Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.53.51-55

tāḿ deva-māyām iva dhīra-mohinīḿ

su-madhyamāḿ kuṇḍala-maṇḍitānanām

śyāmāḿ nitambārpita-ratna-mekhalāḿ

vyañjat-stanīḿ kuntala-śańkitekṣaṇām

śuci-smitāḿ bimba-phalādhara-dyuti-

śoṇāyamāna-dvija-kunda-kuḍmalām

padā calantīḿ kala-haḿsa-gāminīḿ

siñjat-kalā-nūpura-dhāma-śobhinā

vilokya vīrā mumuhuḥ samāgatā

yaśasvinas tat-kṛta-hṛc-chayārditāḥ

yāḿ vīkṣya te nṛpatayas tad udāra-hāsa-

vrīdāvaloka-hṛta-cetasa ujjhitāstrāḥ

petuḥ kṣitau gaja-rathāśva-gatā vimūḍhā

yātrā-cchalena haraye 'rpayatīḿ sva-śobhām

saivaḿ śanaiś calayatī cala-padma-kośau

prāptiḿ tadā bhagavataḥ prasamīkṣamāṇā

utsārya vāma-karajair alakān apańgaiḥ

prāptān hriyaikṣata nṛpān dadṛśe 'cyutaḿ ca

tāḿ rāja-kanyāḿ ratham ārurakṣatīḿ

jahāra kṛṣṇo dviṣatāḿ samīkṣatām

SYNONYMS

tām — her; deva — of the Supreme Lord; māyām — the illusory potency; iva — as if; dhīra — even those who are sober; mohinīm — who bewilders; su-madhyamām — whose waist was well-formed; kuṇḍala — with earrings; maṇḍita — decorated; ānanām — whose face; śyāmām — uncontaminated beauty; nitamba — on whose hips; arpita — placed; ratna — jewel-studded; mekhalām — a belt; vyañjat — budding; stanīm — whose breasts; kuntala — of the locks of her hair; śańkita — frightened; īkṣaṇām — whose eyes; śuci — pure; smitām — with a smile; bimba-phala — like a bimba fruit; adhara — of whose lips; dyuti — by the glow; śoṇāyamāna — becoming reddened; dvija — whose teeth; kunda — jasmine; kuḍmalām — like buds; padā — with her feet; calantīm — walking; kala-haḿsa — like that of a royal swan; gāminīm — whose gait; siñjat — tinkling; kalā — skillfully fashioned; nūpura — of whose ankle bells; dhāma — by the effulgence; śobhinā — beautified; vilokya — seeing; vīrāḥ — the heroes; mumuhuḥ — became bewildered; samāgatāḥ — assembled; yaśasvinaḥ — respectable; tat — by this; kṛta — generated; hṛt-śaya — by the lust; arditāḥ — distressed; yām — whom; vīkṣya — upon seeing; te — these; nṛ-patayaḥ — kings; tat — her; udāra — broad; hāsa — by the smiles; vrīḍā — of shyness; avaloka — and the glances; hṛta — stolen; cetasaḥ — whose minds; ujjhita — dropping; astrāḥ — their weapons; petuḥ — they fell; kṣitau — to the ground; gaja — on elephants; ratha — chariots; aśva — and horses; gatāḥ — sitting; vimūḍhāḥ — fainting; yātrā — of the procession; chalena — on the pretext; haraye — to Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa; arpayatīm — who was offering; sva — her own; śobhām — beauty; sā — she; evam — thus; śanaiḥ — slowly; calayatī — making walk; cala — moving; padma — of lotus flowers; kośau — the two whorls (that is, her feet); prāptim — the arrival; tadā — then; bhagavataḥ — of the Supreme Lord; prasamīkṣamāṇā — eagerly awaiting; utsārya — pushing away; vāma — left; kara-jaiḥ — with the nails of her hand; alakān — her hair; apāńgaiḥ — with sidelong glances; prāptān — those present; hriyā — with shyness; aikṣata — she looked; nṛpān — at the kings; dadṛśe — she saw; acyutam — Kṛṣṇa; ca — and; tām — her; rāja-kanyām — the King's daughter; ratham — His chariot; ārurukṣatīm — who was ready to mount; jahāra — seized; kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; dviṣatām — His enemies; samīkṣatām — as they looked on.

TRANSLATION

Rukmiṇī appeared as enchanting as the Lord's illusory potency, who enchants even the sober and grave. Thus the kings gazed upon her virgin beauty, her shapely waist, and her lovely face adorned with earrings. Her hips were graced with a jewel-studded belt, her breasts were just budding, and her eyes seemed apprehensive of her encroaching locks of hair. She smiled sweetly, her jasmine-bud teeth reflecting the glow of her bimba-red lips. As she walked with the motions of a royal swan, the effulgence of her tinkling ankle bells beautified her feet. Seeing her, the assembled heroes were totally bewildered. Lust tore at their hearts. Indeed, when the kings saw her broad smile and shy glance, they became stupefied, dropped their weapons and fell unconscious to the ground from their elephants, chariots and horses. On the pretext of the procession, Rukmiṇī displayed her beauty for Kṛṣṇa alone. Slowly she advanced the two moving lotus-whorls of her feet, awaiting the arrival of the Supreme Lord. With the fingernails of her left hand she pushed some strands of hair away from her face and shyly looked from the corners of her eyes at the kings standing before her. At that moment she saw Kṛṣṇa. Then, while His enemies looked on, the Lord seized the princess, who was eager to mount His chariot.

PURPORT

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Rukmiṇī was anxious that her locks of hair might impede her vision, since she was most eager to see her beloved Kṛṣṇa. The nondevotees, or demons, are bewildered at seeing the opulences of the Lord and think that His potency is meant for their gross sense gratification. But Rukmiṇī, an expansion of Kṛṣṇa's internal pleasure potency, was meant for the Lord alone.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes the following verse to describe the kind of woman known as śyāmā:

śīta-kāle bhaved usṇo

uṣṇa-kāle tu śītalā

stanau su-kaṭhinau yasyāḥ

sā śyāmā parikīrtitā

"A woman is called śyāmā when her breasts are very firm and when someone in her presence feels warm in the winter and cool in the summer."

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī further points out that since the beautiful form of Rukmiṇī is a manifestation of the Lord's internal energy, the nondevotees cannot perceive her. Thus the heroic kings assembled in Vidarbha were agitated with lust upon seeing the Lord's illusory potency, an expansion of Rukmiṇī. In other words, no one can lust after the Lord's eternal consort, since as soon as one's mind is contaminated with lust, the covering of Māyā separates one from the pristine beauty of the spiritual world and its inhabitants.

Finally, Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī felt shy as she looked from the corners of her eyes at the other kings, for she did not want to meet the glances of those inferior men.

<<< >>>

Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari