SB 1.11.18 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

वारणेन्द्रं पुरस्कृत्य ब्राह्मणै: ससुमङ्गलै: । शङ्खतूर्यनिनादेन ब्रह्मघोषेण चाद‍ृता: । प्रत्युज्जग्मू रथैर्हृष्टा: प्रणयागतसाध्वसा: ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

vāraṇendraṁ puraskṛtya brāhmaṇaiḥ sasumaṅgalaiḥ śaṅkha-tūrya-ninādena brahma-ghoṣeṇa cādṛtāḥ pratyujjagmū rathair hṛṣṭāḥ praṇayāgata-sādhvasāḥ

Synonyms

vāraṇa — indram — elephants on the auspicious mission ; puraskṛtya — putting in the front ; brāhmaṇaiḥ — by the brāhmaṇas ; sa — sumaṅgalaiḥ — with all-auspicious signs ; śaṅkha — conchshell ; tūrya — bugle ; ninādena — by the sound of ; brahma — ghoṣeṇa — by chanting the hymns of the Vedas ; ca — and ; ādṛtāḥ — glorified ; prati — towards ; ujjagmuḥ — proceeded hurriedly ; rathaiḥ — on the chariots ; hṛṣṭāḥ — in cheerfulness ; praṇayāgata — saturated with affection ; sādhvasāḥ — all-respectful .

Translation

They hastened toward the Lord on chariots with brāhmaṇas bearing flowers. Before them were elephants, emblems of good fortune. Conchshells and bugles were sounded, and Vedic hymns were chanted. Thus they offered their respects, which were saturated with affection.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Hearing that their dear Lord was coming, liberal Vasudeva, Akrūra, Ugrasena, Balarāma of astonishing prowess, Pradyumna, Cārudeṣna, Sāmba, the son of Jāmbavatī, overlooking eating, sitting, and sleeping out of great bliss, overjoyed and enthusiastic, excited from love, putting the best elephants in front, went out with brāhmaṇas decorated auspiciously, accompanied by chanting of mantras and the sounds of conches and tūryas. Hundreds of beautiful dancing girls, eager to see the Lord, with glittering earrings lighting up their cheeks, also came on vehicles,

Purport

The Vedic way of receiving a great personality creates an atmosphere of respect, which is saturated with affection and veneration for the person received. The auspicious atmosphere of such a reception depends on the paraphernalia described above, including conchshells, flowers, incense, decorated elephants, and the qualified brāhmaṇas reciting verses from the Vedic literatures. Such a program of reception is full of sincerity, on the part of both the receiver and the received.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Four verses are one sentence. The word preṣṭham can be taken either with conventional meaning of “husband” (for the queens) or with its etymological meaning “dear.” Out of joy they overlooked (ucchaśita) eating etc. The verb śaś means to jump up. Sādhvasam means zeal.