श्रीशुक उवाच नरकं निहतं श्रुत्वा तथोद्वाहं च योषिताम् । कृष्णेनैकेन बह्वीनां तद् दिदृक्षु: स्म नारद: ॥ १ ॥ चित्रं बतैतदेकेन वपुषा युगपत्पृथक् । गृहेषु द्वयष्टसाहस्रं स्त्रिय एक उदावहत् ॥ २ ॥ इत्युत्सुको द्वारवतीं देवर्षिर्द्रष्टुमागमत् । पुष्पितोपवनारामद्विजालिकुलनादिताम् ॥ ३ ॥ उत्फुल्लेन्दीवराम्भोजकह्लारकुमुदोत्पलै: । छुरितेषु सर:सूच्चै: कूजितां हंससारसै: ॥ ४ ॥ प्रासादलक्षैर्नवभिर्जुष्टां स्फाटिकराजतै: । महामरकतप्रख्यै: स्वर्णरत्नपरिच्छदै: ॥ ५ ॥ विभक्तरथ्यापथचत्वरापणै: शालासभाभी रुचिरां सुरालयै: । संसिक्तमार्गाङ्गनवीथिदेहलीं पतत्पताकध्वजवारितातपाम् ॥ ६ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca narakaṁ nihataṁ śrutvā tathodvāhaṁ ca yoṣitām kṛṣṇenaikena bahvīnāṁ tad-didṛkṣuḥ sma nāradaḥ citraṁ bataitad ekena vapuṣā yugapat pṛthak gṛheṣu dvy-aṣṭa-sāhasraṁ striya eka udāvahat ity utsuko dvāravatīṁ devarṣir draṣṭum āgamat puṣpitopavanārāma- dvijāli-kula-nāditām utphullendīvarāmbhoja- kahlāra-kumudotpalaiḥ churiteṣu saraḥsūccaiḥ kūjitāṁ haṁsa-sārasaiḥ prāsāda-lakṣair navabhir juṣṭāṁ sphāṭika-rājataiḥ mahā-marakata-prakhyaiḥ svarṇa-ratna-paricchadaiḥ vibhakta-rathyā-patha-catvarāpaṇaiḥ śālā-sabhābhī rucirāṁ surālayaiḥ saṁsikta-mārgāṅgana-vīthi-dehalīṁ patat-patāka-dhvaja-vāritātapām
- śrī-śukaḥ uvāca
- Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
- narakam
- the demon Naraka
- nihatam
- killed
- śrutvā
- hearing
- tathā
- also
- udvāham
- the marriage
- ca
- and
- yoṣitām
- with women
- kṛṣṇena
- by Lord Kṛṣṇa
- ekena
- one
- bahvīnām
- with many
- tat
- that
- didṛkṣuḥ
- wanting to see
- sma
- indeed
- nāradaḥ
- Nārada
- citram
- wonderful
- bata
- ah
- etat
- this
- ekena
- with a single
- vapuṣā
- body
- yugapat
- simultaneously
- pṛthak
- separate
- gṛheṣu
- in residences
- dvi
- two times
- aṣṭa
- eight
- sāhasram
- thousand
- striyaḥ
- women
- ekaḥ
- alone
- udāvahat
- He married
- iti
- thus
- utsukaḥ
- eager
- dvāravatīm
- to Dvārakā
- deva
- of the demigods
- ṛṣiḥ
- the sage, Nārada
- draṣṭum
- to see
- āgamat
- came
- puṣpita
- flowery
- upavana
- in parks
- ārāma
- and pleasure gardens
- dvija
- of birds
- ali
- and bees
- kula
- with flocks and swarms
- nāditām
- resounding
- utphulla
- blooming
- indīvara
- with blue lotuses
- ambhoja
- day-blooming lotuses
- kahlāra
- white esculent lotuses
- kumuda
- moonlight-blooming lotuses
- utpalaiḥ
- and water lilies
- churiteṣu
- filled
- saraḥsu
- within lakes
- uccaiḥ
- loudly
- kūjitām
- filled with the calling
- haṁsa
- by swans
- sārasaiḥ
- and cranes
- prāsāda
- with palaces
- lakṣaiḥ
- hundreds of thousands
- navabhiḥ
- nine
- juṣṭām
- adorned
- sphāṭika
- made of crystal glass
- rājataiḥ
- and silver
- mahā-marakata
- with great emeralds
- prakhyaiḥ
- splendorous
- svarṇa
- of gold
- ratna
- and jewels
- paricchadaiḥ
- whose furnishings
- vibhakta
- systematically divided
- rathyā
- with main avenues
- patha
- roads
- catvara
- intersections
- āpaṇaiḥ
- and marketplaces
- śālā-sabhābhiḥ
- with assembly houses
- rucirām
- charming
- sura
- of the demigods
- ālayaiḥ
- with temples
- saṁsikta
- sprinkled with water
- mārga
- whose roads
- aṅgana
- courtyards
- vīthi
- commercial streets
- dehalīm
- and patios
- patat
- flying
- patāka
- with banners
- dhvaja
- by the flagpoles
- vārita
- warded off
- ātapām
- the heat of the sun
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Hearing that Lord Kṛṣṇa had killed Narakāsura and had alone married many brides, Nārada Muni desired to see the Lord in this situation. He thought, “It is quite amazing that in a single body Lord Kṛṣṇa simultaneously married sixteen thousand women, each in a separate palace.” Thus the sage of the demigods eagerly went to Dvārakā. The city was filled with the sounds of birds and bees flying about the parks and pleasure gardens, while its lakes, crowded with blooming indīvara, ambhoja, kahlāra, kumuda and utpala lotuses, resounded with the calls of swans and cranes. Dvārakā boasted nine hundred thousand royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and splendorously decorated with huge emeralds. Inside these palaces, the furnishings were bedecked with gold and jewels. Traffic moved along a well-laid-out system of boulevards, roads, intersections and marketplaces, and many assembly houses and temples of demigods graced the charming city. The roads, courtyards, commercial streets and residential patios were all sprinkled with water and shaded from the sun’s heat by banners waving from flagpoles.