tÄn Äha deva-deveÅ›aḥ
praṇatÄn prahasann iva
ÄsÄm ekatamÄá¹ vṛṅdhvaá¹
sa-varṇÄá¹ svarga-bhūṣaṇÄm
tÄn - to them; Äha - said; deva-deva-īśaḥ - the Supreme Lord of all lords; praṇatÄn - who had bowed down to Him; prahasan iva - almost smiling; ÄsÄm - of these women; ekatamÄm - one; vṛṅdhvam - please choose; sa-varṇÄm - suitable; svarga - of heaven; bhūṣaṇÄm - the ornament.
Nara-NÄrÄyaṇa Ṛṣi was almost laughing upon seeing the defeat of the demigods. However, being extremely grave, He did not actually laugh. Although the demigods might have thought, “We are simply low-class fools in comparison to these women,†the Lord encouraged them to choose one of the women, whomever they considered equal in character to themselves. The beauty thus selected would become the ornament of heaven.