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ŚB 3.23.19

Devanagari

चक्षुष्मत्पद्मरागाग्र्‍यैर्वज्रभित्तिषु निर्मितै: ।
जुष्टं विचित्रवैतानैर्महार्हैर्हेमतोरणै: ॥ १९ ॥

Text

cakṣuṣmat padmarāgāgryair
vajra-bhittiṣu nirmitaiḥ
juṣṭaṁ vicitra-vaitānair
mahārhair hema-toraṇaiḥ

Synonyms

cakṣuḥ-mat — as if possessed of eyes; padma-rāga — with rubies; agryaiḥ — choicest; vajra — of diamond; bhittiṣu — on the walls; nirmitaiḥ — set; juṣṭam — furnished; vicitra — various; vaitānaiḥ — with canopies; mahā-arhaiḥ — greatly valuable; hema-toraṇaiḥ — with gates of gold.

Translation

With the choicest rubies set in its diamond walls, it appeared as though possessed of eyes. It was furnished with wonderful canopies and greatly valuable gates of gold.

Purport

Artistic jewelry and decorations giving the appearance of eyes are not imaginary. Even in recent times the Mogul emperors constructed their palaces with decorations of jeweled birds with eyes made of valuable stones. The stones have been taken away by the authorities, but the decorations are still present in some of the castles constructed by the Mogul emperors in New Delhi. The royal palaces were built with jewels and rare stones resembling eyes, and thus at night they would give off reflective light without need of lamps.