FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.75.14

स्वलङ्कृता नरा नार्यो गन्धस्रग्भूषणाम्बरै: । विलिम्पन्त्योऽभिसिञ्चन्त्यो विजह्रुर्विविधै रसै: ॥ १४ ॥
sv-alaṇkṛtā narā nāryo
[sv-alankritaa naraa naaryo]
gandha-srag-bhūṣaṇāmbaraiḥ
[gandha-srag-bhooshanaambaraih]
vilimpantyo ’bhisiñcantyo
[vilimpantyo ’bhisinchantyo]
vijahrur vividhai rasaiḥ
[vijahrur vividhai rasaih]
su - alaṅkṛtāḥ — well decorated narāḥ — men nāryaḥ — and women gandha — with sandalwood paste srak — flower garlands bhūṣaṇa — jewelry ambaraiḥ — and clothing vilimpantyaḥ — smearing abhiṣiñcantyaḥ — and sprinkling vijahruḥ — they played vividhaiḥ — various rasaiḥ — with liquids .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sv-alaṇkṛtā narā nāryo
su - alaṅkṛtāḥ
well decorated
narāḥ
men
nāryaḥ
and women
gandha-srag-bhūṣaṇāmbaraiḥ
gandha
with sandalwood paste
srak
flower garlands
bhūṣaṇa
jewelry
ambaraiḥ
and clothing
vilimpantyo ’bhisiñcantyo
vilimpantyaḥ
smearing
abhiṣiñcantyaḥ
and sprinkling
vijahrur vividhai rasaiḥ
vijahruḥ
they played
vividhaiḥ
various
rasaiḥ
with liquids .
  • su-alaṅkṛtāḥ — well decorated
    Compound: su (well) + alaṅkṛta (ornamented). Gauḍīya bhakti does not reject ornament; the dehī ornaments the deha when the deha serves the Deha-dhārī. Aesthetic abundance is itself a yajña-limb.
  • gandha-srak-bhūṣaṇa-ambaraiḥ — with sandalwood, garlands, jewelry and clothes
    Four-fold compound listing the classical śṛṅgāra elements. The same items Vraja gopīs use to dress Kṛṣṇa's deity now decorate Yudhiṣṭhira's celebrants — the link is intentional.
  • vilimpantyaḥ — smearing
    Present participle feminine plural — the women smear. Gauḍīya note: when the spirit of yajña is intact, even play (līlā in the small sense) becomes sacred.
  • vividhaiḥ-rasaiḥ — with various liquids
    Rasa here means literal liquid (perfumes, dyes). But the Bhāgavatam's habitual second meaning shadows the word — devotional rasa is always implied; the festival fluids are emblems of the deeper sweetness.
Men and women, all adorned with sandalwood paste, flower garlands, jewelry and fine clothing, sported by smearing and sprinkling one another with various liquids.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Men and women, all adorned with sandalwood paste, flower garlands, jewelry and fine clothing, sported by smearing and sprinkling one another with various liquids.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The women especially were anointed with ointments. Or everyone smeared in various manners (vilimpantyaḥ) and sprinkled various liquids.

Related values
Bhakti (Devotion)Prema (Divine Love)
Concepts
RasaJiva
Men and women sported by smearing each other with sandalwood paste and colored liquids. Sacred play involves bodies and color and laughter; bhakti culture does not banish the senses.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have I sanitized devotion until it lost its bodily life?
  • What playful sensory practice could honor the Lord today?

A devotee's festival is sensuous without being sensual — like Holī in a temple. The smearing and sprinkling here are not lust's play but joy's overflow, because the center is Kṛṣṇa, not the body. The same gesture in two hearts means two different things.

📝 My note

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