Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.84.47
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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abhyaṣiñcan
—
they sprinkled with sacred water
abhi + √sic (to sprinkle). Abhiṣeka — the consecration rite. Gauḍīyas note that abhiṣeka is one of the core arcana acts; performed on the yajamāna, it consecrates him as ṛtvik-fit.
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aṣṭā-daśabhiḥ
—
with eighteen wives
Eighteen — the number of his wives, the same number as Mahābhārata's parvas and as days of the Kurukṣetra war. Gauḍīyas note Vyāsa's penchant for the number; here it locks Vasudeva into a poetic register of completeness.
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soma-rājam
—
the moon-king
soma (moon) + rāja (king). The standard royal simile in Sanskrit poetry — Vasudeva surrounded by his eighteen wives is like the moon-king encircled by stars. Gauḍīyas note that the simile is reserved for kings worthy of moon-comparison — and Vasudeva, the father of Bhagavān, qualifies.
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patnībhiḥ
—
with his wives
Instrumental plural of patnī. Yajña is performed sa-patnīka — with one's wife. Gauḍīyas read this as the ritual codification of dharma-as-couple: the householder cannot offer alone.
Devakī was Vasudeva’s principal wife, but she had several co-wives, including her six sisters. This fact is recorded in the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: devakaś cograsenaś ca catvāro devakātmajāḥ devavān upadevaś ca sudevo devavardhanaḥ teṣāṁ svasāraḥ saptāsan dhṛtadevādayo nṛpa śāntidevopadevā ca śrīdevā devarakṣitā sahadevā devakī ca vasudeva uvāha tāḥ “Āhuka had two sons, named Devaka and Ugrasena. Devaka had four sons, named Devavān, Upadeva, Sudeva and Devavardhana, and he also had seven daughters, named Śāntidevā, Upadevā, Śrīdevā, Devarakṣitā, Sahadevā, Devakī and Dhṛtadevā. Dhṛtadevā was the eldest. Vasudeva, the father of Kṛṣṇa, married all these sisters.” ( Bhāg. 9.24.21-23 ) Some of Vasudeva’s other wives are mentioned a few verses later: pauravī rohiṇī bhadrā madirā rocanā ilā devakī-pramukhāś cāsan patnya ānakadundubheḥ “Devakī, Pauravī, Rohiṇī, Bhadrā, Madirā, Rocanā, Ilā and others were all wives of Ānakadundubhi [Vasudeva]. Among them all, Devakī was the chief.” ( Bhāg. 9.24.45 )
Anointed with anjana on his eyes and smeared with butter on all parts of his body, he appeared like the king of moons (soma rajam)if there were many moons, surrounded by his eighteen wives like stars.
He was like the moon, king of soma. The word “king” is used in remembrance of his participation in the rājasūya sacrifice. The sacrifice was like that rājasūya sacrifice in grandeur. Though there are many somas (moons), among them, one will be the king. He is compared to the king among moons. The other kings are compared to stars. He had twenty-eight wives, but only eighteen participated because twenty-eight was too many. Hari-vaṁśa describes his birth: manuṣya-loke kṛtsne 'pi rūpe nāsti samo bhuvi / yasyāsīt puruṣāgryasya kāntiś candramaso yathā // One could not compare his beauty with that of any human beings on earth. The beauty of the best of men was like the moonlight. Here also he was incomparable.
The wives were the seven daughters of Devaka. There eleven others headed by Rohiṇī. With eighteen wives the scene was very beautiful. The king surrouned by the priests was like the moon surrounded by stars. The word “king” is used to indicate the glory of the sacrifice and its beauty. Hari-vaṁśa describes his birth: manuṣya-loke kṛtsne 'pi rūpe nāsti samo bhuvi / yasyāsīt puruṣāgryasya kāntiś candramaso yathā // One could not compare his beauty with that of any human beings on earth. The beauty of the best of men was like the moonlight.
- Which sense or body part have I excluded from spiritual service?
- How could my next worship include more of me, not just my mind?
Vasudeva sprinkled with sacred water, surrounded by his eighteen wives, looks like Soma — the king of the moon — encircled by stars. The yajña-pavilion has become a small heaven. Bhagavān, seated in the assembly, watches His own father step into the role yajña has prepared for him.
My note
Source: vedabase.io