Text 23] Lord Brahma Satisfies Lord Siva 181

PURPORT

According to the commentary called Sri Bhagavata-candra-candrika, the
water in which Sati used to bathe was Ganges water. In other words, the
Ganges flowed through the Kailasa Parvata. There is every possibility of
accepting such a statement because Ganges water also flows from the hair
of Lord Siva. Since Ganges water rests on the head of Lord Siva and then
flows to the other parts of the universe, it is quite possible that the water
in which Sati bathed, which was certainly very nicely scented, was Ganges
water.

TEXT 23

TeIaT F TaMeat aM Ff gy |
aa atarfeas aT aa THAT TET R31

dadrsus tatra te ramyam
alakam nama vai purim

vanam saugandhikam capi
yatra tan-nama pankajam

dadrsuh—saw; tatra—there (in Kailasa); te—they (the demigods); ram-
yam—very attractive; alakam—Alaka; nama—known as; vai—indeed; purim
—abode; vanam—forest; saugandhikam—Saugandhika; ca—and; api—even;
yatra—in which place; tat-nama—known by that name; pankajam—species
of lotus flowers.

TRANSLATION

Thus the demigods saw the wonderfully beautiful region known as
Alaka in the forest known as Saugandhika, which means “‘full of fragrance.”
The forest is known as Saugandhika because of its abundance of lotus
flowers.

PURPORT

Sometimes Alaka is known as Alaka puri, which is also the name of the
abode of Kuvera. Kuvera’s abode, however, cannot be seen from Kailasa.
Therefore the region of Alaka referred to here is different from the Alaka
puri of Kuvera. According to Viraraghava Acarya, alaka means “uncom-
monly beautiful.” In the region of Alaka the demigods saw, there is a type
of lotus flower known as Saugandhika that distributes an especially fra-
grant scent.
