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ŚB 11.16.21

Devanagari

धिष्ण्यानामस्म्यहं मेरुर्गहनानां हिमालय: ।
वनस्पतीनामश्वत्थ ओषधीनामहं यव: ॥ २१ ॥

Text

dhiṣṇyānām asmy ahaṁ merur
gahanānāṁ himālayaḥ
vanaspatīnām aśvattha
oṣadhīnām ahaṁ yavaḥ

Synonyms

dhiṣṇyānām — residences; asmi — am; aham — I; meruḥ — Mount Sumeru; gahanānām — of impervious places; himālayaḥ — the Himālayas; vanaspatīnām — among trees; aśvatthaḥ — banyan tree; oṣadhīnām — among plants; aham — I; yavaḥ — barley.

Translation

Among residences I am Mount Sumeru, and of impervious places I am the Himālayas. Among trees I am the holy fig tree, and among plants I am those that bear grains.

Purport

Oṣadhīnām here indicates those plants that fructify once and then die. Among them, those that give grains, which sustain human life, represent Kṛṣṇa. Without grains it is not possible to produce milk products, nor can one properly perform Vedic fire sacrifices without offerings of grains.