श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । अभूदस्मिन् महीपीठे कुलपद्मो विकासवान् । पद्मो नाम नृपः श्रीमान् बहुपुत्रो विवेकवान् ॥ १९ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | abhūdasmin mahīpīṭhē kulapadmō vikāsavān | padmō nāma nṛpaḥ śrīmān bahuputrō vivēkavān || 19 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: On this earth there was a king named Padma, glorious, the full-blown lotus of his line, with many sons, and discerning.
Word by word
- abhūd
- (abhūt) there was
- asmin
- on this
- mahī
- earth
- pīṭhē
- on the seat
- kula
- of his line
- padmō
- (padmaḥ) the lotus; (padmaḥ) Padma
- vikāsavān
- full-blown
- nāma
- named
- nṛpaḥ
- a king
- śrīmān
- glorious
- bahu
- many
- putrō
- (putraḥ) with sons
- vivēkavān
- discerning
Meaning
The commentary: my son Rāma, long ago on this earth there was a king named Padma. Being king, he lacked no fortune; he had many sons, and he was discerning. As a blooming lotus perfumes a lake and adds to its beauty, so he, the fragrance and grace of his family's fame, was the full-blown lotus in the lake of his line. Padma means lotus; the image plays on the name.