Shloka 17
The Kingdom of God (Vaikuṇṭha) and the Curse of Jaya and Vijaya
वैमानिका: सललनाश्चरितानि शश्वद् गायन्ति यत्र शमलक्षपणानि भर्तु: । अन्तर्जलेऽनुविकसन्मधुमाधवीनां गन्धेन खण्डितधियोऽप्यनिलं क्षिपन्त: ॥ १७ ॥
vaimānikāḥ sa-lalanāś caritāni śaśvad gāyanti yatra śamala-kṣapaṇāni bhartuḥ antar-jale ’nuvikasan-madhu-mādhavīnāṁ gandhena khaṇḍita-dhiyo ’py anilaṁ kṣipantaḥ
On the Vaikuṇṭha planets, the vimāna-dwellers roam in their celestial airplanes with their wives and consorts, eternally singing the Lord’s spotless character and deeds, free from all inauspiciousness. Absorbed in Hari-kīrtana, they even slight the honey-laden fragrance of blooming mādhavī flowers, as if casting it away into the wind.
It appears from this verse that the Vaikuṇṭha planets are full of all opulences. There are airplanes in which the inhabitants travel in the spiritual sky with their sweethearts. There is a breeze carrying the fragrance of blossoming flowers, and this breeze is so nice that it also carries the honey of the flowers. The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha, however, are so interested in glorifying the Lord that they do not like the disturbance of such a nice breeze while they are chanting the Lord’s glories. In other words, they are pure devotees. They consider glorification of the Lord more important than their own sense gratification. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets there is no question of sense gratification. To smell the fragrance of a blossoming flower is certainly very nice, but it is simply for sense gratification. The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha give first preference to the service of the Lord, not their own sense gratification. Serving the Lord in transcendental love yields such transcendental pleasure that, in comparison, sense gratification is counted as insignificant.
FAQs
This verse describes Vaikuṇṭha as filled with constant devotional singing about the Lord and His consorts, and even the natural elements like the wind carry spiritually enchanting fragrance—everything supports remembrance and devotion.
To show that in the Lord’s abode, bhakti is expressed as continual kīrtana, and that even narrations connected to the Lord’s devotees/consorts are powerfully purifying and sin-destroying.
Keep the mind uplifted through regular kīrtana and hearing of divine līlā; also shape your environment (music, words, associations) so that it naturally pulls the mind toward remembrance rather than distraction.