FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.23.25

देव्य ऊचु: अहो इयं वधूर्धन्या या चैवं भूभुजां पतिम् । सर्वात्मना पतिं भेजे यज्ञेशं श्रीर्वधूरिव ॥ २५ ॥
devya ūcuḥ
[devya oochuh]
aho iyaṁ vadhūr dhanyā
[aho iyam vadhoor dhanyaa]
yā caivaṁ bhū-bhujāṁ patim
[yaa chaivam bhoo-bhujaam patim]
sarvātmanā patiṁ bheje
[sarvaatmanaa patim bheje]
yajñeśaṁ śrīr vadhūr iva
[yajnesham shreer vadhoor iva]
devyaḥ ūcuḥ — the wives of the demigods said aho — alas iyam — this vadhūḥ — the wife dhanyā — most glorious yā — who ca — also evam — as bhū — of the world bhujām — of all the kings patim — the king sarva-ātmanā — with full understanding patim — unto the husband bheje — worshiped yajña-īśam — unto Lord Viṣṇu śrīḥ — the goddess of fortune vadhūḥ — wife iva — like.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
devya ūcuḥ
devyaḥ ūcuḥ
the wives of the demigods said
aho iyaṁ vadhūr dhanyā
aho
alas
iyam
this
vadhūḥ
the wife
dhanyā
most glorious
yā caivaṁ bhū-bhujāṁ patim
yā
who
ca
also
evam
as
bhū
of the world
bhujām
of all the kings
patim
the king
sarvātmanā patiṁ bheje
sarva-ātmanā
with full understanding
patim
unto the husband
bheje
worshiped
yajñeśaṁ śrīr vadhūr iva
yajña-īśam
unto Lord Viṣṇu
śrīḥ
the goddess of fortune
vadhūḥ
wife
iva
like.
The wives of the demigods said: All glories to Queen Arci! We can see that this queen of the great King Pṛthu, the emperor of all the kings of the world, has served her husband with mind, speech and body exactly as the goddess of fortune serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yajñeśa, or Viṣṇu.

In this verse the words yajñeśaṁ śrīr vadhūr iva indicate that Queen Arci served her husband just as the goddess of fortune serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu. We can observe that even in the history of this world, when Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme Viṣṇu, was ruling over Dvārakā, Queen Rukmiṇī, who was the chief of all Kṛṣṇa’s queens, used to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa personally in spite of having many hundreds of maidservants to assist her. Similarly, the goddess of fortune in the Vaikuṇṭha planets also serves Nārāyaṇa personally, although there are many thousands of devotees prepared to serve the Lord. This practice is also followed by the wives of the demigods, and in days past the wives of men also followed this same principle. In Vedic civilization the husband and wife were not separated by such man-made laws as divorce. We should understand the necessity for maintaining family life in human society and should thus abolish this artificial law known as divorce. The husband and wife should live in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and follow in the footsteps of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa or Kṛṣṇa-Rukmiṇī. In this way peace and harmony can be possible within this world.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The wives of the devatās said: Oh, she is most fortunate! She worshipped her husband, King of kings, with her whole soul, just as Lakṣmī worships Viṣṇu.
Arci served her husband with mind, speech, body as Lakṣmī serves Yajñeśa Viṣṇu. The right human marriage mirrors the cosmic one; lower forms are clarified by reference to the highest.
Reflection Questions
  • Which cosmic relationship am I unconsciously mirroring in my own?
  • Where could I deliberately align my human bond to its archetype?
📝 My note

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