SB 4.24.49

SB 4.24.49

Devanagari

सिंहस्कन्धत्विषो बिभ्रत्सौभगग्रीवकौस्तुभम् । श्रियानपायिन्या क्षिप्तनिकषाश्मोरसोल्लसत् ॥ ४९ ॥

Verse text

siṁha-skandha-tviṣo bibhrat saubhaga-grīva-kaustubham śriyānapāyinyā kṣipta- nikaṣāśmorasollasat

Synonyms

siṁha a lion ; skandha shoulders ; tviṣaḥ the coils of hair ; bibhrat bearing ; saubhaga fortunate ; grīva neck ; kaustubham the pearl of the name ; śriyā beauty ; anapāyinyā never decreasing ; kṣipta defeating ; nikaṣa the stone for testing gold ; aśma stone ; urasā with the chest ; ullasat glittering .

Translation

The Lord has shoulders just like a lion’s. Upon these shoulders are garlands, necklaces and epaulets, and all of these are always glittering. Besides these, there is the beauty of the Kaustubha-maṇi pearl, and on the dark chest of the Lord there are streaks named Śrīvatsa, which are signs of the goddess of fortune. The glittering of these streaks excels the beauty of the golden streaks on a gold-testing stone. Indeed, such beauty defeats a gold-testing stone.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

His lion-like shoulders glitter with reflections from his jewels. The Kaustubha jewel enhances his neck with additional beauty. His chest glows with the mark of imperishable Lakṣmī, deriding the line on a gold-testing stone. His two shoulders shine because of the light from his earrings and necklace. His neck is made beautiful by the Kaustubha jewel. His chest shines with a golden line of Lakṣmī with permanent beauty which derides the line on a testing stone.

Purport

The curling hair on the shoulders of a lion always appears very, very beautiful. Similarly, the shoulders of the Lord were just like a lion’s, and the necklace and garlands, along with the Kaustubha pearl necklace, combined to excel the beauty of a lion. The chest of the Lord is streaked with Śrīvatsa lines, the sign of the goddess of fortune. Consequently the Lord’s chest excels the beauty of a testing stone for gold. The black siliceous stone on which gold is rubbed to test its value always looks very beautiful, being streaked with gold lines. Yet the chest of the Lord excels even such a stone in its beauty.