SB 3.19.27 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

क्षितौ शयानं तमकुण्ठवर्चसं करालदंष्ट्रं परिदष्टदच्छदम् । अजादयो वीक्ष्य शशंसुरागता अहो इमां को नु लभेत संस्थितिम् ॥ २७ ॥

Verse text

kṣitau śayānaṁ tam akuṇṭha-varcasaṁ karāla-daṁṣṭraṁ paridaṣṭa-dacchadam ajādayo vīkṣya śaśaṁsur āgatā aho imaṁ ko nu labheta saṁsthitim

Synonyms

kṣitau — on the ground ; śayānam — lying ; tam — Hiraṇyākṣa ; akuṇṭha — unfaded ; varcasam — glow ; karāla — fearful ; daṁṣṭram — teeth ; paridaṣṭa — bitten ; dat — chadam — lip ; aja — ādayaḥ — Brahmā and others ; vīkṣya — having seen ; śaśaṁsuḥ — admiringly said ; āgatāḥ — arrived ; aho — oh ; imam — this ; kaḥ — who ; nu — indeed ; labheta — could meet ; saṁsthitim — death .

Translation

Aja [Brahmā] and others arrived on the spot to see the fearfully tusked demon lying on the ground, biting his lip. The glow of his face was yet unfaded, and Brahmā admiringly said: Oh, who could meet such blessed death?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Seeing the demon, with terrible fangs biting his lips, glowing brightly, Brahmā and the devatās praised him, saying, “Who would not attain such a fortunate death?” Saṁsthitim means death.

Purport

Although the demon was dead, his bodily luster was unfaded. This is very peculiar because when a man or animal is dead, the body immediately becomes pale, the luster gradually fades, and decomposition takes place. But here, although Hiraṇyākṣa lay dead, his bodily luster was unfaded because the Lord, the Supreme Spirit, was touching his body. One’s bodily luster remains fresh only as long as the spirit soul is present. Although the demon’s soul had departed his body, the Supreme Spirit touched the body, and therefore his bodily luster did not fade. The individual soul is different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead when he quits his body is certainly very fortunate, and therefore personalities like Brahmā and the other demigods eulogized the death of the demon.