Devanagari
पञ्चशीर्षाहिना गुप्तां प्रतीहारेण सर्वत: ।
अन्वेषमाणामृषभमप्रौढां कामरूपिणीम् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
paṣca-śīrṣāhinā guptāṁ
pratīhāreṇa sarvataḥ
anveṣamāṇām ṛṣabham
aprauḍhāṁ kāma-rūpiṇīm
Synonyms
paṣca
—
five
;
śīrṣa
—
heads
;
ahinā
—
by a snake
;
guptām
—
protected
;
pratīhāreṇa
—
by a bodyguard
;
sarvataḥ
—
all around
;
anveṣamāṇām
—
one who is searching after
;
ṛṣabham
—
a husband
;
aprauḍhām
—
not very old
;
kāma
—
rūpiṇīm — very attractive to fulfill lusty desires .
Translation
The woman was protected on all sides by a five-hooded snake. She was very beautiful and young, and she appeared very anxious to find a suitable husband.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
She was protected by a gatekeeper in the form of a snake with five heads, and she was looking for a master. She was gentle and decorated attractively.
The intelligence was protected by a door keeper (pratīhareṇa) with five heads, the five functions of prāṇa. The master is the jīva, the enjoyer of the intelligence. She was gentle, unmarried (apraudhām). Just as she attracted a husband, the intelligence with ignorance attracts the jīva. She was always wearing various ornaments (kāma-rūpiṇīm). This means that she was filled with various impressions.
Purport
The vital force of a living entity includes the five kinds of air working within the body, which are known as
prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna
and
udāna.
The vital force is compared to a serpent because a serpent can live by simply drinking air. The vital force carried by the air is described as the
pratīhāra,
or the bodyguard. Without the vital force one cannot live for a moment. Indeed, all the senses are working under the protection of the vital force.
The woman, who represents intelligence, was searching after a husband. This indicates that intelligence cannot act without consciousness. A beautiful woman is useless unless protected by the proper husband. Intelligence must always be very fresh; therefore the word
aprauḍhām,
“very young,” is used here. Material enjoyment means utilizing the intelligence for the sake of
rūpa, rasa, gandha, śabda
and
sparśa,
or form, taste, smell, sound and touch.