prajÄs taá¹ dÄ«pa-balibhiḥ
sambhá¹›tÄÅ›eá¹£a-maá¹…galaiḥ
abhÄ«yur mṛṣá¹a-kanyÄÅ› ca
mṛṣá¹a-kuṇá¸ala-maṇá¸itÄḥ
prajÄḥ - citizens; tam - to him; dÄ«pa-balibhiḥ - with lamps; sambhá¹›ta - equipped with; aÅ›eá¹£a - unlimited; maá¹…galaiḥ - auspicious articles; abhÄ«yuḥ - came forward to welcome; mṛṣá¹a - with beautiful bodily luster; kanyÄḥ ca - and unmarried girls; mṛṣá¹a - colliding with; kuṇá¸ala - earrings; maṇá¸itÄḥ - being bedecked with.
Offerings of natural products such as betel nuts, bananas, newly grown wheat, paddy, yogurt and vermillion, carried by the citizens and scattered throughout the city, are all auspicious paraphernalia, according to Vedic civilization, for receiving a prominent guest like a bridegroom, king or spiritual master. Similarly, a welcome offered by unmarried girls who are internally and externally clean and are dressed in nice garments and ornaments is also auspicious. KumÄrÄ«, or unmarried girls untouched by the hand of any member of the opposite sex, are auspicious members of society. Even today in Hindu society the most conservative families do not allow unmarried girls to go out freely or mix with boys. They are very carefully protected by their parents while unmarried, after marriage they are protected by their young husbands, and when elderly they are protected by their children. When thus protected, women as a class remain an always auspicious source of energy to man.