SB 5.25.5 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्यैव हि नागराजकुमार्य आशिष आशासानाश्चार्वङ्गवलयविलसितविशद विपुलधवलसुभगरुचिरभुजरजतस्तम्भेष्वगुरुचन्दनकुङ्कुमपङ्कानुलेपेनावलिम्पमानास्तदभिमर्शनोन्मथितहृदयमकरध्वजावेशरुचिरललितस्मितास्तदनुरागमदमुदितमद् विघूर्णितारुणकरुणावलोकनयनवदनारविन्दं सव्रीडं किल विलोकयन्ति ॥ ५ ॥

Verse text

yasyaiva hi nāga-rāja-kumārya āśiṣa āśāsānāś cārv-aṅga-valaya-vilasita-viśada-vipula-dhavala-subhaga-rucira-bhuja-rajata-stambheṣv aguru-candana-kuṅkuma-paṅkānulepenāvalimpamānās tad-abhimarśanonmathita-hṛdaya-makara-dhvajāveśa-rucira-lalita-smitās tad-anurāgamada-mudita-mada-vighūrṇitāruṇa-karuṇāvaloka-nayana-vadanāravindaṁ savrīḍaṁ kila vilokayanti.

Synonyms

yasya — of whom ; eva — certainly ; hi — indeed ; nāga — rāja — kumāryaḥ — the unmarried princesses of the serpent kings ; āśiṣaḥ — blessings ; āśāsānāḥ — hoping for ; cāru — beautiful ; aṅga — valaya — on the sphere of His body ; vilasita — gleaming ; viśada — spotless ; vipula — long ; dhavala — white ; subhaga — indicating good fortune ; rucira — beautiful ; bhuja — on His arms ; rajata — stambheṣu — like columns of silver ; aguru — of aloe ; candana — of sandalwood ; kuṅkuma — of saffron ; paṅka — from the pulp ; anulepena — with an ointment ; avalimpamānāḥ — smearing ; tat — abhimarśana — by contact with His limbs ; unmathita — agitated ; hṛdaya — in their hearts ; makara — dhvaja — of Cupid ; āveśa — due to the entrance ; rucira — very beautiful ; lalita — delicate ; smitāḥ — whose smiling ; tat — of Him ; anurāga — of attachment ; mada — by the intoxication ; mudita — delighted ; mada — due to intoxication with kindness ; vighūrṇita — rolling ; aruṇa — pink ; karuṇa — avaloka — glancing with kindness ; nayana — eyes ; vadana — and face ; aravindam — like lotus flowers ; sa — vrīḍam — with bashfulness ; kila — indeed ; vilokayanti — they see .

Translation

Lord Ananta’s arms are attractively long, beautifully decorated with bangles and completely spiritual. They are white, and so they appear like silver columns. When the beautiful princesses of the serpent kings, hoping for the Lord’s auspicious blessing, smear His arms with aguru pulp, sandalwood pulp and kuṅkuma, the touch of His limbs awakens lusty desires within them. Understanding their minds, the Lord looks at the princesses with a merciful smile, and they become bashful, realizing that He knows their desires. Then they smile beautifully and look upon the Lord’s lotus face, which is beautified by reddish eyes rolling slightly from intoxication and delighted by love for His devotees.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The young daughters of the snake king, hoping for blessings, smear the silver pillars of his long, gleaming white arms arranged on his beautiful body with a paste made of aguru, sandalwood and kuṁkuma. With attractive smiles arising from hearts disturbed by Cupid due to contact with Ananta’s limbs, shyly look at his lotus face with its red, compassionate eyes which roll about because of the intoxication of joy caused by attraction to his devotees. On the silver pillars of his arms, in the beautiful array of his bodily limbs (aṅga-valaya), they smear aguru and other ointments made into a paste. They have attractive smiles indicating love because of the entrance of Cupid in their hearts, disturbed by touching his body, when putting on the ointment. His lotus face has eyes which glance merciful towards those young women. His red eyes roll about in great joy, because of exhilarating, natural attraction to his devotees. They are disturbed with shyness, thinking that the Lord knows they have disturbed hearts.

Purport

When males and females touch each other’s bodies, their lusty desires naturally awaken. It appears from this verse that there are similar sensations in spiritual bodies. Both Lord Ananta and the women giving Him pleasure had spiritual bodies. Thus all sensations originally exist in the spiritual body. This is confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra: janmādy asya yataḥ. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has commented in this connection that the word ādi means ādi-rasa, the original lusty feeling, which is born from the Supreme. However, spiritual lust and material lust are as completely different as gold and iron. Only one who is very highly elevated in spiritual realization can understand the lusty feelings exchanged between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, or between Kṛṣṇa and the damsels of Vraja. Therefore, unless one is very experienced and advanced in spiritual realization, he is forbidden to discuss the lusty feelings of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. However, if one is a sincere and pure devotee, the material lust in his heart is completely vanquished as he discusses the lusty feelings between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa, and he makes quick progress in spiritual life.