pÄriá¹£ada-deha ei, nÄ haya durgandha
prathama divase pÄiluá¹… catuḥsama-gandha"
pÄriá¹£ada-deha - the body of Kṛṣṇa's associate; ei - this; nÄ haya - is not; durgandha - having a bad smell; prathama divase - on the first day; pÄiluá¹… - I got; catuḥsama-gandha - the smell of catuḥsama, a mixture of sandalwood pulp, camphor, aguru and musk.
“SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« is one of the associates of Kṛṣṇa. There could not be any bad odor from his body. On the first day I embraced him, I smelled the aroma of catuḥsama [a mixture of sandalwood pulp, camphor, aguru and musk].â€
An associate of the Lord is one whose body is fully engaged in the service of the Lord. A materialist might see SanÄtana GosvÄmī’s body as being full of itching sores that exuded foul moisture and a bad smell. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, however, said that actually the aroma of his body was the excellent scent of a mixture of sandalwood pulp, camphor, musk and aguru. In the Garuá¸a PurÄṇa this mixture, which is called catuḥsama, is described as follows:
kastÅ«rikÄyÄ dvau bhÄgau catvÄraÅ› candanasya tu
kuá¹…kumasya trayaÅ› caikaḥ Å›aÅ›inaḥ syÄt catuḥ-samam
“Two parts of musk, four parts of sandalwood, three parts of aguru or saffron and one part of camphor, when mixed together, form catuḥsama.†The aroma of catuḥsama is very pleasing. It is also mentioned in the Hari-bhakti-vilÄsa (sixth vilÄsa).
