Text 37
sa viprānumato rājā
gṛhītvāñjalinaudanam
avaghrāya mudā yuktaḥ
prādāt patnyā udāra-dhīḥ
saḥ — he; vipra — of the brāhmaṇas; anumataḥ — taking permission; rājā — the King; gṛhītvā — taking; añjalinā — in his joined palms; odanam — rice boiled in milk; avaghrāya — after smelling; mudā — with great delight; yuktaḥ — fixed; prādāt — offered; patnyai — to his wife; udāra-dhīḥ — liberal-minded.
The King was very liberal, and after taking permission from the priests, he took the preparation in his joined palms, and after smelling it he offered a portion to his wife.
The word udāra-dhīḥ is significant in this connection. The wife of the King, Sunīthā, was not fit to accept this benediction, yet the King was so liberal that without hesitation he offered to his wife the boiled rice in milk prasāda received from the yajña-puruṣa. Of course, everything is designed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As will be explained in later verses, this incident was not very favorable for the King. Since the King was very liberal, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in order to increase his detachment from this material world, willed that a cruel son be born of the Queen so that the King would have to leave home. As stated above, Lord Viṣṇu fulfills the desires of the karmīs as they desire, but the Lord fulfills the desire of a devotee in a different way so that the devotee may gradually come to Him. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te). The Lord gives the devotee the opportunity to make progress further and further so that he may come back home, back to Godhead.