SB 10.79.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तत्रायुतमदाद् धेनूर्ब्राह्मणेभ्यो हलायुध: । कृतमालां ताम्रपर्णीं मलयं च कुलाचलम् ॥ १६ ॥ तत्रागस्त्यं समासीनं नमस्कृत्याभिवाद्य च । योजितस्तेन चाशीर्भिरनुज्ञातो गतोऽर्णवम् । दक्षिणं तत्र कन्याख्यां दुर्गां देवीं ददर्श स: ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

tatrāyutam adād dhenūr brāhmaṇebhyo halāyudhaḥ kṛtamālāṁ tāmraparṇīṁ malayaṁ ca kulācalam tatrāgastyaṁ samāsīnaṁ namaskṛtyābhivādya ca yojitas tena cāśīrbhir anujṣāto gato ’rṇavam dakṣiṇaṁ tatra kanyākhyāṁ durgāṁ devīṁ dadarśa saḥ

Synonyms

tatra — there (at Setubandha, known also as Rāmeśvaram) ; ayutam — ten thousand ; adāt — He gave away ; dhenūḥ — cows ; brahmaṇebhyaḥ — to brāhmaṇas ; hala — āyudhaḥ — Lord Balarāma, whose weapon is the plow ; kṛtamālām — to the Kṛtamālā River ; tāmraparṇīm — the Tāmraparṇī River ; malayam — Malaya ; ca — and ; kula — acalam — the principal mountain range ; tatra — there ; agastyam — to Agastya Ṛṣi ; samāsīnam — sitting (in meditation) ; namaskṛtya — bowing down ; abhivādya — glorifying ; ca — and ; yojitaḥ — granted ; tena — by him ; ca — and ; āśīrbhiḥ — blessings ; anujṣātaḥ — given permission to leave ; gataḥ — He went ; arṇavam — to the ocean ; dakṣiṇam — southern ; tatra — there ; kanyā — ākhyām — known as Kanyā-kumārī ; durgām devīm — Goddess Durgā ; dadarśa — saw ; saḥ — He .

Translation

There at Setubandha [Rāmeśvaram] Lord Halāyudha gave brāhmaṇas ten thousand cows in charity. He then visited the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī rivers and the great Malaya Mountains. In the Malaya range Lord Balarāma found Agastya Ṛṣi sitting in meditation. After bowing down to the sage, the Lord offered him prayers and then received blessings from him. Taking leave from Agastya, He proceeded to the shore of the southern ocean, where He saw Goddess Durgā in her form of Kanyā-kumārī.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

There at Setubandha [Rāmeśvaram] Lord Halāyudha gave brāhmaṇas ten thousand cows in charity. He then visited the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī rivers and the great Malaya Mountains. In the Malaya range Lord Balarāma found Agastya Ṛṣi sitting in meditation. After bowing down to the sage, the Lord offered him prayers and then received blessings from him. Taking leave from Agastya, He proceeded to the shore of the southern ocean, where He saw Goddess Durgā in her form of Kanyā-kumārī. KB 10.79.16-17 In this particularly holy place, Lord Balarāma distributed ten thousand cows to the local brāhmaṇa priests. It is the Vedic custom that when a rich visitor goes to any place of pilgrimage he gives the local priests houses, cows, ornaments and garments as gifts of charity. This system of visiting places of pilgrimage and providing the local brāhmaṇa priests with all necessities of life has greatly deteriorated in this Age of Kali. The richer section of the population, because of its degradation in Vedic culture, is no longer attracted by these places of pilgrimage, and the brāhmaṇa priests who depended on such visitors have also deteriorated in their professional duty of helping the visitors. These brāhmaṇa priests in the places of pilgrimage are called paṇḍā or paṇḍita. This means that they were formerly very learned brāhmaṇas and used to guide the visitors in all details of the purpose of coming there, and thus both the visitors and the priests benefited by mutual cooperation. It is clear from the description of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that when Lord Balarāma was visiting the different places of pilgrimage He properly followed the Vedic system. After distributing cows at Setubandha, Lord Balarāma proceeded toward the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred, and Lord Balarāma bathed in them both. He then proceeded toward Malaya Hill. This hill is very great, and it is said to be one of seven peaks called the Malaya Hills. The great sage Agastya used to live there, and Lord Balarāma visited him and offered His respects by bowing down before him. After taking the sage’s blessings, Lord Balarāma, with the sage’s permission, proceeded toward the Indian Ocean. At the point of the cape (known today as Cape Comorin) is a big temple of Goddess Durgā, who is known there as Kanyākumārī. This temple of Kanyākumārī was also visited by Lord Rāmacandra, and therefore it is to be understood that the temple has been existing for millions of years.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

He gave cows to the brāhmaṇas at Sāgara-setu. He is called holder of the plow because after killing Balvala, he continued to carry the plough in order to protect the brāhmaṇa families wherever he went. He was also Saṅkarṣaṇa, able to do anything because of being directly the Supreme Lord. He went to the southernmost point of Bhārata-varṣa, with the Malaya mountain range (kulācalam) and met Agastya who dwelled there constantly. Receiving his blessings and permission to leave, he went to the southern ocean, and saw Durgā who was worshipped by the universe or shone with her glory (devīm).