Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.30.6

kāśiṣṇunā kanaka-varṇa-vibhūṣaṇena

bhrājat-kapola-vadano vilasat-kirīṭaḥ

aṣṭāyudhair anucarair munibhiḥ surendrair

āsevito garuḍa-kinnara-gīta-kīrtiḥ

SYNONYMS

kāśiṣṇunā — shining; kanaka — gold; varṇa — colored; vibhūṣaṇena — with ornaments; bhrājat — shining; kapola — forehead; vadanaḥ — His face; vilasat — dazzling; kirīṭaḥ — His helmet; aṣṭa — eight; āyudhaiḥ — with weapons; anucaraiḥ — by followers; munibhiḥ — by great sages; sura-indraiḥ — by demigods; āsevitaḥ — served; garuḍa — by Garuḍa; kinnara — inhabitant of the Kinnara planet; gīta — sung; kīrtiḥ — His glories.

TRANSLATION

The Lord's face was very beautiful, and His head was decorated with a shining helmet and golden ornaments. The helmet was dazzling and was very beautifully situated on His head. The Lord had eight arms, which each held a particular weapon. The Lord was surrounded by demigods, great sages and other associates. These were all engaged in His service. Garuḍa, the carrier of the Lord, glorified the Lord with Vedic hymns by flapping his wings. Garuḍa appeared to be an inhabitant of the planet known as Kinnaraloka.

PURPORT

Generally the Viṣṇu form is manifested with four hands holding four objects (a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower). However, here Lord Viṣṇu is described as possessing eight arms with eight kinds of weapons. According to Vīrarāghava Ācārya, the conchshell and lotus flower are also accepted as weapons. Since the Lord is the supreme controller, whatever is in His hand can be considered a weapon. Four hands hold four kinds of weapons, and the extra four hands hold an arrow, bow, trident and snake. Śrī Vīrarāghava Ācārya describes the eight weapons as śańkha, cakra, gadā, padma, śārńga, śara, etc.

A king is always accompanied by his ministers, secretaries and commanders, and Lord Viṣṇu is also accompanied by His followers — the demigods, great sages, saintly persons and so on. He is never alone. Consequently there is no question of the Lord's being impersonal. He is always Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His associates are also persons. From the description given in this verse, Garuḍa appears to belong to the Kinnara planet. The inhabitants of the Kinnara planet have the same features as Garuḍa. Their bodily features are like those of a human being, but they have wings. The word gīta-kīrtiḥ indicates that the inhabitants of Kinnaraloka are very expert in singing the glories of the Lord. In Brahma-saḿhitā it is said: jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam. In each and every universe there are different types of planets, and each planet has distinctive features. On the strength of this verse, we can understand that in Kinnaraloka the inhabitants can fly with their wings. There is also a planet, known as Siddhaloka, where the inhabitants can fly even without wings. Thus each and every planet has some distinctive facility. That is the beauty of the varied creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

<<< >>>

Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness