Shloka 12
आत्मानमर्हयां चक्रे धूपालेपस्रगादिभि: । साध्वलङ्कृतसर्वाङ्गो महिष्यामादधे मन: ॥ १२ ॥
ātmānam arhayāṁ cakre dhūpālepa-srag-ādibhiḥ sādhv-alaṅkṛta-sarvāṅgo mahiṣyām ādadhe manaḥ
Thereafter King Purañjana adorned his body with incense, fragrant sandal paste, and garlands of flowers. Thus refreshed and fully ornamented, he turned his mind to seeking his queen.
When a man comes into good consciousness and accepts a saintly person as a spiritual master, he hears many Vedic instructions in the form of philosophy, stories, narrations about great devotees, and transactions between God and His devotees. In this way a man becomes refreshed in mind, exactly like a person who smears scented sandalwood pulp all over his body and decorates himself with ornaments. These decorations may be compared to knowledge of religion and the self. Through such knowledge one becomes detached from a materialistic way of life and engages himself in always hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literatures. The word sādhv-alaṅkṛta used in this verse indicates that one must be absorbed in knowledge gathered from the instructions of saintly persons. Just as King Purañjana began to search out his better half, the Queen, one who is decorated with knowledge and instructions from saintly persons should try to search out his original consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One cannot return to Kṛṣṇa consciousness unless he is favored by the instructions of a saintly person. Therefore Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya. If we want to become saintly persons, or if we want to return to our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we must associate with sādhu (a saintly person), śāstra (authoritative Vedic literature) and guru (a bona fide spiritual master). This is the process.
FAQs
This verse shows how honoring the body with perfumes, garlands, and decoration leads the mind toward worldly attachment—here, fixation on the queen—illustrating bodily identification as a cause of bondage.
In the narrative and its allegory, Purañjana represents the conditioned soul who becomes absorbed in external refinement and pleasure, which strengthens attachment and distracts from spiritual self-realization.
Enjoy comforts responsibly, but watch where the mind goes: reduce obsessive self-image and relationship-based dependence by cultivating sādhana—hearing Bhagavatam, chanting, and serving—so the mind fixes on the Divine rather than decoration and desire.