Text 28
prītaḥ svayaṁ tayā yuktaḥ
praviṣṭo nija-mandiram
maṇi-stambha-śatopetaṁ
mahendra-bhavanaṁ yathā
prītaḥ — pleased; svayam — himself; tayā — by her; yuktaḥ — joined; praviṣṭaḥ — having entered; nija — his; mandiram — home; maṇi — with gems; stambha — columns; śata — hundreds; upetam — having; mahā-indra — of great Indra, the King of heaven; bhavanam — the palace; yathā — like.
With pleasure he took his wife with him and entered his house, where there were hundreds of gem-studded pillars, just as in the palace of Lord Mahendra.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments that Sudāmā was simply astonished at the sight of his wife. As he wondered, “Who is this demigod’s wife who has approached such a fallen soul as me?” the maidservants informed him, “This is indeed your wife.” At that very moment Sudāmā’s body became young and beautiful, bedecked in fine clothing and jewelry. The word prītaḥ here indicates that these changes gave him considerable pleasure.
The famous “Thousand Names of Viṣṇu” hymn of the Mahābhārata immortalizes Sudāmā’s sudden opulence in the following phrase: śrīdāmā-raṅka-bhaktārtha-bhūmy-ānītendra-vaibhavaḥ. “Lord Viṣṇu is also known as He who brought Indra’s opulence to this earth for the benefit of His pitiful devotee Śrīdāmā [Sudāmā].”