Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 17
Rāhu, Eclipses, Antarikṣa, and the Seven Subterranean Heavens
Bila-svarga
ततोऽधस्ताद्वितले हरो भगवान् हाटकेश्वर: स्वपार्षदभूतगणावृत: प्रजापतिसर्गोपबृंहणाय भवो भवान्या सह मिथुनीभूत आस्ते यत: प्रवृत्ता सरित्प्रवरा हाटकी नाम भवयोर्वीर्येण यत्र चित्रभानुर्मातरिश्वना समिध्यमान ओजसा पिबति तन्निष्ठ्यूतं हाटकाख्यं सुवर्णं भूषणेनासुरेन्द्रावरोधेषु पुरुषा: सह पुरुषीभिर्धारयन्ति ॥ १७ ॥
tato ’dhastād vitale haro bhagavān hāṭakeśvaraḥ sva-pārṣada-bhūta-gaṇāvṛtaḥ prajāpati-sargopabṛṁhaṇāya bhavo bhavānyā saha mithunī-bhūta āste yataḥ pravṛttā sarit-pravarā hāṭakī nāma bhavayor vīryeṇa yatra citrabhānur mātariśvanā samidhyamāna ojasā pibati tan niṣṭhyūtaṁ hāṭakākhyaṁ suvarṇaṁ bhūṣaṇenāsurendrāvarodheṣu puruṣāḥ saha puruṣībhir dhārayanti.
在阿多罗（Atala）之下是毗多罗（Vitala）界；彼处哈罗主（湿婆）住于其中，号称“哈塔凯湿伐罗”（Hāṭakeśvara，金矿之主），与其随从——诸鬼神等众——环绕相伴。为增广众生之生类，他与生母女神婆伐妮（Bhavānī）交合；二者精力相融，遂生名为“哈塔基”（Hāṭakī）的胜河。风助火炽，火饮此河水而又嘶然吐出，便化成名为“哈塔卡”（Hāṭaka）的黄金；彼界阿修罗与其妻眷以此金制诸饰物，安乐而居。
It appears that when Bhava and Bhavānī, Lord Śiva and his wife, unite sexually, the emulsification of their secretions creates a chemical which when heated by fire can produce gold. It is said that the alchemists of the medieval age tried to prepare gold from base metal, and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī also states that when bell metal is treated with mercury, it can produce gold. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī mentions this in regard to the initiation of low-class men to turn them into brāhmaṇas. Sanātana Gosvāmī said:
FAQs
This verse states that below the preceding region lies Vitala, where Lord Śiva resides as Hāṭakeśvara, surrounded by his attendants and bhūtas, and that a river called Hāṭakī flows there by the potency of Śiva and Pārvatī.
Śukadeva explains that Śiva (Bhava) remains with Bhavānī in conjugal union for the purpose of expanding the creation associated with the Prajāpatis—highlighting the cosmic function of generating and sustaining progeny within the universe.
The verse shows that immense wealth and ornamentation exist even in non-divine realms; a devotee can take this as a reminder that material opulence is not the goal—true value lies in devotion and God-centered life rather than fascination with riches.