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ŚB 3.33.15

Devanagari

प्रजापते: कर्दमस्य तपोयोगविजृम्भितम् ।
स्वगार्हस्थ्यमनौपम्यं प्रार्थ्यं वैमानिकैरपि ॥ १५ ॥

Text

prajāpateḥ kardamasya
tapo-yoga-vijṛmbhitam
sva-gārhasthyam anaupamyaṁ
prārthyaṁ vaimānikair api

Synonyms

prajā-pateḥ — of the progenitor of mankind; kardamasya — Kardama Muni; tapaḥ — by austerity; yoga — by yoga; vijṛmbhitam — developed; sva-gārhasthyam — his home and household paraphernalia; anaupamyam — unequaled; prārthyam — enviable; vaimānikaiḥ — by the denizens of heaven; api — even.

Translation

The home and household paraphernalia of Kardama, who was one of the Prajāpatis, was developed in such a way, by dint of his mystic powers of austerity and yoga, that his opulence was sometimes envied by those who travel in outer space in airplanes.

Purport

The statement in this verse that Kardama Muni’s household affairs were envied even by persons who travel in outer space refers to the denizens of heaven. Their airships are not like those we have invented in the modern age, which fly only from one country to another; their airplanes were capable of going from one planet to another. There are many such statements in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from which we can understand that there were facilities to travel from one planet to another, especially in the higher planetary system, and who can say that they are not still traveling? The speed of our airplanes and space vehicles is very limited, but, as we have already studied, Kardama Muni traveled in outer space in an airplane which was like a city, and he journeyed to see all the different heavenly planets. That was not an ordinary airplane, nor was it ordinary space travel. Because Kardama Muni was such a powerful mystic yogī, his opulence was envied by the denizens of heaven.