Text 18
vāraṇendraṁ puraskṛtya
brāhmaṇaiḥ sasumaṅgalaiḥ
śaṅkha-tūrya-ninādena
brahma-ghoṣeṇa cādṛtāḥ
pratyujjagmū rathair hṛṣṭāḥ
praṇayāgata-sādhvasāḥ
vāraṇa-indram — elephants on the auspicious mission; puraskṛtya — putting in the front; brāhmaṇaiḥ — by the brāhmaṇas; sa-sumaṅgalaiḥ — with all-auspicious signs; śaṅkha — conchshell; tūrya — bugle; ninādena — by the sound of; brahma-ghoṣeṇa — by chanting the hymns of the Vedas; ca — and; ādṛtāḥ — glorified; prati — towards; ujjagmuḥ — proceeded hurriedly; rathaiḥ — on the chariots; hṛṣṭāḥ — in cheerfulness; praṇayāgata — saturated with affection; sādhvasāḥ — all-respectful.
They hastened toward the Lord on chariots with brāhmaṇas bearing flowers. Before them were elephants, emblems of good fortune. Conchshells and bugles were sounded, and Vedic hymns were chanted. Thus they offered their respects, which were saturated with affection.
The Vedic way of receiving a great personality creates an atmosphere of respect, which is saturated with affection and veneration for the person received. The auspicious atmosphere of such a reception depends on the paraphernalia described above, including conchshells, flowers, incense, decorated elephants, and the qualified brāhmaṇas reciting verses from the Vedic literatures. Such a program of reception is full of sincerity, on the part of both the receiver and the received.