Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12 Chapter 9 Verses 22-25

Canto 12: The Age of Deterioration | Chapter 9: Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Sees the Illusory Potency of the Lord

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.9.22-25

mahā-marakata-śyāmaḿ

śrīmad-vadana-pańkajam

kambu-grīvaḿ mahoraskaḿ

su-nasaḿ sundara-bhruvam

śvāsaijad-alakābhātaḿ

kambu-śrī-karṇa-dāḍimam

vidrumādhara-bhāseṣac-

choṇāyita-sudhā-smitam

padma-garbhāruṇāpāńgaḿ

hṛdya-hāsāvalokanam

śvāsaijad-vali-saḿvigna-

nimna-nābhi-dalodaram

cārv-ańgulibhyāḿ pāṇibhyām

unnīya caraṇāmbujam

mukhe nidhāya viprendro

dhayantaḿ vīkṣya vismitaḥ

SYNONYMS

mahā-marakata — like a great emerald; śyāmam — dark blue; śrīmat — beautiful; vadana-pańkajam — whose lotus face; kambu — like a conchshell; grīvam — whose throat; mahā — broad; uraskam — whose chest; su-nasam — having a beautiful nose; sundara-bhruvam — having beautiful eyebrows; śvāsa — by His breath; ejat — trembling; alaka — with the hair; ābhātam — splendid; kambu — like a conchshell; śrī — beautiful; karṇa — His ears; dāḍimam — resembling pomegranate flowers; vidruma — like coral; adhara — of His lips; bhāsā — by the effulgence; īṣat — slightly; śoṇāyita — reddened; sudhā — nectarean; smitam — His smile; padma-garbha — like the whorl of a lotus; aruṇa — reddish; apāńgam — the corners of His eyes; hṛdya — charming; hāsa — with a smile; avalokanam — His countenance; śvāsa — by His breath; ejat — made to move; vali — by the lines; saḿvigna — contorted; nimna — deep; nābhi — with His navel; dala — like a leaf; udaram — whose abdomen; cāru — attractive; ańgulibhyām — having fingers; pāṇibhyām — by His two hands; unnīya — picking up; caraṇa-ambujam — His lotus foot; mukhe — in His mouth; nidhāya — placing; vipra-indraḥ — the best of brāhmaṇas, Mārkaṇḍeya; dhayantam — drinking; vīkṣya — seeing; vismitaḥ — was amazed.

TRANSLATION

The infant's dark-blue complexion was the color of a flawless emerald, His lotus face shone with a wealth of beauty, and His throat bore marks like the lines on a conchshell. He had a broad chest, a finely shaped nose, beautiful eyebrows, and lovely ears that resembled pomegranate flowers and that had inner folds like a conchshell's spirals. The corners of His eyes were reddish like the whorl of a lotus, and the effulgence of His coral-like lips slightly reddened the nectarean, enchanting smile on His face. As He breathed, His splendid hair trembled and His deep navel became distorted by the moving folds of skin on His abdomen, which resembled a banyan leaf. The exalted brāhmaṇa watched with amazement as the infant took hold of one of His lotus feet with His graceful fingers, placed a toe within His mouth and began to suck.

PURPORT

The young child was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Lord Kṛṣṇa wondered, "So many devotees are hankering for the nectar of My lotus feet. Therefore let Me personally experience that nectar." Thus the Lord, playing like an ordinary baby, began to suck on His toes.

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