Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.16.30

ratnānāḿ padma-rāgo 'smi

padma-kośaḥ su-peśasām

kuśo 'smi darbha-jātīnāḿ

gavyam ājyaḿ haviḥṣv aham

SYNONYMS

ratnānām — of jewels; padma-rāgaḥ — the ruby; asmi — I am; padma-kośaḥ — the lotus cup; su-peśasām — among beautiful things; kuśaḥ — the sacred kuśa grass; asmi — I am; darbha-jātīnām — among all types of grass; gavyam — cow products; ājyam — offering of ghee; haviḥṣu — among oblations; aham — I am.

TRANSLATION

Among jewels I am the ruby, and among beautiful things I am the lotus cup. Among all types of grass I am the sacred kuśa, and of oblations I am ghee and other ingredients obtained from the cow.

PURPORT

Pañca-gavya refers to five sacrificial ingredients obtained from the cow, namely milk, ghee, yogurt, dung and urine. The cow is so valuable that even its dung and urine are antiseptic and fit for sacrificial offering. Kuśa grass is also used for religious occasions. Mahārāja Parīkṣit constructed a sitting place from kuśa grass during the last week of his life. Among beautiful things the lotus cup formed by lotus petals represents Lord Kṛṣṇa, and among jewels the ruby, which is similar to Lord Kṛṣṇa's own Kaustubha gem, symbolizes the potency of the Lord.

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