SB 3.15.19 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

मन्दारकुन्दकुरबोत्पलचम्पकार्ण- पुन्नागनागबकुलाम्बुजपारिजाता: । गन्धेऽर्चिते तुलसिकाभरणेन तस्या यस्मिंस्तप: सुमनसो बहु मानयन्ति ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

mandāra-kunda-kurabotpala-campakārṇa- punnāga-nāga-bakulāmbuja-pārijātāḥ gandhe ’rcite tulasikābharaṇena tasyā yasmiṁs tapaḥ sumanaso bahu mānayanti

Synonyms

mandāra — mandāra flower ; kunda — kunda flower ; kuraba — kuraba ; utpala — utpala ; campaka — campaka ; arṇa — arṇa ; punnāga — punnāga ; nāga — nāgakeśara ; bakula — bakula ; ambuja — lily ; pārijātāḥ — pārijāta ; gandhe — fragrance ; arcite — being worshiped ; tulasikā — tulasī ; ābharaṇena — with a garland ; tasyāḥ — of her ; yasmin — in which Vaikuṇṭha ; tapaḥ — austerity ; su — manasaḥ — good-minded, Vaikuṇṭha-minded ; bahu — very much ; mānayanti — glorify .

Translation

Although flowering plants like the mandāra, kunda, kurabaka, utpala, campaka, arṇa, punnāga, nāgakeśara, bakula, lily and pārijāta are full of transcendental fragrance, they are still conscious of the austerities performed by tulasī, for tulasī is given special preference by the Lord, who garlands Himself with tulasī leaves.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the forests of Vaikuṇṭha, on smelling the scent of tulasī used in the garlands of the Lord, the mandāra, kunda, kuraba, water lily, campaka, arṇa, punnāga, nāgakeśara, baluka, lotus and pārijāta trees, being of pure mind, give great respect to tulasī for her performance of austerity to achieve that position. Like the birds, the trees also are the greatest devotees, devoid of envy and hatred. Nāga means the nāgakeśara tree. These trees have flowers with the sweetest perfume, but when they smell the fragrance of tulasi when the Lord performs pastimes in the forest with tulasī ornaments, they offer respect to tulasī for her austerities to achieve that position, for they have not done such austerities. “You are so fortunate!” “If we know what austerities she did, then we would go to the land of Bhārata and do the same!” This is the hint from the description. Even the inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha desire to take birth in Bhārata. It is hinted that the land of Bhārata is superior to Vaikuṇṭha. The trees respect tulasī and do not envy her, because she has a pure heart (sumanasaḥ). Or sumanasah can mean flowering trees. Mention here is made of the persons in airplanes, born from wombs, the birds born from eggs and the trees born from seeds. The fourth type of living beings born from perspiration do not worship the Lord since they are not described here.

Purport

The importance of tulasī leaves is very clearly mentioned here. Tulasī plants and their leaves are very important in devotional service. Devotees are recommended to water the tulasī tree every day and collect the leaves to worship the Lord. One time an atheistic svāmī remarked, “What is the use of watering the tulasī plant? It is better to water eggplant. By watering the eggplant one can get some fruits, but what is the use of watering the tulasī ?” These foolish creatures, unacquainted with devotional service, sometimes play havoc with the education of people in general. The most important thing about the spiritual world is that there is no envy among the devotees there. This is true even among the flowers, which are all conscious of the greatness of tulasī. In the Vaikuṇṭha world entered by the four Kumāras, even the birds and flowers are conscious of service to the Lord.