Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 5: The Creative Impetus | Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.18.23
sa tvam mamāpy acyuta śīrshni vanditam
karāmbujam yat tvad-adhāyi sātvatām
bibharshi mām lakshma varenya māyayā
ka īśvarasyehitam ūhitum vibhur iti
SYNONYMS
sah — that; tvam — You; mama — of me; api — also; acyuta — O infallible one; śīrshni — on the head; vanditam — worshiped; kara-ambujam — Your lotus hand; yat — which; tvat — by You; adhāyi — placed; sātvatām — on the head of the devotees; bibharshi — You maintain; mām — me; lakshma — as an insignia on Your chest; varenya — O worshipable one; māyayā — with deceit; kah — who; īśvarasya — of the supremely powerful controller; īhitam — the desires; ūhitum — to understand by reason and argument; vibhuh — is able; iti — thus.
TRANSLATION
O infallible one, Your lotus palm is the source of all benediction. Therefore Your pure devotees worship it, and You very mercifully place Your hand on their heads. I wish that You may also place Your hand on My head, for although You already bear my insignia of golden streaks on Your chest, I regard this honor as merely a kind of false prestige for me. You show Your real mercy to Your devotees, not to me. Of course, You are the supreme absolute controller, and no one can understand Your motives.
PURPORT
In many places, the śāstras describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead as being more inclined toward His devotees than toward His wife, who always remains on His chest. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.15) it is stated:
Here Krishna plainly says that His devotees are more dear to Him than Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Sańkarshana (the original cause of creation), the goddess of fortune or even His own Self. Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.20) Śukadeva Gosvāmī says,
nemam virińco na bhavo
The Supreme Lord, who can award liberation to anyone, showed more mercy toward the gopīs than to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva or even the goddess of fortune, who is His own wife and is associated with His body. Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.60) also states:
nāyam śriyo 'ńga u nitānta-rateh prasādah
svar-yoshitām nalina-gandha-rucām kuto 'nyāh
rāsotsave 'sya bhuja-danda-grihīta-kantha-
labdhāśishām ya udagād vraja-sundarīnām
"The gopīs received benedictions from the Lord that neither Lakshmīdevī nor the most beautiful dancers in the heavenly planets could attain. In the rāsa dance, the Lord showed His favor to the most fortunate gopīs by placing His arms on their shoulders and dancing with each of them individually. No one can compare with the gopīs, who received the causeless mercy of the Lord."
In the Caitanya-caritāmrita it is said that no one can receive the real favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without following in the footsteps of the gopīs. Even the goddess of fortune could not receive the same favor as the gopīs, although she underwent severe austerities and penances for many years. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu discusses this point with Vyeńkata Bhatta in Caitanya-caritāmrita (Madhya 9.111-131): "The Lord inquired from Vyeńkata Bhatta, 'Your worshipable goddess of fortune, Lakshmī, always remains on the chest of Nārāyana, and she is certainly the most chaste woman in the creation. However, My Lord is Lord Śrī Krishna, a cowherd boy engaged in tending cows. Why is it that Lakshmī, being such a chaste wife, wants to associate with My Lord? Just to associate with Krishna, Lakshmī abandoned all transcendental happiness in Vaikuntha and for a long time accepted vows and regulative principles and performed unlimited austerities.'
"Vyeńkata Bhatta replied, 'Lord Krishna and Lord Nārāyana are one and the same, but the pastimes of Krishna are more relishable due to their sportive nature. They are very pleasing for Krishna's śaktis. Since Krishna and Nārāyana are both the same personality, Lakshmī's association with Krishna did not break her vow of chastity. Rather, it was in great fun that the goddess of fortune wanted to associate with Lord Krishna. The goddess of fortune considered that her vow of chastity would not be damaged by her relationship with Krishna. Rather, by associating with Krishna she could enjoy the benefit of the rāsa dance. If she wanted to enjoy herself with Krishna what fault is there? Why are you joking so about this?'
"Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, 'I know that there is no fault in the goddess of fortune, but still she could not enter into the rāsa dance. We hear this from revealed scriptures. The authorities of Vedic knowledge met Lord Rāmacandra in Dandakāranya, and by their penances and austerities, they were allowed to enter into the rāsa dance. But can you tell me why the goddess of fortune, Lakshmī, could not get that opportunity? '
"To this Vyeńkata Bhatta replied, 'I cannot enter into the mystery of this incident. I am an ordinary living being. My intelligence is limited, and I am always disturbed. How can I understand the pastimes of the Supreme Lord? They are deeper than millions of oceans.'
"Lord Caitanya replied, 'Lord Krishna has a specific characteristic. He attracts everyone's heart by the mellow of His personal conjugal love. By following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of the planet known as Vrajaloka or Goloka Vrindāvana, one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Krishna. However, the inhabitants of that planet do not know that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unaware that Krishna is the Supreme Lord, the residents of Vrindāvana like Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodādevī and the gopīs treat Krishna as their beloved son or lover. Mother Yaśodā accepts Him as her son and sometimes binds Him to a grinding mortar. Krishna's cowherd boy friends think He is an ordinary boy and get up on His shoulders. In Goloka Vrindāvana no one has any desire other than to love Krishna.' "
The conclusion is that one cannot associate with Krishna unless he has fully received the favor of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi. Therefore if one wants to be delivered by Krishna directly, he must take to the service of the residents of Vrindāvana, who are unalloyed devotees of the Lord.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness