Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.20.38
प्रहस्य भावगम्भीरं जिघ्रन्त्यात्मानमात्मना ।
कान्त्या ससर्ज भगवान् गन्धर्वाप्सरसां गणान् ॥ ३८ ॥
prahasya bhāva-gambhīraṁ
[prahasya bhaava-gambheeram]
jighrantyātmānam ātmanā
[jighrantyaatmaanam aatmanaa]
kāntyā sasarja bhagavān
[kaantyaa sasarja bhagavaan]
gandharvāpsarasāṁ gaṇān
[gandharvaapsarasaam ganaan]
Word-for-word
prahasya
—
smiling
bhāva-gambhīram
—
with a deep purpose
jighrantyā
—
understanding
ātmānam
—
himself
ātmanā
—
by himself
kāntyā
—
by his loveliness
sasarja
—
created
bhagavān
—
the worshipful Lord Brahmā
gandharva
—
the celestial musicians
apsarasām
—
and of the heavenly dancing girls
gaṇān
—
the hosts of.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
prahasya bhāva-gambhīraṁ
prahasya
smiling
bhāva-gambhīram
with a deep purpose
jighrantyātmānam ātmanā
jighrantyā
understanding
ātmānam
himself
ātmanā
by himself
kāntyā sasarja bhagavān
kāntyā
by his loveliness
sasarja
created
bhagavān
the worshipful Lord Brahmā
gandharvāpsarasāṁ gaṇān
gandharva
the celestial musicians
apsarasām
and of the heavenly dancing girls
gaṇān
the hosts of.
With a laugh full of deep significance, the worshipful Brahmā then evolved by his own loveliness, which seemed to enjoy itself by itself, the hosts of Gandharvas and Apsarās.
Purport
The musicians in the upper planetary systems are called Gandharvas, and the dancing girls are called Apsarās. After being attacked by the demons and evolving a form of a beautiful woman in the twilight, Brahmā next created Gandharvas and Apsarās. Music and dancing employed in sense gratification are to be accepted as demoniac, but the same music and dancing, when employed in glorifying the Supreme Lord as kīrtana, are transcendental, and they bring about a life completely fit for spiritual enjoyment.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Smiling to reveal his inscrutable intention, Brahmā then created the Gandharvas and Apsarās by his beauty which he had relished.
When Brahmā remembered beauty, the Gandharvas appeared and the beauty became moon light. The Gandharvas accepted the light. Because of the custom of identifying the beauty with the possessor of beauty, it is stated that his beauty smelled itself by itself (though Brahmā smelled). Smiling and smelling are signs of relishing his own beauty.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The verse treats sense gratification as the path of least resistance, not as evil. The work is to introduce a little resistance — a small rule, kept — and let the soul re-emerge.
Reflection Questions
- What small rule kept consistently would do more for you than a dramatic vow once broken?
- What small regulation of routine would free up the most attention for inner life?
My note
Source: vedabase.io