FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.23.36-37

स तां कृतमलस्‍नानां विभ्राजन्तीमपूर्ववत् । आत्मनो बिभ्रतीं रूपं संवीतरुचिरस्तनीम् ॥ ३६ ॥ विद्याधरीसहस्रेण सेव्यमानां सुवाससम् । जातभावो विमानं तदारोहयदमित्रहन् ॥ ३७ ॥
sa tāṁ kṛta-mala-snānāṁ
[sa taam krita-mala-snaanaam]
vibhrājantīm apūrvavat
[vibhraajanteem apoorvavat]
ātmano bibhratīṁ rūpaṁ
[aatmano bibhrateem roopam]
saṁvīta-rucira-stanīm
[samveeta-ruchira-staneem]
vidyādharī-sahasreṇa
[vidyaadharee-sahasrena]
sevyamānāṁ suvāsasam
[sevyamaanaam suvaasasam]
jāta-bhāvo vimānaṁ tad
[jaata-bhaavo vimaanam tad]
ārohayad amitra-han
[aarohayad amitra-han]
saḥ — the sage tām — her (Devahūti) kṛta-mala-snānām — bathed clean vibhrājantīm — shining forth apūrva-vat — unprecedentedly ātmanaḥ — her own bibhratīm — possessing rūpam — beauty saṁvīta — girded rucira — charming stanīm — with breasts vidyādharī — of Gandharva girls sahasreṇa — by a thousand sevyamānām — being waited upon su-vāsasam — dressed in excellent robes jāta-bhāvaḥ — struck with fondness vimānam — airplane like a mansion tat — that ārohayat — he put her on board amitra-han — O destroyer of the enemy.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa tāṁ kṛta-mala-snānāṁ
saḥ
the sage
tām
her (Devahūti)
kṛta-mala-snānām
bathed clean
vibhrājantīm apūrvavat
vibhrājantīm
shining forth
apūrva-vat
unprecedentedly
ātmanaḥ
her own
ātmano bibhratīṁ rūpaṁ
bibhratīm
possessing
rūpam
beauty
saṁvīta-rucira-stanīm
saṁvīta
girded
rucira
charming
stanīm
with breasts
vidyādharī-sahasreṇa
vidyādharī
of Gandharva girls
sahasreṇa
by a thousand
sevyamānāṁ suvāsasam
sevyamānām
being waited upon
su-vāsasam
dressed in excellent robes
jāta-bhāvo vimānaṁ tad
jāta-bhāvaḥ
struck with fondness
vimānam
airplane like a mansion
tat
that
ārohayad amitra-han
ārohayat
he put her on board
amitra-han
O destroyer of the enemy.
The sage could see that Devahūti had washed herself clean and was shining forth as though no longer his former wife. She had regained her own original beauty as the daughter of a prince. Dressed in excellent robes, her charming breasts duly girded, she was waited upon by a thousand Gandharva girls. O destroyer of the enemy, his fondness for her grew, and he placed her on the aerial mansion.

Before her marriage, when Devahūti was brought by her parents before the sage Kardama, she was the perfectly beautiful princess, and Kardama Muni remembered her former beauty. But after her marriage, when she was engaged in the service of Kardama Muni, she neglected to care for her body like a princess, since there was no means for such care; her husband was living in a cottage, and since she was always engaged in serving him, her royal beauty disappeared, and she became just like an ordinary maidservant. Now, after being bathed by the Gandharva girls by the order of Kardama Muni’s yogic power, she regained her beauty, and Kardama Muni felt attracted to the beauty she had shown before the marriage. The real beauty of a young woman is her breasts. When Kardama Muni saw the breasts of his wife so nicely decorated, increasing her beauty many times, he was attracted, even though he was a great sage. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has therefore warned the transcendentalists that one who is after transcendental realization should not be attracted by the raised breasts of a woman because they are nothing but an interaction of fat and blood within the body.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O conqueror of lust! Kardama, struck with love for his wife, who was now cleansed, shining, beautiful as she was previously, with covered, charming breasts, fine robes, served by thousands of young girls, placed her in the airplane. She was as radiant as she was previously before her marriage. Saṁvīta means covered. If sthanam is in the neuter then it modifies rūpam.
The verse models the central spiritual relationship: an inquirer approaching a realized teacher. Spiritual life rarely advances without this living human pivot.
Reflection Questions
  • What question would you bring to a realized teacher if one sat across from you this evening?
  • What would it cost you to approach a teacher in the posture this verse models?
📝 My note

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