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ŚB 8.12.21

Devanagari

श्लथद् दुकूलं कबरीं च विच्युतांसन्नह्यतीं वामकरेण वल्गुना । विनिघ्नतीमन्यकरेण कन्दुकंविमोहयन्तीं जगदात्ममायया ॥ २१ ॥

Text

ślathad dukūlaṁ kabarīṁ ca vicyutāṁ
sannahyatīṁ vāma-kareṇa valgunā
vinighnatīm anya-kareṇa kandukaṁ
vimohayantīṁ jagad-ātma-māyayā

Synonyms

ślathat — slipping or slackening; dukūlam — the sari; kabarīm ca — and the hair on the head; vicyutām — being slackened and scattered; sannahyatīm — trying to bind; vāma-kareṇa — with the left hand; valgunā — very beautifully attractive; vinighnatīm — striking; anya-kareṇa — with the right hand; kandukam — the ball; vimohayantīm — in this way captivating everyone; jagat — the whole world; ātma-māyayā — by the spiritual potency, the internal energy.

Translation

As She played with the ball, the sari covering Her body became loose, and Her hair scattered. She tried to bind Her hair with Her beautiful left hand, and at the same time She played with the ball by striking it with Her right hand. This was so attractive that the Supreme Lord, by His internal potency, in this way captivated everyone.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: the external potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is extremely strong. Indeed, everyone is fully captivated by her activities. Lord Śambhu (Śiva) was not to be captivated by the external potency, but because Lord Viṣṇu wanted to captivate Him also, He exhibited His internal potency to act the way that His external potency acts to captivate ordinary living entities. Lord Viṣṇu can captivate anyone, even such a strong personality as Lord Śambhu.