Devanagari
वापीषु विद्रुमतटास्वमलामृताप्सु
प्रेष्यान्विता निजवने तुलसीभिरीशम् ।
अभ्यर्चती स्वलकमुन्नसमीक्ष्य वक्त्र-
मुच्छेषितं भगवतेत्यमताङ्ग यच्छ्री: ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
vāpīṣu vidruma-taṭāsv amalāmṛtāpsu
preṣyānvitā nija-vane tulasībhir īśam
abhyarcatī svalakam unnasam īkṣya vaktram
uccheṣitaṁ bhagavatety amatāṅga yac-chrīḥ
Synonyms
vāpīṣu
—
in the ponds
;
vidruma
—
made of coral
;
taṭāsu
—
banks
;
amala
—
transparent
;
amṛta
—
nectarean
;
apsu
—
water
;
preṣyā
—
anvitā — surrounded by maidservants
;
nija
—
vane — in her own garden
;
tulasībhiḥ
—
with tulasī
;
īśam
—
the Supreme Lord
;
abhyarcatī
—
worship
;
su
—
alakam — with her face decorated with tilaka
;
unnasam
—
raised nose
;
īkṣya
—
by seeing
;
vaktram
—
face
;
uccheṣitam
—
being kissed
;
bhagavatā
—
by the Supreme Lord
;
iti
—
thus
;
amata
—
thought
;
aṅga
—
O demigods
;
yat
—
śrīḥ — whose beauty .
Translation
The goddesses of fortune worship the Lord in their own gardens by offering tulasī leaves on the coral-paved banks of transcendental reservoirs of water. While offering worship to the Lord, they can see on the water the reflection of their beautiful faces with raised noses, and it appears that they have become more beautiful because of the Lord’s kissing their faces.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Before worshipping the Lord with tulasī leaves, surrounded by servants, she gazes at her face with beautiful locks and raised nose, reflected in the water of a pond filled with pure, sweet water whose banks are made of coral. She considers that this face has been kissed by the Lord.
Having described the bhakti expressed in her service, he now describes her bhakti expressed through arcana, which is similar to that of sādhakas. She takes her morning bath in order to worship Nārāyaṇa, her Lord, with tulasī in a grove situated within Niḥśreyasavana, in a pond filled with water similar to nectar. First, however, in order to wash her face, she sits on the steps on the bank of the pond, gazes at her face with beautiful locks (svalakam) and nose reflected in the water. She thinks that it is the leftovers from being kissed by the Lord. Or, seeing her face reflected in the water mixed with the reflection of the blue lotus, she begins to think that her face is being kissed by the Lord.
Purport
Generally, when a woman is kissed by her husband, her face becomes more beautiful. In Vaikuṇṭha also, although the goddess of fortune is naturally as beautiful as can be imagined, she nevertheless awaits the kissing of the Lord to make her face more beautiful. The beautiful face of the goddess of fortune appears in ponds of transcendental crystal water when she worships the Lord with
tulasī
leaves in her garden.