Text 8
devodyāna-śriyā juṣṭam
adhyāste sma tri-piṣṭapam
mahendra-bhavanaṁ sākṣān
nirmitaṁ viśvakarmaṇā
trailokya-lakṣmy-āyatanam
adhyuvāsākhilarddhimat
deva-udyāna — of the famous garden of the demigods; śriyā — by the opulences; juṣṭam — enriched; adhyāste sma — remained in; tri-piṣṭapam — the higher planetary system, where various demigods live; mahendra-bhavanam — the palace of Indra, the King of heaven; sākṣāt — directly; nirmitam — constructed; viśvakarmaṇā — by the famous architect of the demigods, Viśvakarmā; trailokya — of all the three worlds; lakṣmī-āyatanam — the residence of the goddess of fortune; adhyuvāsa — lived in; akhila-ṛddhi-mat — possessing the opulence of the entire universe.
Hiraṇyakaśipu, who possessed all opulence, began residing in heaven, with its famous Nandana garden, which is enjoyed by the demigods. In fact, he resided in the most opulent palace of Indra, the King of heaven. The palace had been directly constructed by the demigod architect Viśvakarmā and was as beautifully made as if the goddess of fortune of the entire universe resided there.
From this description it appears that all the heavenly planets of the upper planetary system are thousands upon thousands of times more opulent than the lower planetary system in which we live. Viśvakarmā, the famous heavenly architect, is known as the constructor of many wonderful buildings in the upper planets, where there are not only beautiful buildings, but also many opulent gardens and parks, which are described as nandana-devodyāna, gardens quite fit to be enjoyed by the demigods. This description of the upper planetary system and its opulences is to be understood from authoritative scriptures like the Vedic literatures. Telescopes and the other imperfect instruments of scientists are inadequate for evaluating the upper planetary system. Although such instruments are needed because the vision of the so-called scientists is imperfect, the instruments themselves are also imperfect. Therefore the upper planets cannot be appraised by imperfect men using imperfect man-made instruments. Direct information received from the Vedic literature, however, is perfect. We therefore cannot accept the statement that there are no opulent residences on planets other than this earth.