वनं कुरुषु यद्दिव्यं वासोभूषणपत्रवत्।
दिव्यनारीफलं शश्वत्तत्कौवेरमिहैतु च॥१९॥
vanaṁ kuruṣu yad divyaṁ vāso-bhūṣaṇa-patravat
divya-nārī-phalaṁ śaśvat tat kauveram ihaitu ca
vanam = the forest; kuruṣu = [found] in North Kuru-varṣa; yat = it is; divyam = fit for the devas; vāsaḥ-bhūṣaṇa-patravat = it has [celestial] dresses and ornaments as its leaves; divya-nārī-phalam = and celestial women as its fruits; śaśvat = always; tat kauveram = of Kuvera; iha = here; etu ca = may come.
May the forest of Kuvera always [found] in North Kuru-varṣa come here. It is fit for the devas. It has [celestial] dresses and ornaments as its leaves and celestial women as its fruits.
1 For more details, consult the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which describes the celestial beings and their regions, all of which are primarily constituted of subtle matter. These celestial beings are enlisted in the following two verses—deva-sargaś cāṣṭa-vidho vibudhāḥ pitaro ’surāḥ / gandharvāpsarasaḥ siddhā yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi cāraṇāḥ; bhūta-preta-piśācāś ca vidyādhrāḥ kinnarādayaḥ / daśaite vidurākhyātāḥ sargās te viśva-sṛk-kṛtāḥ: “The creation of the demigods is of eight varieties: (1) the demigods, (2) the forefathers, (3) the asuras, or demons, (4) the Gandharvas and Apsarās, or angels, (5) the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, (6) the Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Vidyādharas, (7) the Bhūtas, Pretas and Piśācas, and (8) the superhuman beings, celestial singers, etc. All are created by Brahmā, the creator of the universe.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.10.28-29)
2 Kuvera was already called in an earlier verse.
3 This is an instance of metonymous usage and such usage is abundantly found in the Vedic scriptures where we find items or places routinely identified with their presiding deities. A similar usage is amply found in contemporary written English. For instance, in the September/October 2019 issue of Foreign Affairs, a news magazine, we come across an article titled The Sources of Chinese Conduct with the following subtitle: Are Washington and Beijing Fighting a New Cold War? “Washington” here actually refers to the federal government of the United States of America whose capital is Washington and “Beijing” here actually refers to the government of the People’s Republic of China whose capital is Beijing. We come across similar instances in the newspapers everday. Likewise, in Vedic civilization the demigods and demigoddesses are freely identified with whatever they preside over.
This forest is known as Caitraratha. It is referred to as the forest of Kuvera for he presides over it as the maintainer of the northern region of the universe.1 This verse is also addressed to Kuvera.2 The sage here calls the presiding deity of the celestial forest by calling the forest just as he had called the presiding deities of the celestial rivers by calling the rivers.3
Having called Kuvera, the sage then called the lord of food, Candra, [in the next two verses].