SB 9.14.44 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स्थालीस्थानं गतोऽश्वत्थं शमीगर्भं विलक्ष्य स: । तेन द्वे अरणी कृत्वा उर्वशीलोककाम्यया ॥ ४४ ॥ उर्वशीं मन्त्रतो ध्यायन्नधरारणिमुत्तराम् । आत्मानमुभयोर्मध्ये यत् तत् प्रजननं प्रभु: ॥ ४५ ॥

Verse text

sthālī-sthānaṁ gato ’śvatthaṁ śamī-garbhaṁ vilakṣya saḥ tena dve araṇī kṛtvā urvaśī-loka-kāmyayā urvaśīṁ mantrato dhyāyann adharāraṇim uttarām ātmānam ubhayor madhye yat tat prajananaṁ prabhuḥ

Synonyms

sthālī — sthānam — the place where Agnisthālī was left ; gataḥ — going there ; aśvattham — an aśvattha tree ; śamī — garbham — produced from the womb of the śamī tree ; vilakṣya — seeing ; saḥ — he, Purūravā ; tena — from that ; dve — two ; araṇī — pieces of wood required for igniting a fire for sacrifice ; kṛtvā — making ; urvaśī — loka — kāmyayā — desiring to go to the planet where Urvaśī was present ; urvaśīm — Urvaśī ; mantrataḥ — by chanting the required mantra ; dhyāyan — meditating upon ; adhara — lower ; araṇim — araṇi wood ; uttarām — and the upper one ; ātmānam — himself ; ubhayoḥ madhye — in between the two ; yat tat — that which (he meditated upon) ; prajananam — as a son ; prabhuḥ — the King .

Translation

When the process of fruitive yajṣa became manifest within his heart, King Purūravā went to the same spot where he had left Agnisthālī. There he saw that from the womb of a śamī tree, an aśvattha tree had grown. He then took a piece of wood from that tree and made it into two araṇis. Desiring to go to the planet where Urvaśī resided, he chanted mantras, meditating upon the lower araṇi as Urvaśī, the upper one as himself, and the piece of wood between them as his son. In this way he began to ignite a fire.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

King Purūravā went to the same spot where he had left the vessel. There he saw that from the womb of a śamī tree, an aśvattha tree had grown. He then took a piece of wood from that tree and made it into two kindling sticks. Desiring to go to the planet where Urvaśī resided, he chanted mantras, meditating upon the lower stick as Urvaśī, the upper one as himself, and the piece of wood between them as his son. He went to the place where he left the vessel, a place known as Chokara. Seeing an aśvattha tree growing from a śamī tree, from the aśvattha wood he made two kindling sticks and kindled fire. Śruti says śamīgarbhād agnim mamantha: from the womb of śamī wood he kindled fire. The process of kindling is described. Meditating on the lower stick as Urvaśī and the upper stick as himself, and the wood between them as his offspring, he kindled. The mantra he chanted begins urvaśyām urasi purūravā.

Purport

The Vedic fire for performing yajṣa was not ignited with ordinary matches or similar devices. Rather, the Vedic sacrificial fire was ignited by the araṇis, or two sacred pieces of wood, which produced fire by friction with a third. Such a fire is necessary for the performance of yajṣa. If successful, a yajṣa will fulfill the desire of its performer. Thus Purūravā took advantage of the process of yajṣa to fulfill his lusty desires. He thought of the lower araṇi as Urvaśī, the upper one as himself, and the middle one as his son. A relevant Vedic mantra quoted herein by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura is śamī-garbhād agniṁ mantha. A similar mantra is urvaśyām urasi purūravāḥ. Purūravā wanted to have children continuously by the womb of Urvaśī. His only ambition was to have sex life with Urvaśī and thereby get a son. In other words, he had so much lust in his heart that even while performing yajṣa he thought of Urvaśī, instead of thinking of the master of yajṣa, Yajṣeśvara, Lord Viṣṇu.