FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.12.34

तत्र तत्र प्रशंसद्‌भि: पथि वैमानिकै: सुरै: । अवकीर्यमाणो दद‍ृशे कुसुमै: क्रमशो ग्रहान् ॥ ३४ ॥
tatra tatra praśaṁsadbhiḥ
[tatra tatra prashamsadbhih]
pathi vaimānikaiḥ suraiḥ
[pathi vaimaanikaih suraih]
avakīryamāṇo dadṛśe
[avakeeryamaano dadrishe]
kusumaiḥ kramaśo grahān
[kusumaih kramasho grahaan]
tatra tatra — here and there praśaṁsadbhiḥ — by persons engaged in the praise of Dhruva Mahārāja pathi — on the path vaimānikaiḥ — carried by different types of airplanes suraiḥ — by the demigods avakīryamāṇaḥ — being covered dadṛśe — could see kusumaiḥ — by flowers kramaśaḥ — one after another grahān — all the planets of the solar system.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tatra tatra praśaṁsadbhiḥ
tatra tatra
here and there
praśaṁsadbhiḥ
by persons engaged in the praise of Dhruva Mahārāja
pathi vaimānikaiḥ suraiḥ
pathi
on the path
vaimānikaiḥ
carried by different types of airplanes
suraiḥ
by the demigods
avakīryamāṇo dadṛśe
avakīryamāṇaḥ
being covered
dadṛśe
could see
kusumaiḥ kramaśo grahān
kusumaiḥ
by flowers
kramaśaḥ
one after another
grahān
all the planets of the solar system.
While Dhruva Mahārāja was passing through space, he gradually saw all the planets of the solar system, and on the path he saw all the demigods in their airplanes showering flowers upon him like rain.

There is a Vedic version, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati, which means that by knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything becomes known to the devotee. Similarly, by going to the planet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can know all the other planetary systems on the path to Vaikuṇṭha. We should remember that Dhruva Mahārāja’s body was different from our bodies. While boarding the Vaikuṇṭha airplane, his body changed to a completely spiritual golden hue. No one can surpass the higher planets in a material body, but when one gets a spiritual body he can travel not only to the higher planetary system of this material world, but even to the still higher planetary system known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka. It is well known that Nārada Muni travels everywhere, both in the spiritual and material worlds.

It should be noted also that while Sunīti was going to Vaikuṇṭhaloka she also changed her body into a spiritual form. Like Śrī Sunīti, every mother should train her child to become a devotee like Dhruva Mahārāja. Sunīti instructed her son, even at the age of five years, to be unattached to worldly affairs and to go to the forest to search out the Supreme Lord. She never desired that her son remain at home comfortably without ever undertaking austerities and penances to achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Every mother, like Sunīti, must take care of her son and train him to become a brahmacārī from the age of five years and to undergo austerities and penances for spiritual realization. The benefit will be that if her son becomes a strong devotee like Dhruva, certainly not only will he be transferred back home, back to Godhead, but she will also be transferred with him to the spiritual world, even though she may be unable to undergo austerities and penances in executing devotional service.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
While being showered with flowers here and there by devatās who were praising him in other planes on that path, Dhruva saw the many planets one after the other.
Passing through space, Dhruva sees all the solar planets and demigods in airplanes showering flowers. The journey upward is itself instructive; you see the structure of the worlds you used to live in.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'planets' of my own past life would I see clearly if I were traveling upward right now?
  • Where would gratitude show up in me if I saw the demigods of past help showering flowers?
📝 My note

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