Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.21
आरोप्याङ्कमवघ्राय मूर्धन्यश्रुकलाम्बुभि: ।
आसिञ्चन् विकसद्वक्त्रमिदमाह युधिष्ठिर ॥ २१ ॥
āropyāṅkam avaghrāya
[aaropyaankam avaghraaya]
mūrdhany aśru-kalāmbubhiḥ
[moordhany ashru-kalaambubhih]
āsiñcan vikasad-vaktram
[aasinchan vikasad-vaktram]
idam āha yudhiṣṭhira
[idam aaha yudhishthira]
Word-for-word
āropya
—
placing
aṅkam
—
on the lap
avaghrāya mūrdhani
—
smelling his head
aśru
—
of tears
kalā-ambubhiḥ
—
with water from drops
āsiñcan
—
moistening
vikasat-vaktram
—
his smiling face
idam
—
this
āha
—
said
yudhiṣṭhira
—
O Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
āropyāṅkam avaghrāya
āropya
placing
aṅkam
on the lap
avaghrāya mūrdhani
smelling his head
mūrdhany aśru-kalāmbubhiḥ
aśru
of tears
kalā-ambubhiḥ
with water from drops
āsiñcan vikasad-vaktram
āsiñcan
moistening
vikasat-vaktram
his smiling face
idam āha yudhiṣṭhira
idam
this
āha
said
yudhiṣṭhira
O Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
Nārada Muni continued: My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, Hiraṇyakaśipu seated Prahlāda Mahārāja on his lap and began smelling his head. With affectionate tears gliding down from his eyes and moistening the child’s smiling face, he spoke to his son as follows.
Purport
If a child or disciple falls at the feet of the father or spiritual master, the superior responds by smelling the head of the subordinate.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
O King Yudhiṣṭhira! Hiraṇyakaśipu, seating Prahlāda Mahārāja on his lap and smelling his head while moistening him with his tears, spoke to smiling Prahlāda.
Personal Guidance
Hiraṇyakaśipu seats Prahlāda on his lap, smells his head, sheds affectionate tears onto the child's smiling face. The Vedic gesture of smelling a child's head is profoundly intimate. Even the hardest heart has these moments — they are not the whole story but they are part of it.
Reflection Questions
- Whom in your life have you written off, forgetting their moments of real tenderness?
- How does honoring such moments change how you respond to their later cruelty?
My note
Source: vedabase.io