could marry the women at once, since he is more powerful than Saubhari.” He appeared in each of the houses. He married them all fully (ud-ā-vahat). Thinking in this way (iti), he thus sent to Dvārakā wanting to see Kṛṣṇa’s powers. In describing Dvārakā, first the exterior portion is described. There were pleasant gardens filled with the chirping of birds. Lakes inside and outside of the groves were decorated with blossoming blue, white and pink lotuses as well as fragrant ones (kahlāra). Swans warbled loudly because of intoxication from drinking the nectar. The interiors of the buildings are then described. The palaces were made of crystal and silver. Verse 6 is in a longer meter to express bliss in describing the interior of the city. The main roads (rathyā) and various other roads (patha) were constructed spaciously (vibhakta). The city was attractive with various buildings for horses etc., assembly halls, all placed in locations according to use, as well as temples. The buildings are in order of increasing attractiveness. The roads, public squares, private yards (vīthi) and altars in the doorways (dehalīm) were all completely soaked with perfumed water. The order of the list is from public areas to private dwellings. The beauty above is then described: flying flags created shade.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

After killing Naraka, Kṛṣṇa brought all the captive girls to Dvārakā and married them. Nārada wanted to see this. Since Nārada went there, Śukadeva settled on a new story suitable for narration since it was filled with rasa. Concentrating, he begins to praise Dvārakā. Hearing that Naraka had been killed along with his troops (ni—hatam) by Kṛṣṇa and being joyful, Nārada wanted to see how he had married so many women. This is most astonishing (citram bataitad). He was surprised on hearing about this, even though he was omniscient and could know all of this by his nature. The events were always being glorified by everyone with the greatest astonishment. He wanted to see Kṛṣṇa’s powers. Sma indicates that this was well known. Having shown Nārada’s astonishment, and related his going to Dvārakā to see the powers of Kṛṣṇa, Śukadeva then describes Dvārakā in five verses in order to nourish the story. His astonishment on seeing and his going there are described in one and a half verses. Ah! This is amazing, filled with his acintya-śakti. What was astonishing? One person had married sixteen thousand women. “One sees persons marrying even more than that number of women.” But he did this simultaneously. “Like Ṣaubhari, Nārada and others could expand their bodies. They could simultaneously do this. Why is it amazing for him?” He did this with one body. “One body can be expanded into many. It is not astonishing that these many bodies could marry the women at once, since he is more powerful than Saubhari.” He appeared in each of the houses. He married them all fully (ud-ā-vahat). Thinking in this way (iti), he thus went to Dvārakā wanting to see Kṛṣṇa’s powers. In describing Dvārakā, first the exterior portion is described. There were pleasant gardens filled with the chirping of birds. Lakes inside and outside of the groves were decorated with blossoming blue, white and pink lotuses as well as fragrant ones (kahlāra). Swans warbled loudly because of intoxication from drinking the nectar. The interiors of the buildings are then described. The palaces were made of crystal and silver. Verse 6 is in a longer meter to express bliss in describing the interior of the city. The main roads (rathyā) and various other roads (patha) were constructed spaciously (vibhakta). The city was attractive with various buildings for horses etc., assembly halls, all placed in locations according to use, as well as temples. The buildings are in order of increasing attractiveness. The roads, public squares, private yards (vīthi) and altars in the doorways (dehalīm) were all completely soaked with perfumed water. The order of the list is from public areas to private dwellings. The beauty above is then described: flying flags created shade.