Devanagari
तां प्रार्थयन्तीं ललनाललाम-
मसेवितश्रीचरणैरदृष्टाम् ।
वत्सां मनोरुच्चपद: स्वसारं
को नानुमन्येत बुधोऽभियाताम् ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
tāṁ prārthayantīṁ lalanā-lalāmam
asevita-śrī-caraṇair adṛṣṭām
vatsāṁ manor uccapadaḥ svasāraṁ
ko nānumanyeta budho ’bhiyātām
Synonyms
tām
—
her
;
prārthayantīm
—
seeking
;
lalanā
—
lalāmam — the ornament of women
;
asevita
—
śrī — caraṇaiḥ — by those who have not worshiped the feet of Lakṣmī
;
adṛṣṭām
—
not seen
;
vatsām
—
beloved daughter
;
manoḥ
—
of Svāyambhuva Manu
;
uccapadaḥ
—
of Uttānapāda
;
svasāram
—
sister
;
kaḥ
—
what
;
na anumanyeta
—
would not welcome
;
budhaḥ
—
wise man
;
abhiyātām
—
who has come of her own accord .
Translation
What wise man would not welcome her, the very ornament of womanhood, the beloved daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu and sister of Uttānapāda? Those who have not worshiped the gracious feet of the goddess of fortune cannot even perceive her, yet she has come of her own accord to seek my hand.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
What wise man would not honor this ornament among women, daughter of Manu and sister of Uttānapāda, unseen by those who do not worship Lakṣmī, and who has come of her own accord seeking me?
No one would not accept her. She cannot be seen by those who do not worship Lakṣmī. I have worshipped the feet of Lakṣmī, the consort of my deity Nārāyaṇa, and thus I can see here. But no one else can. Viśvāvasu, moving in the sky, saw only the effulgence of her beauty, but not her personally. The excellence of her noble family is described. She is the object of affection (vatsām) of you, Manu. She is the sister of Uttānapāda. Because Priyavrata had gone away, he is not mentioned. Abhiyātam means “attained without endeavour.”
Purport
Kardama Muni praised the beauty and qualification of Devahūti in different ways. Devahūti was actually the ornament of all ornamented beautiful girls. A girl becomes beautiful by putting ornaments on her body, but Devahūti was more beautiful than the ornaments; she was considered the ornament of the ornamented beautiful girls. Demigods and Gandharvas were attracted by her beauty. Kardama Muni, although a great sage, was not a denizen of the heavenly planets, but it is mentioned in the previous verse that Viśvāvasu, who came from heaven, was also attracted by the beauty of Devahūti. Besides her personal beauty, she was the daughter of Emperor Svāyambhuva and sister of King Uttānapāda. Who could refuse the hand of such a girl?