Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 24 Verses 24-25

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 24: Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Śiva

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.24.24-25

tarhy eva sarasas tasmān

niṣkrāmantaḿ sahānugam

upagīyamānam amara-

pravaraḿ vibudhānugaiḥ

tapta-hema-nikāyābhaḿ

śiti-kaṇṭhaḿ tri-locanam

prasāda-sumukhaḿ vīkṣya

praṇemur jāta-kautukāḥ

SYNONYMS

tarhi — in that very moment; eva — certainly; sarasaḥ — from the water; tasmāt — therefrom; niṣkrāmantam — coming out; saha-anugam — accompanied by great souls; upagīyamānam — glorified by the followers; amara-pravaram — the chief of the demigods; vibudha-anugaiḥ — followed by his associates; tapta-hema — molten gold; nikāya-ābham — bodily features; śiti-kaṇṭham — blue throat; tri-locanam — with three eyes; prasāda — merciful; su-mukham — beautiful face; vīkṣya — seeing; praṇemuḥ — offered obeisances; jāta — aroused; kautukāḥ — being amazed by the situation.

TRANSLATION

The Pracetās were fortunate to see Lord Śiva, the chief of the demigods, emerging from the water with his associates. His bodily luster was just like molten gold, his throat was bluish, and he had three eyes, which looked very mercifully upon his devotees. He was accompanied by many musicians, who were glorifying him. As soon as the Pracetās saw Lord Śiva, they immediately offered their obeisances in great amazement and fell down at the lotus feet of the lord.

PURPORT

The word vibudhānugaiḥ indicates that Lord Śiva is always accompanied by the denizens of the higher planets known as Gandharvas and Kinnaras. They are very expert in musical science, and Lord Śiva is worshiped by them constantly. In pictures, Lord Śiva is generally painted white, but here we find that the color of his skin is not exactly white but like molten gold, or a glowing yellowish color. Because Lord Śiva is always very, very merciful, his name is Āśutoṣa. Amongst all the demigods, Lord Śiva can be pacified even by the lowest class of men, who need only offer him obeisances and leaves of a bael tree. Thus his name is Āśutoṣa, which means that he is pleased very quickly.

Generally those who are very fond of material prosperity approach Lord Śiva for such benediction. The lord, being very merciful, quickly awards all the blessings the devotee asks of him. The demons take advantage of this leniency and sometimes take benedictions from Lord Śiva which can be very dangerous to others. For instance, Vṛkāsura took a benediction from Lord Śiva by which he could kill everyone he touched on the head. Although Lord Śiva sometimes very liberally gives such benedictions to his devotees, the difficulty is that the demons, being very cunning, sometimes want to experiment improperly with such benedictions. For instance, after receiving his benediction, Vṛkāsura tried to touch the head of Lord Śiva. Devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, however, have no desire for such benedictions, and Lord Viṣṇu does not give His devotees benedictions which would cause disturbance to the whole world.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness