SB 1.3.17

SB 1.3.17

Devanagari

धान्वन्तरं द्वादशमं त्रयोदशममेव च । अपाययत्सुरानन्यान्मोहिन्या मोहयन् स्त्रिया ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

dhānvantaraṁ dvādaśamaṁ trayodaśamam eva ca apāyayat surān anyān mohinyā mohayan striyā

Synonyms

dhānvantaram the incarnation of Godhead named Dhanvantari ; dvādaśamam the twelfth in the line ; trayodaśamam the thirteenth in the line ; eva certainly ; ca and ; apāyayat gave to drink ; surān the demigods ; anyān others ; mohinyā by charming beauty ; mohayan alluring ; striyā in the form of a woman .

Translation

In the twelfth incarnation, the Lord appeared as Dhanvantari, and in the thirteenth He allured the atheists by the charming beauty of a woman and gave nectar to the demigods to drink.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord took the form of Dhanvantari as the twelfth avatāra and taking the thirteenth form as the woman Mohinī he let the devatās drink nectar and bewildered the demons.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Dhānvantaram dvādaśamam means that the form of Dhanvantari is the twelfth avatāra. His activity was bringing a pot of nectar. The use of dvādaśamam instead of dvādaśam is poetic license. Taking the thirteenth form, he let the devatās drink nectar. What was his form? As the woman Mohinī, he bewildered the demons (anyān).