Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 11

Brahmā’s Tapasya, the Vision of Vaikuṇṭha, and the Lord’s Seed Instructions

Catuḥ-śloki

Devanagari script

श्यामावदाता: शतपत्रलोचना: पिशङ्गवस्त्रा: सुरुच: सुपेशस: । सर्वे चतुर्बाहव उन्मिषन्मणि- प्रवेकनिष्काभरणा: सुवर्चस: ॥ ११ ॥

Transliteration

śyāmāvadātāḥ śata-patra-locanāḥ piśaṅga-vastrāḥ surucaḥ supeśasaḥ sarve catur-bāhava unmiṣan-maṇi- praveka-niṣkābharaṇāḥ suvarcasaḥ

Translation

Les habitants de Vaikuṇṭha rayonnent d’un teint bleuâtre comme le ciel. Leurs yeux sont tels des pétales de lotus, leurs vêtements tirent vers le jaune, et leurs traits sont beaux et harmonieux. Tous ont quatre bras, portent des colliers de perles et des médaillons sertis de gemmes, et paraissent pleins d’effulgence.

Synonyms

• śyāma-avadātāḥ: dark and fair-hued
• śyāma-avadātāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as descriptive predicate of ‘sarve’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śyāma + avadāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; dvandva ‘dark and fair/bright’ describing complexion

• śata-patra-locanāḥ: lotus-eyed
• śata-patra-locanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata + patra + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ‘lotus-petaled-eyed’ (hundred-petaled)

• piśaṅga-vastrāḥ: wearing tawny garments
• piśaṅga-vastrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: piśaṅga + vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ‘having tawny garments’

• surucaḥ: radiant
• surucaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suruci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ‘of beautiful radiance’

• supeśasaḥ: handsome
• supeśasaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: supeśas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ‘well-formed, handsome’

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ‘all (of them)’

• catur-bāhavaḥ: four-armed
• catur-bāhavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; dvigu ‘four-armed’

• unmiṣan-maṇi-praveka-niṣka-ābharaṇāḥ: adorned with flashing gem-clusters and golden ornaments
• unmiṣan-maṇi-praveka-niṣka-ābharaṇāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: unmiṣant (कृदन्त) < √miṣ + maṇi + praveka + niṣka + ābharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; multi-member तत्पुरुष: ‘adorned with necklaces/ornaments (ābharaṇa) of niṣka and clusters of gems that are flashing’

• suvarcasaḥ: splendid
• suvarcasaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (descriptor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suvarcas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; ‘of excellent splendor’

Purport

The inhabitants in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are all personalities with spiritual bodily features not to be found in the material world. We can find the descriptions in the revealed scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Impersonal descriptions of transcendence in the scriptures indicate that the bodily features in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are never to be seen in any part of the universe. As there are different bodily features in different places of a particular planet, or as there are different bodily features between bodies in different planets, similarly the bodily features of the inhabitants in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are completely different from those in the material universe. For example, the four hands are distinct from the two hands in this world.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Viṣṇudūtas (four-armed attendants of the Lord)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the four-armed forms seen by Brahmā?

This verse describes divine, four-armed beings—radiant, jewel-adorned, lotus-eyed—indicating Vaikuṇṭha-like spiritual forms associated with the Lord’s presence.

Why did Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe these forms to Mahārāja Parīkṣit?

To convey Brahmā’s direct vision of the transcendental realm and its inhabitants, strengthening faith in the Lord’s personal form and the reality of the spiritual world.

Practical application of meditating on the Lord’s form in modern life?

Contemplating the Lord’s attributes—beauty, purity, and divine majesty—helps steady the mind, deepen bhakti, and replace anxiety with remembrance of the sacred.