SB 10.41.23 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ददर्श तां स्फाटिकतुङ्गगोपुर- द्वारां बृहद्धेमकपाटतोरणाम् । ताम्रारकोष्ठां परिखादुरासदा- मुद्यानरम्योपवनोपशोभिताम् ॥ २० ॥ सौवर्णश‍ृङ्गाटकहर्म्यनिष्कुटै: श्रेणीसभाभिर्भवनैरुपस्कृताम् । वैदूर्यवज्रामलनीलविद्रुमै- र्मुक्ताहरिद्भ‍िर्वलभीषु वेदिषु ॥ २१ ॥ जुष्टेषु जालामुखरन्ध्रकुट्टिमे- ष्वाविष्टपारावतबर्हिनादिताम् । संसिक्तरथ्यापणमार्गचत्वरां प्रकीर्णमाल्याङ्कुरलाजतण्डुलाम् ॥ २२ ॥ आपूर्णकुम्भैर्दधिचन्दनोक्षितै: प्रसूनदीपावलिभि: सपल्लवै: । सवृन्दरम्भाक्रमुकै: सकेतुभि: स्वलङ्कृतद्वारगृहां सपट्टिकै: ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

dadarśa tāṁ sphāṭika-tuṇga-gopura- dvārāṁ bṛhad-dhema-kapāṭa-toraṇām tāmrāra-koṣṭhāṁ parikhā-durāsadām udyāna-ramyopavanopaśobhitām sauvarṇa-śṛṅgāṭaka-harmya-niṣkuṭaiḥ śreṇī-sabhābhir bhavanair upaskṛtām vaidūrya-vajrāmala-nīla-vidrumair muktā-haridbhir valabhīṣu vediṣu juṣṭeṣu jālāmukha-randhra-kuṭṭimeṣv āviṣṭa-pārāvata-barhi-nāditām saṁsikta-rathyāpaṇa-mārga-catvarāṁ prakīrṇa-mālyāṅkura-lāja-taṇḍulām āpūrṇa-kumbhair dadhi-candanokṣitaiḥ prasūna-dīpāvalibhiḥ sa-pallavaiḥ sa-vṛnda-rambhā-kramukaiḥ sa-ketubhiḥ sv-alaṅkṛta-dvāra-gṛhāṁ sa-paṭṭikaiḥ

Synonyms

dadarśa — He saw ; tam — that (city) ; sphāṭika — of crystal ; tuṅga — high ; gopura — whose main gates ; dvārām — and household gates ; bṛhat — immense ; hema — gold ; kapāṭa — whose doors ; toraṇām — and ornamental arches ; tāmra — of copper ; āra — and brass ; koṣṭhām — whose storehouses ; parikhā — with its canals ; durāsadām — inviolable ; udyāna — with public gardens ; ramya — attractive ; upavana — and parks ; upaśobhitam — beautified ; sauvarṇa — gold ; śṛṅgāṭaka — with crossways ; harmya — mansions ; niṣkuṭaiḥ — and pleasure gardens ; śreṇī — of guilds ; sabhābhiḥ — with the assembly halls ; bhavanaiḥ — and with houses ; upaskṛtām — ornamented ; vaidūrya — with vaidūrya gems ; vajra — diamonds ; amala — crystal quartz ; nīla — sapphires ; vidrumaiḥ — and coral ; muktā — with pearls ; haridbhiḥ — and emeralds ; valabhīṣu — on the wood panels decorating the rafters in front of the houses ; vediṣu — on columned balconies ; juṣṭeṣu — bedecked ; jāla — āmukha — of lattice windows ; randhra — in the openings ; kuṭṭimeṣu — and on gem-studded floors ; āviṣṭa — sitting ; pārāvata — with the pet doves ; barhi — and the peacocks ; nāditām — resounding ; saṁsikta — sprinkled with water ; rathyā — with royal avenues ; āpaṇa — commercial streets ; mārga — other roads ; catvarām — and courtyards ; prakīrṇa — scattered ; mālya — with flower garlands ; aṅkura — new sprouts ; lāja — parched grains ; taṇḍulām — and rice ; āpūrṇa — full ; kumbhaiḥ — with pots ; dadhi — with yogurt ; candana — and sandalwood paste ; ukṣitaiḥ — smeared ; prasūna — with flower petals ; dīpa — āvalibhiḥ — and rows of lamps ; sa — pallavaiḥ — with leaves ; sa — vṛnda — with bunches of flowers ; rambhā — with trunks of banana trees ; kramukaiḥ — and trunks of betel-nut trees ; sa — ketubhiḥ — with flags ; su — alaṅkṛta — nicely decorated ; dvāra — with doors ; gṛhām — whose houses ; sa — paṭṭikaiḥ — with ribbons .

Translation

The Lord saw Mathurā, with its tall gates and household entrances made of crystal, its immense archways and main doors of gold, its granaries and other storehouses of copper and brass, and its impregnable moats. Beautifying the city were pleasant gardens and parks. The main intersections were fashioned of gold, and there were mansions with private pleasure gardens, along with guildhalls and many other buildings. Mathurā resounded with the calls of peacocks and pet turtledoves, who sat in the small openings of the lattice windows and on the gem-studded floors, and also on the columned balconies and on the ornate rafters in front of the houses. These balconies and rafters were adorned with vaidūrya stones, diamonds, crystal quartz, sapphires, coral, pearls and emeralds. All the royal avenues and commercial streets were sprinkled with water, as were the side roads and courtyards, and flower garlands, newly grown sprouts, parched grains and rice had been scattered about everywhere. Gracing the houses’ doorways were elaborately decorated pots filled with water, which were bedecked with mango leaves, smeared with yogurt and sandalwood paste, and encircled by flower petals and ribbons. Near the pots were flags, rows of lamps, bunches of flowers and the trunks of banana and betel-nut trees.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord saw Mathurā, with its tall gates and household entrances made of crystal, its immense archways and main doors of gold, its granaries and other storehouses of copper and brass, and its impregnable moats. Beautifying the city were pleasant gardens and parks. The main intersections were fashioned of gold, and there were mansions with private pleasure gardens, along with guildhalls and many other buildings. Mathurā resounded with the calls of peacocks and pet turtledoves, who sat in the small openings of the lattice windows and on the gem-studded floors, and also on the columned balconies and on the ornate rafters in front of the houses. These balconies and rafters were adorned with vaidūrya stones, diamonds, crystal quartz, sapphires, coral, pearls and emeralds. All the royal avenues and commercial streets were sprinkled with water, as were the side roads and courtyards, and flower garlands, newly grown sprouts, parched grains and rice had been scattered about everywhere. Gracing the houses' doorways were elaborately decorated pots filled with water, which were bedecked with mango leaves, smeared with yogurt and sandalwood paste, and encircled by flower petals and ribbons. Near the pots were flags, rows of lamps, bunches of flowers and the trunks of banana and betel-nut trees. KB 10.41.20-23 They observed that the gate of Mathurā was made of first-class marble, very well constructed, and that the doors were made of pure gold. There were gorgeous orchards and gardens all around, and the whole city was encircled by canals so that no enemy could enter very easily. They saw that all the crossroads were decorated with gold and that there were copper and brass storehouses for stocking grain. And there were many rich men’s houses, all appearing symmetrical, as if constructed by one engineer. The houses were decorated with costly jewels, and each and every house had nice compounds of trees bearing fruits and flowers. The corridors and verandas of the houses were decorated with silk cloth and embroidery work in jewels and pearls. In front of the balcony windows were pigeons and peacocks walking and cooing. All the grain dealers’ shops within the city were decorated with different kinds of flowers and garlands, newly grown grass and pleasing flowers like narcissus and roses. The entrance doors of the houses were decorated with waterpots filled with water. A mixture of water, yogurt, sandalwood pulp and flowers was sprinkled all around the doors, which were also decorated with burning lamps of different sizes. Over all the doors were decorations of fresh mango leaves and silk festoons.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives this description of the elaborately decorated pots: “On either side of each doorway, above the scattered rice, is a pot. Encircling each pot are flower petals, on its neck are ribbons and in its mouth are leaves of mango and other trees. Above each pot, on a gold plate, are rows of lamps. A trunk of a banana tree stands on either side of each pot, and a betel-nut tree trunk stands in front and also behind. Flags lean against the pots.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Four verses describe the city. The tall towers and gates as well as the gates of the houses were made of crystal. The door panels and outer doors were made of gold. The storerooms for grains (kostha) were made of brass and copper. Surrounded by moats, the city was difficult to enter. The intersections were made of gold. There were mansions with large gardens and buildings for the different craftsmen to meet, as well as other dwellings. The rafters were inlaid with vaidurya and other jewels. The buildings echoed with the cries of the doves and peacocks which sat on the rafters, floors and balconies. According to Ksiraswami, valabhi refers to the peak of the roof, and according to Halayudha it refers to the roof. According to Trikanda it refers to the top storey of a building. In any case it refers to the top part of the building. Vedi refers to a terrace in front of a building surrounded by bricks for relaxing. The windows had lattices to let in fresh air. The floors (kuttima) were paved with mosaics of precious stones. There were main roads and lanes, lines of shops and courtyards. Krsna saw the houses with doors decorated with full water pots decorated with flowers smeared with yogurt and sandalwood paste and five other auspicious elements, flags, cloth, lamps, mango leaves, and banana and betel nut trees hanging with fruits. The pots were placed in the following manner: on both sides of the door on piles of raw rice the pots were placed. Around the pots were spread various flowers. Silk cloth was wrapped around the neck of the pots, and mango leaves placed in the mouths of the pots. Lamps on gold trays were places over this. On either side of each pot were banana trees. In front and behind each pot was a betel nut tree. The flags were leaning on the pots.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The city is described in four verses. First is natural beauty is described. Āra means brass. The city is said to have moats since the east and west sides were bordered by the Yamunā. The gardens (udyāna) were filled with fruits and the upanavas were mainly growing flowers. The grove where the cowherds left their carts was outside the city and a natural forest, not produced by humans. The groves were attractive. Koṣṭām can refer to the walls of the fort. The city was decorated with groves and the pleasantness of gardens. The order of the excellent is the gardens, then the groves, the moats, treasuries and the entrance gates and other doors made of gold. According to Kṣīrasvāmī vallabhi means the support of a roof, a cross beam or the crest of a roof. Halayudha says that vallabhi means a roof of a house. It also refers to a stone ridge covering a house made of brick. Trikāṇḍaśeṣa says that vallabhi means a room at the top of a house. Māgha-kāvya says yasyām asevanta namadvalīkāḥ samaṁ vadhūbhir valabhīr yuvāṇaḥ: there the young men enjoyed with their wives the sloping roofs with turrets. (Śiśupāla-vadha3.53) Vedī refers to a yard surrounded by bricks. The houses resounded with peacocks and doves which were sitting (āviṣṭa) in yards and on rooftops in an impassioned condition. Kaṁsa had arranged special decorations to publicize the festival of the bow among the citizens, or there were daily decorations made by the citizens to make the city festive at all times. The decorations indicated the auspicious entrance of Kṛṣṇa into the city. The roads were sprinkled with water in order to keep the dust down, and made fragrant with perfumed water. Sprouted barley and other grains were scattered about. All the decorations were arranged wherever possible. There were pots filled with pure water (āpūrṇa). The doors of the houses were decorated nicely (su) with yogurts and other ingredients. In Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary the word can in toraṇam ca means decorations over the doors were also made of gold.