वनं सौगन्धिकं चापि यत्र तन्नाम पङ्कजम् ॥२३॥
dadṛśus tatra te ramyÄm
alakÄá¹ nÄma vai purÄ«m
vanaá¹ saugandhikaá¹ cÄpi
yatra tan-nÄma paá¹…kajam
dadṛśuḥ - saw; tatra - there (in KailÄsa); te - they (the demigods); ramyÄm - very attractive; alakÄm - AlakÄ; nÄma - known as; vai - indeed; purÄ«m - abode; vanam - forest; saugandhikam - Saugandhika; ca - and; api - even; yatra - in which place; tat-nÄma - known by that name; paá¹…kajam - species of lotus flowers.
Thus the demigods saw the wonderfully beautiful region known as AlakÄ in the forest known as Saugandhika, which means “full of fragrance.†The forest is known as Saugandhika because of its abundance of lotus flowers.
Sometimes AlakÄ is known as AlakÄ-purÄ«, which is also the name of the abode of Kuvera. Kuvera’s abode, however, cannot be seen from KailÄsa. Therefore the region of AlakÄ referred to here is different from the AlakÄ-purÄ« of Kuvera. According to VÄ«rarÄghava Ä€cÄrya, alakÄ means “uncommonly beautiful.†In the region of AlakÄ that the demigods saw, there is a type of lotus flower known as Saugandhika that distributes an especially fragrant scent.
