SB 5.20.8

SB 5.20.8

Devanagari

यत्र ह वै शाल्मली प्लक्षायामा यस्यां वाव किल निलयमाहुर्भगवतश्छन्द: स्तुत: पतत्‍त्रिराजस्य सा द्वीपहूतये उपलक्ष्यते ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

yatra ha vai śālmalī plakṣāyāmā yasyāṁ vāva kila nilayam āhur bhagavataś chandaḥ-stutaḥ patattri-rājasya sā dvīpa-hūtaye upalakṣyate.

Synonyms

yatra where ; ha vai certainly ; śālmalī a śālmalī tree ; plakṣa āyāmā — as big as the plakṣa tree (one hundred yojanas broad and eleven hundred yojanas high) ; yasyām in which ; vāva kila indeed ; nilayam rest or living place ; āhuḥ they say ; bhagavataḥ of the most powerful ; chandaḥ stutaḥ — who worships the Lord by Vedic prayers ; patattri rājasya — of Garuḍa, the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu ; that tree ; dvīpa hūtaye — for the name of the island ; upalakṣyate is distinguished .

Translation

On Sālmalīdvīpa there is a śālmalī tree, from which the island takes its name. That tree is as broad and tall as the plakṣa tree — in other words 100 yojanas [800 miles] broad and 1,100 yojanas [8,800 miles] tall. Learned scholars say that this gigantic tree is the residence of Garuḍa, the king of all birds and carrier of Lord Viṣṇu. In that tree, Garuḍa offers Lord Viṣṇu his Vedic prayers.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

On Śalmalīdvīpa there is a śālmalī (silk-cotton) tree, from which the island takes its name. That tree is as broad and tall as the plakṣa tree—100 yojanas broad and 1,100 yojanas tall. Learned scholars say that this gigantic tree is the residence of Garuḍa, the king of all birds, who chants prayers. Chandaḥ-stutaḥ refers to Garuḍa, who praises Viṣṇu by the hymns arising from his limbs. Śruti says suparṇa ‘si garutmān trivṛtte śiraḥ: you are Garuḍa, your head is the trivṛt-stoma of the Vedas. (Garuḍa Upaniṣad) The śalmalī tree gives the island its name (hūtaye).