Verse 1.12.157

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.12.157:

শঙ্খ, চক্র, গদা, পদ্ম, চতুর্-ভুজ শ্যাম শ্রীবত্স-কৌস্তুভ-বক্ষে মহাজ্যোতির্-ধাম ॥ ১৫৭ ॥

शङ्ख, चक्र, गदा, पद्म, चतुर्-भुज श्याम श्रीवत्स-कौस्तुभ-वक्षे महाज्योतिर्-धाम ॥ १५७ ॥

śaṅkha, cakra, gadā, padma, catur-bhuja śyāma śrīvatsa-kaustubha-vakṣe mahājyotir-dhāma || 157 ||

sankha, cakra, gada, padma, catur-bhuja syama srivatsa-kaustubha-vakse mahajyotir-dhama (157)

English translation:

(157) At that moment the astrologer saw a beautiful blackish personality with four hands holding the conch, disc, club, and lotus flower. His chest was decorated with Śrīvatsa and the brilliantly effulgent Kaustubha gem.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The word śaṅkha refers to the Pāñcajanya conch, the word cakra refers to the Sudarśana cakra, gadā refers to the Kaumodakī club, and padma refers to the Śrīvāsa lotus. It is stated in the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa (Prakṛti-khaṇḍa, Chapter 14): “Behold Lord Hari, who is holding the

conch, disc, club, and lotus in His four hands. His enchanting form is blackish like the new rain cloud.”

Śrīvatsa is an upāṅga, or secondary limb, of Lord Viṣṇu, situated as a white tuft of hair curling clockwise on His chest. Another opinion is given by Bharata Muni in his commentary on the Amara-koṣa as follows: “The devotees of Kṛṣṇa accept Śrīvatsa as a special jewel like Kaustubha, which adorns the chest of the Lord.”

Kaustubha, the upāṅga, or secondary limb, of Lord Viṣṇu is the best of all jewels and is situated on the chest of Viṣṇu. In the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta it is stated:

kaustubhas tu mahātejāḥ koṭi-sūrya-sama-prabhaḥ idaṃ kim uta vaktavyaṃ pradīpād ati-dīptimān

“The most effulgent Kaustubha gem is as bright as millions of suns. How can the source of all illumination be compared to a lamp?” Hemacandra the dictionary compiler has said:

śaṅkho ‘sya pāñcajanyo ‘ṅkaḥ śrīvatso ‘sis tu nandakaḥ gadā kaumudakī cāpaṃ śārṅga cakraṃ sudarśanaḥ maṇiḥ syamantako haste bhuja-madhye tu kaustubhaḥ

“The name of Lord Viṣṇu’s conch is Pāñcajanya, the white hairs on His chest that curl clockwise are called Śrīvatsa, His sword is called Nandaka, His club is called Kaumodakī, His bow is called Śārṅga, His disc is called Sudarśana, the jewel in His hand is called Syamantaka, and the jewel on His chest is called Kaustubha.”