Skip to main content

ŚB 4.9.50

Devanagari

पय: स्तनाभ्यां सुस्राव नेत्रजै: सलिलै: शिवै: । तदाभिषिच्यमानाभ्यां वीर वीरसुवो मुहु: ॥ ५० ॥

Text

payaḥ stanābhyāṁ susrāva
netra-jaiḥ salilaiḥ śivaiḥ
tadābhiṣicyamānābhyāṁ
vīra vīra-suvo muhuḥ

Synonyms

payaḥ — milk; stanābhyām — from both breasts; susrāva — began to flow down; netra-jaiḥ — from the eyes; salilaiḥ — by tears; śivaiḥ — auspicious; tadā — at that time; abhiṣicyamānābhyām — being wetted; vīra — my dear Vidura; vīra-suvaḥ — of the mother who gave birth to a hero; muhuḥ — constantly.

Translation

My dear Vidura, Sunīti was the mother of a great hero. Her tears, together with the milk flowing from her breasts, wet the whole body of Dhruva Mahārāja. This was a great, auspicious sign.

Purport

When Deities are installed, They are washed with milk, yogurt and water, and this ceremony is called abhiṣeka. In this verse it has been especially mentioned that the tears which flowed down from the eyes of Sunīti were all-auspicious. This auspiciousness of the abhiṣeka ceremony performed by his beloved mother was an indication that in the very near future Dhruva Mahārāja would be installed on the throne of his father. The history of Dhruva Mahārāja’s leaving home was that his father refused to give him a place on his lap, and Dhruva Mahārāja determined that unless he got the throne of his father he would not come back. Now this abhiṣeka ceremony performed by his beloved mother was an indication that he would occupy the throne of Mahārāja Uttānapāda.

It is also significant in this verse that Sunīti, mother of Dhruva Mahārāja, is described as vīra-sū, a mother who produced a great hero. There are many heroes in the world, but there is no comparison to Dhruva Mahārāja, who was not only a heroic emperor of this planet, but also a great devotee. A devotee is also a great hero because he conquers the influence of māyā. When Lord Caitanya inquired from Rāmānanda Rāya about the most famous man in this world, the latter replied that anyone who is known as a great devotee of the Lord is to be accepted as the most famous.