Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mālā-stotra 30

bhaktāpāya-bhujāńga-gāruda-manis trailokya-rakshā-manir

gopī-locana-cātakāmbuda-manih saundarya-mudrā-manih

yah kāntā-mani-rukminī-ghana-kuca-dvandvaika-bhūshā-manih

śreyo deva-śikhā-manir diśatu no gopāla-cūdā-manih

SYNONYMS

bhakta — His devotees; apāya — who takes away; bhuja-ańga — whose arms; gāruda — riding on the great bird Garuda; manih — the jewel; trai-lokya — of the three worlds; rakshā — for protection; manih — the jewel; gopī — of the cowherd girls; locana — of the eyes; cātaka — for the cātaka birds; ambuda — of clouds; manih — the jewel; saundarya — displaying beauty; mudrā — of gestures; manih — the jewel; yah — who; kāntā — of consorts; mani — who is the jewel; rukminī — of Rukminī; ghana — full; kuca-dvandva — of the two breasts; eka — the one; bhūshā — decorative; manih — jewel; śreyah — ultimate benefit; deva — of the demigods; śikhā-manih — the crown jewel; diśatu — may He grant; nah — to us; gopāla — of cowherds; cūdā-manih — the crest jewel.

TRANSLATION

He is the jewel riding on the back of Garuda, who carries away the Lord's devotees on his wings. He is the magic jewel protecting the three worlds, the jewellike cloud attracting the cātaka-bird eyes of the gopīs, and the jewel among all who gesture gracefully. He is the only jeweled ornament on the ample breasts of Queen Rukminī, who is herself the jewel of beloved consorts. May that crown jewel of all gods, the best of the cowherds, grant us the supreme benediction.

PURPORT

In this verse King Kulaśekhara gives us glimpses of Lord Krishna in some of His various līlās. In each example, the Lord is described as mani, a jewel. Like a jewel, He is self-effulgent, very beautiful, and highly valuable.

Without a jewel, a ring-setting looks empty, and so without Krishna, Garuda would have no extraordinary importance, although he is a large and powerful bird. Without Krishna, the gopīs' eyes would have no place to rest and nothing to see, just as a cātaka bird remains restless until it sees a rain-bearing and life-giving cloud. As Lord Caitanya says in the mood of a gopī, "The whole world appears vacant without You." In the absence of Krishna, the gods would be without their crest jewel, and their own value would fall away. Thus Lord Krishna is the absolutely essential figure in His own līlā in the spiritual world, as well as in all the operations of the material worlds. As He states in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7), "Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread."

When a soul misuses his free will, he tries to become the center of existence and thinks he can do without Krishna. This mistake is illustrated in the story of Satrājit, who once possessed a wondrous jewel called Syamantaka, which he wore in a locket around his neck. When Satrājit entered Dvārakā, Krishna asked him to deliver the jewel to the king, Ugrasena. But instead Satrājit installed the jewel in a temple, worshiped it, and gained 170 pounds of gold daily. Because of his claim that the jewel did not belong to Krishna, King Satrājit and his family suffered in many ways. The king found peace only when he realized that the Syamantaka should be given to the supreme jewel, Lord Krishna. And so he gave both the jewel and his daughter, Satyabhāmā, to the Lord.

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