Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Twenty-three

Devahuti’s Lamentation

SB3.23.1

TEXT 1

maitreya uvaca

pitrbhyam prasthite sadhvi

patim ingita-kovida

nityam paryacarat pritya

bhavaniva bhavam prabhum

SYNONYMS

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; pitrbhyam—by the parents; prasthite—at the departure; sadhvi—the chaste woman; patim—her husband; ingita-kovida—understanding the desires; nityam—constantly; paryacarat—she served; pritya—with great love; bhavani—the goddess Parvati; iva—like; bhavam—Lord Siva; prabhum—her lord.

TRANSLATION

Maitreya continued: After the departure of her parents, the chaste woman Devahuti, who could understand the desires of her husband, served him constantly with great love, as Bhavani, the wife of Lord Siva, serves her husband.

PURPORT

The specific example of Bhavani is very significant. Bhavani means the wife of Bhava, or Lord Siva. Bhavani, or Parvati, the daughter of the King of the Himalayas, selected Lord Siva, who appears to be just like a beggar, as her husband. In spite of her being a princess, she undertook all kinds of tribulations to associate with Lord Siva, who did not even have a house, but was sitting underneath the trees and passing his time in meditation. Although Bhavani was the daughter of a very great king, she used to serve Lord Siva just like a poor woman. Similarly, Devahuti was the daughter of an emperor, Svayambhuva Manu, yet she preferred to accept Kardama Muni as her husband. She served him with great love and affection, and she knew how to please him. Therefore, she is designated here as sadhvi, which means “a chaste, faithful wife.” Her rare example is the ideal of Vedic civilization. Every woman is expected to be as good and chaste as Devahuti or Bhavani. Today in Hindu society, unmarried girls are still taught to worship Lord Siva with the idea that they may get husbands like him. Lord Siva is the ideal husband, not in the sense of riches or sense gratification, but because he is the greatest of all devotees. Vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: Sambhu, or Lord Siva, is the ideal Vaisnava. He constantly meditates upon Lord Rama and chants Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Lord Siva has a Vaisnava sampradaya, which is called the Visnusvami-sampradaya. Unmarried girls worship Lord Siva so that they can expect a husband who is as good a Vaisnava as he. The girls are not taught to select a husband who is very rich or very opulent for material sense gratification; rather, if a girl is fortunate enough to get a husband as good as Lord Siva in devotional service, then her life becomes perfect. The wife is dependent on the husband, and if the husband is a Vaisnava, then naturally she shares the devotional service of the husband because she renders him service. This reciprocation of service and love between husband and wife is the ideal of a householder’s life.

SB3.23.2

TEXT 2

visrambhenatma-saucena

gauravena damena ca

susrusaya sauhrdena

vaca madhuraya ca bhoh

SYNONYMS

visrambhena—with intimacy; atma-saucena—with purity of mind and body; gauravena—with great respect; damena—with control of the senses; ca—and; susrusaya—with service; sauhrdena—with love; vaca—with words; madhuraya—sweet; ca—and; bhoh—O Vidura.

TRANSLATION

O Vidura, Devahuti served her husband with intimacy and great respect, with control of the senses, with love and with sweet words.

PURPORT

Here two words are very significant. Devahuti served her husband in two ways, visrambhena and gauravena. These are two important processes in serving the husband or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Visrambhena means “with intimacy,” and gauravena means “with great reverence.” The husband is a very intimate friend; therefore, the wife must render service just like an intimate friend, and at the same time she must understand that the husband is superior in position, and thus she must offer him all respect. A man’s psychology and woman’s psychology are different. As constituted by bodily frame, a man always wants to be superior to his wife, and a woman, as bodily constituted, is naturally inferior to her husband. Thus the natural instinct is that the husband wants to post himself as superior to the wife, and this must be observed. Even if there is some wrong on the part of the husband, the wife must tolerate it, and thus there will be no misunderstanding between husband and wife. Visrambhena means “with intimacy,” but it must not be familiarity that breeds contempt. According to the Vedic civilization, a wife cannot call her husband by name. In the present civilization the wife calls her husband by name, but in Hindu civilization she does not. Thus the inferiority and superiority complexes are recognized. Damena ca: a wife has to learn to control herself even if there is a misunderstanding. Sauhrdena vaca madhuraya means always desiring good for the husband and speaking to him with sweet words. A person becomes agitated by so many material contacts in the outside world; therefore, in his home life he must be treated by his wife with sweet words.

SB3.23.3

TEXT 3

visrjya kamam dambham ca

dvesam lobham agham madam

apramattodyata nityam

tejiyamsam atosayat

SYNONYMS

visrjya—giving up; kamam—lust; dambham—pride; ca—and; dvesam—envy; lobham—greed; agham—sinful activities; madam—vanity; apramatta—sane; udyata—laboring diligently; nityam—always; tejiyamsam—her very powerful husband; atosayat—she pleased.

TRANSLATION

Working sanely and diligently, she pleased her very powerful husband, giving up all lust, pride, envy, greed, sinful activities and vanity.

PURPORT

Here are some of the qualities of a great husband’s great wife. Kardama Muni is great by spiritual qualification. Such a husband is called tejiyamsam, most powerful. Although a wife may be equal to her husband in advancement in spiritual consciousness, she should not be vainly proud. Sometimes it happens that the wife comes from a very rich family, as did Devahuti, the daughter of Emperor Svayambhuva Manu. She could have been very proud of her parentage, but that is forbidden. The wife should not be proud of her parental position. She must always be submissive to the husband and must give up all vanity. As soon as the wife becomes proud of her parentage, her pride creates great misunderstanding between the husband and wife, and their nuptial life is ruined. Devahuti was very careful about that, and therefore it is said here that she gave up pride completely. Devahuti was not unfaithful. The most sinful activity for a wife is to accept another husband or another lover. Canakya Pandita has described four kinds of enemies at home. If the father is in debt he is considered to be an enemy; if the mother has selected another husband in the presence of her grown-up children, she is considered to be an enemy; if a wife does not live well with her husband but deals very roughly, then she is an enemy; and if a son is a fool, he is also an enemy. In family life, father, mother, wife and children are assets, but if the wife or mother accepts another husband in the presence of her husband or son, then, according to Vedic civilization, she is considered an enemy. A chaste and faithful woman must not practice adultery—that is a greatly sinful act.

SB3.23.4-5

TEXTS 4–5

sa vai devarsi-varyas tam

manavim samanuvratam

daivad gariyasah patyur

asasanam mahasisah

kalena bhuyasa ksamam

karsitam vrata-caryaya

prema-gadgadaya vaca

piditah krpayabravit

SYNONYMS

sah—he (Kardama); vai—certainly; deva-rsi—of the celestial sages; varyah—the foremost; tam—her; manavim—the daughter of Manu; samanuvratam—fully devoted; daivat—than providence; gariyasah—who was greater; patyuh—from her husband; asasanam—expecting; maha-asisah—great blessings; kalena bhuyasa—for a long time; ksamam—weak; karsitam—emaciated; vrata-caryaya—by religious observances; prema—with love; gadgadaya—stammering; vaca—with a voice; piditah—overcome; krpaya—with compassion; abravit—he said.

TRANSLATION

The daughter of Manu, who was fully devoted to her husband, looked upon him as greater even than providence. Thus she expected great blessings from him. Having served him for a long time, she grew weak and emaciated due to her religious observances. Seeing her condition, Kardama, the foremost of celestial sages, was overcome with compassion and spoke to her in a voice choked with great love.

PURPORT

The wife is expected to be of the same category as the husband. She must be prepared to follow the principles of the husband, and then there will be happy life. If the husband is a devotee and the wife is materialistic, there cannot be any peace in the home. The wife must see the tendencies of the husband and must be prepared to follow him. From Mahabharata we learn that when Gandhari understood that her would-be husband, Dhrtarastra, was blind, she immediately began to practice blindness herself. Thus she covered her eyes and played the part of a blind woman. She decided that since her husband was blind, she must also act like a blind woman, otherwise she would be proud of her eyes, and her husband would be seen as inferior. The word samanuvrata indicates that it is the duty of a wife to adopt the special circumstances in which the husband is situated. Of course, if the husband is as great as Kardama Muni, then a very good result accrues from following him. But even if the husband is not a great devotee like Kardama Muni, it is the wife’s duty to adapt herself according to his mentality. That makes married life very happy. It is also mentioned herein that by following the strict vows of a chaste woman, Princess Devahuti became very skinny, and therefore her husband became compassionate. He knew that she was the daughter of a great king and yet was serving him just like an ordinary woman. She was reduced in health by such activities, and he became compassionate and addressed her as follows.

SB3.23.6

TEXT 6

kardama uvaca

tusto ’ham adya tava manavi manadayah

susrusaya paramaya paraya ca bhaktya

yo dehinam ayam ativa suhrt sa deho

naveksitah samucitah ksapitum mad-arthe

SYNONYMS

kardamah uvaca—the great sage Kardama said; tustah—pleased; aham—I am; adya—today; tava—with you; manavi—O daughter of Manu; mana-dayah—who are respectful; susrusaya—by the service; paramaya—most excellent; paraya—highest; ca—and; bhaktya—by the devotion; yah—that which; dehinam—to the embodied; ayam—this; ativa—extremely; suhrt—dear; sah—that; dehah—body; na—not; aveksitah—taken care of; samucitah—properly; ksapitum—to expend; mat-arthe—on my account.

TRANSLATION

Kardama Muni said: O respectful daughter of Svayambhuva Manu, today I am very much pleased with you for your great devotion and most excellent loving service. Since the body is so dear to embodied beings, I am astonished that you have neglected your own body to use it on my behalf.

PURPORT

It is indicated here that one’s body is very dear, yet Devahuti was so faithful to her husband that not only did she serve him with great devotion, service and respect, but she did not even care for her own health. That is called selfless service. It appears that Devahuti had no sense pleasure, even with her husband, otherwise she would not have deteriorated in health. Acting to facilitate Kardama Muni’s engagement in spiritual elevation, she continually assisted him, not caring for bodily comfort. It is the duty of a faithful and chaste wife to help her husband in every respect, especially when the husband is engaged in Krsna consciousness. In this case, the husband also amply rewarded the wife. This is not to be expected by a woman who is the wife of an ordinary person.

SB3.23.7

TEXT 7

ye me sva-dharma-niratasya tapah-samadhi-

vidyatma-yoga-vijita bhagavat-prasadah

tan eva te mad-anusevanayavaruddhan

drstim prapasya vitaramy abhayan asokan

SYNONYMS

ye—those which; me—by me; sva-dharma—own religious life; niratasya—fully occupied with; tapah—in austerity; samadhi—in meditation; vidya—in Krsna consciousness; atma-yoga—by fixing the mind; vijitah—achieved; bhagavat-prasadah—the blessings of the Lord; tan—them; eva—even; te—by you; mat—to me; anusevanaya—by devoted service; avaruddhan—obtained; drstim—transcendental vision; prapasya—just see; vitarami—I am giving; abhayan—which are free from fear; asokan—which are free from lamentation.

TRANSLATION

Kardama Muni continued: I have achieved the blessings of the Lord in discharging my own religious life of austerity, meditation and Krsna consciousness. Although you have not yet experienced these achievements, which are free from fear and lamentation, I shall offer them all to you because you are engaged in my service. Now just look at them. I am giving you the transcendental vision to see how nice they are.

PURPORT

Devahuti engaged only in the service of Kardama Muni. She was not supposed to be so advanced in austerity, ecstasy, meditation or Krsna consciousness, but, imperceptibly, she was sharing her husband’s achievements, which she could neither see nor experience. Automatically she achieved these graces of the Lord.

What are the graces of the Lord? It is stated here that the graces of the Lord are abhaya, free from fearfulness. In the material world, if someone accumulates a million dollars, he is always full of fear because he is always thinking, “What if the money is lost?” But the benediction of the Lord, bhagavat-prasada, is never to be lost. It is simply to be enjoyed. There is no question of loss. One simply gains and enjoys gaining. Bhagavad-gita also confirms this: when one achieves the grace of the Lord, the result is that sarva-duhkhani, all distresses, are destroyed. When situated in the transcendental position, one is freed from the two kinds of material diseases—hankering and lamentation. This is also stated in Bhagavad-gita. After devotional life begins, we can achieve the full result of love of Godhead. Love of Krsna is the highest perfection of bhagavat-prasada, or divine mercy. This transcendental achievement is so greatly valuable that no material happiness can compare to it. Prabodhananda Sarasvati said that if one achieves the grace of Lord Caitanya he becomes so great that he does not care a fig even for the demigods, he thinks of monism as hellish, and for him the perfection of controlling the senses is as easy as anything. Heavenly pleasures become to him no more than stories. Actually, there is no comparison between material happiness and transcendental happiness.

By the grace of Kardama Muni, Devahuti experienced actual realization simply by serving. We get a similar example in the life of Narada Muni. In his previous life, Narada was a maidservant’s son, but his mother was engaged in the service of great devotees. He got the opportunity to serve the devotees, and simply by eating the remnants of their foodstuff and carrying out their orders he became so elevated that in his next life he became the great personality Narada. For spiritual achievement the easiest path is to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and to serve him with heart and soul. That is the secret of success. As stated by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his eight stanzas of prayer to the spiritual master, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah: ** by serving or receiving the grace of the spiritual master, one receives the grace of the Supreme Lord. By serving her devotee husband, Kardama Muni, Devahuti shared in his achievements. Similarly, a sincere disciple, simply by serving a bona fide spiritual master, can achieve all the mercy of the Lord and the spiritual master simultaneously.

SB3.23.8

TEXT 8

anye punar bhagavato bhruva udvijrmbha-

vibhramsitartha-racanah kim urukramasya

siddhasi bhunksva vibhavan nija-dharma-dohan

divyan narair duradhigan nrpa-vikriyabhih

SYNONYMS

anye—others; punah—again; bhagavatah—of the Lord; bhruvah—of the eyebrows; udvijrmbha—by the movement; vibhramsita—annihilated; artha-racanah—material achievements; kim—what use; urukramasya—of Lord Visnu (far-stepping); siddha—successful; asi—you are; bhunksva—enjoy; vibhavan—the gifts; nija-dharma—by your own principles of devotion; dohan—gained; divyan—transcendental; naraih—by persons; duradhigan—difficult to obtain; nrpa-vikriyabhih—proud of aristocracy.

TRANSLATION

Kardama Muni continued: What is the use of enjoyments other than the Lord’s grace? All material achievements are subject to be annihilated simply by a movement of the eyebrows of Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By your principles of devotion to your husband, you have achieved and can enjoy transcendental gifts very rarely obtained by persons proud of aristocracy and material possessions.

PURPORT

Lord Caitanya recommended that the greatest achievement of human life is to achieve the grace of the Lord, love of God. He said, prema pumartho mahan: to achieve love of Godhead is the highest perfection of life. The same perfection is recommended by Kardama Muni to his wife. His wife belonged to a very aristocratic royal family. Generally, those who are very materialistic or who possess material wealth and prosperity are unable to appreciate the value of transcendental love of God. Although Devahuti was a princess coming from a very great royal family, fortunately she was under the supervision of her great husband, Kardama Muni, who offered her the best gift which can be bestowed in human life—the grace of the Lord, or love of God. This grace of the Lord was achieved by Devahuti by the good will and satisfaction of her husband. She served her husband, who was a great devotee and saintly person, with great sincerity, love, affection and service, and Kardama Muni was satisfied. He willingly gave love of God, and he recommended that she accept it and enjoy it because he had already achieved it.

Love of God is not an ordinary commodity. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was worshiped by Rupa Gosvami because He distributed love of God, krsna-prema, to everyone. Rupa Gosvami praised Him as maha-vadanya, a greatly munificent personality, because He was freely distributing to everyone love of Godhead, which is achieved by wise men only after many, many births. Krsna-prema, Krsna consciousness, is the highest gift which can be bestowed on anyone whom we presume to love.

One word used in this verse, nija-dharma-dohan, is very significant. Devahuti, as the wife of Kardama Muni, achieved an invaluable gift from her husband because she was very faithful to him. For a woman the first principle of religion is to be faithful to her husband. If, fortunately, the husband is a great personality, then the combination is perfect, and the lives of both the wife and the husband are at once fulfilled.

SB3.23.9

TEXT 9

evam bruvanam abalakhila-yogamaya-

vidya-vicaksanam aveksya gatadhir asit

samprasraya-pranaya-vihvalaya giresad-

vridavaloka-vilasad-dhasitananaha

SYNONYMS

evam—thus; bruvanam—speaking; abala—the woman; akhila—all; yoga-maya—of transcendental science; vidya-vicaksanam—excelling in knowledge; aveksya—after hearing; gata-adhih—satisfied; asit—she became; samprasraya—with humility; pranaya—and with love; vihvalaya—choked up; gira—with a voice; isat—slightly; vrida—bashful; avaloka—with a glance; vilasat—shining; hasita—smiling; anana—her face; aha—she spoke.

TRANSLATION

Upon hearing the speaking of her husband, who excelled in knowledge of all kinds of transcendental science, innocent Devahuti was very satisfied. Her smiling face shining with a slightly bashful glance, she spoke in a choked voice because of great humility and love.

PURPORT

It is said that if one is already engaged in Krsna consciousness and is rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord, then it can be supposed that he has finished all the recommended courses of austerity, penance, religion, sacrifice, mystic yoga and meditation. Devahuti’s husband was so expert in the transcendental science that there was nothing for him to argue about, and when she heard him speak she was confident that since he was very much advanced in devotional service he had already surpassed all transcendental educational activities. She had no doubt about the gifts offered by her husband; she knew that he was expert in offering such gifts, and when she understood that he was offering the greatest gift, she was very satisfied. She was overwhelmed with ecstatic love, and therefore she could not reply; then, with faltering language, just like an attractive wife, she spoke the following words.

SB3.23.10

TEXT 10

devahutir uvaca

raddham bata dvija-vrsaitad amogha-yoga-

mayadhipe tvayi vibho tad avaimi bhartah

yas te ’bhyadhayi samayah sakrd anga-sango

bhuyad gariyasi gunah prasavah satinam

SYNONYMS

devahutih uvaca—Devahuti said; raddham—it has been achieved; bata—indeed; dvija-vrsa—O best of the brahmanas; etat—this; amogha—infallible; yoga-maya—of mystic powers; adhipe—the master; tvayi—in you; vibho—O great one; tat—that; avaimi—I know; bhartah—O husband; yah—that which; te—by you; abhyadhayi—was given; samayah—promise; sakrt—once; anga-sangah—bodily union; bhuyat—may be; gariyasi—when very glorious; gunah—a great quality; prasavah—progeny; satinam—of chaste women.

TRANSLATION

Sri Devahuti said: My dear husband, O best of brahmanas, I know that you have achieved perfection and are the master of all the infallible mystic powers because you are under the protection of yogamaya, the transcendental nature. But you once made a promise that our bodily union should now fulfill, since children are a great quality for a chaste woman who has a glorious husband.

PURPORT

Devahuti expressed her happiness by uttering the word bata, for she knew that her husband was in a highly elevated, transcendental position and was under the shelter of yogamaya. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, those who are great souls, mahatmas, are not under the control of the material energy. The Supreme Lord has two energies, material and spiritual. The living entities are marginal energy. As marginal energy, a person may be under the control of the material energy or the spiritual energy (yogamaya). Kardama Muni was a great soul, and therefore he was under the spiritual energy, which means that he was directly connected with the Supreme Lord. The symptom of this is Krsna consciousness, constant engagement in devotional service. This was known to Devahuti, yet she was anxious to have a son by bodily union with the sage. She reminded her husband of his promise to her parents: “I will remain only until the time of Devahuti’s pregnancy.” She reminded him that for a chaste woman to have a child by a great personality is most glorious. She wanted to be pregnant, and she prayed for that. The word stri means “expansion.” By bodily union of the husband and wife their qualities are expanded: children born of good parents are expansions of the parents’ personal qualifications. Both Kardama Muni and Devahuti were spiritually enlightened; therefore she desired from the beginning that first she be pregnant and then she be empowered with the achievement of God’s grace and love of God. For a woman it is a great ambition to have a son of the same quality as a highly qualified husband. Since she had the opportunity to have Kardama Muni as her husband, she also desired to have a child by bodily union.

SB3.23.11

TEXT 11

tatreti-krtyam upasiksa yathopadesam

yenaisa me karsito ’tiriramsayatma

siddhyeta te krta-manobhava-dharsitaya

dinas tad isa bhavanam sadrsam vicaksva

SYNONYMS

tatra—in that; iti-krtyam—what is necessary to be done; upasiksa—perform; yatha—according to; upadesam—instruction in scripture; yena—by which; esah—this; me—my; karsitah—emaciated; atiriram-saya—due to intense passion not being satisfied; atma—body; siddhyeta—it may he rendered fit; te—for you; krta—excited; manah-bhava—by emotion; dharsitayah—who am struck; dinah—poor; tat—therefore; isa—O my dear lord; bhavanam—house; sadrsam—suitable; vicaksva—please think of.

TRANSLATION

Devahuti continued: My dear lord, I am struck by excited emotion for you. Therefore kindly make what arrangements must be made according to the scriptures so that my skinny body, emaciated through unsatisfied passion, may be rendered fit for you. Also, my lord, please think of a suitable house for this purpose.

PURPORT

The Vedic literatures are not only full of spiritual instruction but are also instructive in how to prosecute material existence very nicely, with the ultimate aim of spiritual perfection. Devahuti asked her husband, therefore, how to prepare herself for sex life according to the Vedic instructions. Sex life is especially meant for having good children. The circumstances for creating good children are mentioned in kama-sastra, the scripture in which suitable arrangements are prescribed for factually glorious sex life. Everything needed is mentioned in the scriptures—what sort of house and decorations there should be, what sort of dress the wife should have, how she should be decorated with ointments, scents and other attractive features, etc. With these requisites fulfilled, the husband will be attracted by her beauty, and a favorable mental situation will be created. The mental situation at the time of sex life may then be transferred into the womb of the wife, and good children can come out of that pregnancy. Here is a special reference to Devahuti’s bodily features. Because she had become skinny, she feared that her body might have no attraction for Kardama. She wanted to be instructed how to improve her bodily condition in order to attract her husband. Sexual intercourse in which the husband is attracted to the wife is sure to produce a male child, but sexual intercourse based on attraction of the wife for the husband may produce a girl. That is mentioned in the Ayur-veda. When the passion of the woman is greater, there is a chance of a girl’s being born. When the passion of the man is greater, then there is the possibility of a son. Devahuti wanted the passion of her husband to be increased by the arrangement mentioned in the kama-sastra. She wanted him to instruct her in that way, and she also requested that he arrange for a suitable house because the hermitage in which Kardama Muni was living was very simple and completely in the mode of goodness, and there was less possibility of passion’s being aroused in his heart.

SB3.23.12

TEXT 12

maitreya uvaca

priyayah priyam anvicchan

kardamo yogam asthitah

vimanam kama-gam ksattas

tarhy evaviracikarat

SYNONYMS

maitreyah—the great sage Maitreya; uvaca—said; priyayah—of his beloved wife; priyam—the pleasure; anvicchan—seeking; kardamah—the sage Kardama; yogam—yogic power; asthitah—exercised; vimanam—an airplane; kama-gam—moving at will; ksattah—O Vidura; tarhi—instantly; eva—quite; aviracikarat—he produced.

TRANSLATION

Maitreya continued: O Vidura, seeking to please his beloved wife, the sage Kardama exercised his yogic power and instantly produced an aerial mansion that could travel at his will.

PURPORT

Here the words yogam asthitah are significant. The sage Kardama was completely perfect in yoga. As the result of real yoga practice there are eight kinds of perfection: the yogi can become smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest or lighter than the lightest, he can achieve anything he likes, he can create even a planet, he can establish influence over anyone, etc. In this way yogic perfection is achieved, and after this one can achieve the perfection of spiritual life. Thus it was not very wonderful for Kardama Muni to create a mansion in the air, according to his own desire, to fulfill the desire of his beloved wife. He at once created the palace, which is described in the following verses.

SB3.23.13

TEXT 13

sarva-kama-dugham divyam

sarva-ratna-samanvitam

sarvarddhy-upacayodarkam

mani-stambhair upaskrtam

SYNONYMS

sarva—all; kama—desires; dugham—yielding; divyam—wonderful; sarva-ratna—all sorts of jewels; samanvitam—bedecked with; sarva—all; rddhi—of wealth; upacaya—increase; udarkam—gradual; mani—of precious stones; stambhaih—with pillars; upaskrtam—adorned.

TRANSLATION

It was a wonderful structure, bedecked with all sorts of jewels, adorned with pillars of precious stones, and capable of yielding whatever one desired. It was equipped with every form of furniture and wealth, which tended to increase in the course of time.

PURPORT

The castle created in the sky by Kardama Muni may be called “a castle in the air,” but by his mystic power of yoga Kardama Muni actually constructed a huge castle in the air. To our feeble imagination, a castle in the sky is an impossibility, but if we scrutinizingly consider the matter we can understand that it is not impossible at all. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead can create so many planets, carrying millions of castles in the air, a perfect yogi like Kardama Muni can easily construct one castle in the air. The castle is described as sarva-kama-dugham, “yielding whatever one desired.” It was full of jewels. Even the pillars were made of pearls and valuable stones. These valuable jewels and stones were not subject to deterioration, but were everlastingly and increasingly opulent. We sometimes hear of castles thus bedecked on the surface of this earth also. The castles constructed by Lord Krsna for His lamplight during the night.

Next verse (SB3.23.14-15)