Shloka 12
विबुधासुरगन्धर्वमुनिसिद्धनरोरगा: । विजिता: सूर्यया दिक्षु क्वणयन्त्यैव नूपुरै: ॥ १२ ॥
vibudhāsura-gandharva- muni-siddha-naroragāḥ vijitāḥ sūryayā dikṣu kvaṇayantyaiva nūpuraiḥ
As Śatadruti was being wed, the devas, asuras, gandharvas, sages, siddhas, humans, and nāgas—though all exalted—were captivated in every direction by the sweet tinkling of her anklebells.
Generally a woman becomes more beautiful when, after an early marriage, she gives birth to a child. To give birth to a child is the natural function of a woman, and therefore a woman becomes more and more beautiful as she gives birth to one child after another. In the case of Śatadruti, however, she was so beautiful that she attracted the whole universe at her marriage ceremony. Indeed, she attracted all the learned and exalted demigods simply by the tinkling of her ankle bells. This indicates that all the demigods wanted to see her beauty completely, but they were not able to see it because she was fully dressed and covered with ornaments. Since they could only see the feet of Śatadruti, they became attracted by her ankle bells, which tinkled as she walked. In other words, the demigods became captivated by her simply by hearing the tinkling of her ankle bells. They did not have to see her complete beauty. It is sometimes understood that a person becomes lusty just by hearing the tinkling of bangles on the hands of women or the tinkling of ankle bells, or just by seeing a woman’s sari. Thus it is concluded that woman is the complete representation of māyā. Although Viśvāmitra Muni was engaged in practicing mystic yoga with closed eyes, his transcendental meditation was broken when he heard the tinkling of bangles on the hands of Menakā. In this way Viśvāmitra Muni became a victim of Menakā and fathered a child who is universally celebrated as Śakuntalā. The conclusion is that no one can save himself from the attraction of woman, even though he be an exalted demigod or an inhabitant of the higher planets. Only a devotee of the Lord, who is attracted by Kṛṣṇa, can escape the lures of woman. Once one is attracted by Kṛṣṇa, the illusory energy of the world cannot attract him.
FAQs
It describes a supremely radiant divine presence whose brilliance overwhelms all classes of beings—devas, asuras, Gandharvas, sages, Siddhas, humans, and serpents—while the sound of her anklebells reverberates through all directions.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī narrates this verse to Mahārāja Parīkṣit as part of the account in Canto 4, Chapter 24.
It highlights how divine beauty and sacred sound can capture the mind; similarly, one can steady the heart through attentive hearing and chanting (śravaṇa-kīrtana) so the mind becomes “conquered” by devotion rather than distraction.