Devanagari
तानाह देवदेवेश: प्रणतान् प्रहसन्निव ।
आसामेकतमां वृङ्ध्वं सवर्णां स्वर्गभूषणाम् ॥ १४ ॥
Verse text
tān āha deva-deveśaḥ
praṇatān prahasann iva
āsām ekatamāṁ vṛṅdhvaṁ
sa-varṇāṁ svarga-bhūṣaṇām
Synonyms
tān
—
to them
;
āha
—
said
;
deva
—
deva — īśaḥ — the Supreme Lord of all lords
;
praṇatān
—
who had bowed down to Him
;
prahasan iva
—
almost smiling
;
āsām
—
of these women
;
ekatamām
—
one
;
vṛṅdhvam
—
please choose
;
sa
—
varṇām — suitable
;
svarga
—
of heaven
;
bhūṣaṇām
—
the ornament .
Translation
The Supreme Lord of lords then smiled slightly and told the representatives of heaven, who were bowing down before Him, “Please choose one of these women, whomever you find suitable for you. She will become the ornament of the heavenly planets.”
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord of lords then smiled slightly and told the representatives of heavens, who were bowing down before him, “Please choose one of these women, whomever you find suitable for you. She will become the ornament of the heavenly planets.”
The Lord, smiling on seeing their defeat, concealed his smile out of great seriousness. Vṛṇdhavam should be vṛṇidhvam. “But we are so fallen compared to those women.” She is equal to you in nature. She will be an ornament in Svarga.
Purport
Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi was almost laughing upon seeing the defeat of the demigods. However, being extremely grave, He did not actually laugh. Although the demigods might have thought, “We are simply low-class fools in comparison to these women,” the Lord encouraged them to choose one of the women, whomever they considered equal in character to themselves. The beauty thus selected would become the ornament of heaven.