SB 3.22.30 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

बर्हिष्मती नाम पुरी सर्वसम्पत्समन्विता । न्यपतन् यत्र रोमाणि यज्ञस्याङ्गं विधुन्वत: ॥ २९ ॥ कुशा: काशास्त एवासन् शश्वद्धरितवर्चस: । ऋषयो यै: पराभाव्य यज्ञघ्नान् यज्ञमीजिरे ॥ ३० ॥

Verse text

barhiṣmatī nāma purī sarva-sampat-samanvitā nyapatan yatra romāṇi yajṣasyāṅgaṁ vidhunvataḥ kuśāḥ kāśās ta evāsan śaśvad-dharita-varcasaḥ ṛṣayo yaiḥ parābhāvya yajṣa-ghnān yajṣam ījire

Synonyms

barhiṣmatī — Barhiṣmatī ; nāma — named ; purī — city ; sarva — sampat — all kinds of wealth ; samanvitā — full of ; nyapatan — fell down ; yatra — where ; romāṇi — the hairs ; yajṣasya — of Lord Boar ; aṅgam — His body ; vidhunvataḥ — shaking ; kuśāḥ — kuśa grass ; kāśāḥ — kāśa grass ; te — they ; eva — certainly ; āsan — became ; śaśvat — harita — of evergreen ; varcasaḥ — having the color ; ṛṣayaḥ — the sages ; yaiḥ — by which ; parābhāvya — defeating ; yajṣa — ghnān — the disturbers of the sacrificial performances ; yajṣam — Lord Viṣṇu ; ījire — they worshiped .

Translation

The city of Barhiṣmatī, rich in all kinds of wealth, was so called because Lord Viṣṇu’s hair dropped there from His body when He manifested Himself as Lord Boar. As He shook His body, this very hair fell and turned into blades of evergreen kuśa grass and kāśa [another kind of grass used for mats], by means of which the sages worshiped Lord Viṣṇu after defeating the demons who had interfered with the performance of their sacrifices.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The city of Barhiṣmatī, filled with all wealth, was where the hairs of the boar avatāra fell when he shook his wet body. The hairs which fell became kuśa and kāśa grass which are always green. With that grass the sages worship the Lord after defeating the demons who oppose sacrifice. What was Brahmāvarta like? In that place there was the city of Barhiṣmatī, where the hairs of Varāha fell. This verse explains the meaning of the city Barhiṣmati (filled with kuśa grass). The hairs remained as kuśa and kāśa grass.

Purport

Any place directly connected with the Supreme Lord is called pīṭha-sthāna. Barhiṣmatī, the capital of Svāyambhuva Manu, was exalted not because the city was very rich in wealth and opulence, but because the hairs of Lord Varāha fell at this very spot. These hairs of the Lord later grew as green grass, and the sages used to worship the Lord with that grass after the time when the Lord killed the demon Hiraṇyākṣa. Yajṣa means Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā, karma is described as yajṣārtha. Yajṣārtha-karma means “work done only for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu.” If something is done for sense gratification or any other purpose, it will be binding upon the worker. If one wants to be freed from the reaction of his work, he must perform everything for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, or Yajṣa. In the capital of Svāyambhuva Manu, Barhiṣmatī, these particular functions were being performed by the great sages and saintly persons.