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Bhaktimandākinī
Sarnga bow in his hand), serving as a shelter to those fatigued by walking
the lengthy path of life (or pedestrians travelling a long way) like a garden
park (providing shelter for the rest of the passers-by on the road, which is
carpeted with tender leaves like the effulgence of the Kaustubha jewel, rich
in fruits like pearls, flourishing with splendour and vastness, marked with
the blossoming fresh groves of trees, thriving with birch trees, attractive with
holy fig trees and dark with the swarm of bees). I take refuge in it.[28]69
The mark Śrīvatsa on the chest The mark Śrīvatsa of Viṣṇu, the Lord
of Lakṣmī, shines, making his chest even more beautiful, just as the black
colour (beautifies) the neck of Siva, the destroyer of Yama (the God of
death, or Time personified); like the black mark (beautifies) the disc of
the moon, and just as a bee (beautifies) the cluster of blossoms of a tree.
This beautiful mark is ever densely covered with the effulgence of the jewel
Kaustubha: may this Śrīvatsa, like the dear son of wealth, bestow immense
wealth upon us.[29] 70
Kaustubha, the jewel worn on the chest The jewel Kaustubha, com-
ing up from the middle of the ocean, accompanied by Laksmī (splendour)
born with it (natural to the sun), occupies the blue space of the sky which is
the region of the chest of Narayaṇa, adorned with the multitude of garlands
(with rows of stars), makes all the directions bright, and outshines all other
sources of light by its brilliance. Let this Kaustubha, which is the source of
all wonders (foremost among all wonderful things) like the sun (the jewel of
the sky), be for our prosperity. [30]7¹
69 The chest region of Visnu is compared to a garden for passers-by to take rest in
the passage between birth and death. All the adjectives are equally applicable both to
the chest and to the small garden, with or without polysemy. The word Śrīvrkṣa is a
problematic one and its interpretation as meaning Śrīvatsa, the mark on the chest, not
recorded anywhere else. The commentator is also silent on this point and simply interprets
the compound as meaning attractive with the mark Śrīvatsa.
70 This verse is full of figures of speech. Three similes in the first half exaggerate the
function of the mark Śrīvatsa. Due to the association with the effulgence of rays from the
Kaustubha jewel, it is conceived as a child dear to the Goddess Lakṣmi (śrī = splendour).
The commentator notices the identification of the mark Śrīvatsa with the phenomenon
pradhāna, or primordial cause.
71 This verse describes the Kaustubha jewel, which is identified with the phenomenon of
soul or puruṣa. The allusion here is to the episode of the churning of the milk ocean, out
of which Kaustubha was obtained by Vişnu, along with Lakṣmī. A complete comparison
with the sun shining in the sky is furnished, with all the adjectives equally applicable to
both the sun and the jewel.
Bhaktimandākinī
Sarnga bow in his hand), serving as a shelter to those fatigued by walking
the lengthy path of life (or pedestrians travelling a long way) like a garden
park (providing shelter for the rest of the passers-by on the road, which is
carpeted with tender leaves like the effulgence of the Kaustubha jewel, rich
in fruits like pearls, flourishing with splendour and vastness, marked with
the blossoming fresh groves of trees, thriving with birch trees, attractive with
holy fig trees and dark with the swarm of bees). I take refuge in it.[28]69
The mark Śrīvatsa on the chest The mark Śrīvatsa of Viṣṇu, the Lord
of Lakṣmī, shines, making his chest even more beautiful, just as the black
colour (beautifies) the neck of Siva, the destroyer of Yama (the God of
death, or Time personified); like the black mark (beautifies) the disc of
the moon, and just as a bee (beautifies) the cluster of blossoms of a tree.
This beautiful mark is ever densely covered with the effulgence of the jewel
Kaustubha: may this Śrīvatsa, like the dear son of wealth, bestow immense
wealth upon us.[29] 70
Kaustubha, the jewel worn on the chest The jewel Kaustubha, com-
ing up from the middle of the ocean, accompanied by Laksmī (splendour)
born with it (natural to the sun), occupies the blue space of the sky which is
the region of the chest of Narayaṇa, adorned with the multitude of garlands
(with rows of stars), makes all the directions bright, and outshines all other
sources of light by its brilliance. Let this Kaustubha, which is the source of
all wonders (foremost among all wonderful things) like the sun (the jewel of
the sky), be for our prosperity. [30]7¹
69 The chest region of Visnu is compared to a garden for passers-by to take rest in
the passage between birth and death. All the adjectives are equally applicable both to
the chest and to the small garden, with or without polysemy. The word Śrīvrkṣa is a
problematic one and its interpretation as meaning Śrīvatsa, the mark on the chest, not
recorded anywhere else. The commentator is also silent on this point and simply interprets
the compound as meaning attractive with the mark Śrīvatsa.
70 This verse is full of figures of speech. Three similes in the first half exaggerate the
function of the mark Śrīvatsa. Due to the association with the effulgence of rays from the
Kaustubha jewel, it is conceived as a child dear to the Goddess Lakṣmi (śrī = splendour).
The commentator notices the identification of the mark Śrīvatsa with the phenomenon
pradhāna, or primordial cause.
71 This verse describes the Kaustubha jewel, which is identified with the phenomenon of
soul or puruṣa. The allusion here is to the episode of the churning of the milk ocean, out
of which Kaustubha was obtained by Vişnu, along with Lakṣmī. A complete comparison
with the sun shining in the sky is furnished, with all the adjectives equally applicable to
both the sun and the jewel.