Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.4.18-20

sa vai manah krishna-padāravindayor

vacāmsi vaikuntha-gunānuvarnane

karau harer mandira-mārjanādishu

śrutim cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye

mukunda-lińgālaya-darśane driśau

tad-bhritya-gātra-sparśe 'ńga-sańgamam

ghrānam ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe

śrīmat-tulasyā rasanām tad-arpite

pādau hareh kshetra-padānusarpane

śiro hrishīkeśa-padābhivandane

kāmam ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā

yathottamaśloka-janāśrayā ratih

SYNONYMS

sah — he (Mahārāja Ambarīsha); vai — indeed; manah — his mind; krishna-pada-aravindayoh — (fixed) upon the two lotus feet of Lord Krishna; vacāmsi — his words; vaikuntha-guna-anuvarnane — describing the glories of Krishna; karau — his two hands; hareh mandira-mārjana-ādishu — in activities like cleansing the temple of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śrutim — his ear; cakāra — engaged; acyuta — of or about Krishna, who never falls down; sat-kathā-udaye — in hearing the transcendental narrations; mukunda-lińga-ālaya-darśane — in seeing the Deity and temples and holy dhāmas of Mukunda; driśau — his two eyes; tat-bhritya — of the servants of Krishna; gātra-sparśe — in touching the bodies; ańga-sańgamam — contact of his body; ghrānam ca — and his sense of smell; tat-pāda — of His lotus feet; saroja — of the lotus flower; saurabhe — in (smelling) the fragrance; śrīmat-tulasyāh — of the tulasī leaves; rasanām — his tongue; tat-arpite — in the prasāda offered to the Lord; pādau — his two legs; hareh — of the Personality of Godhead; kshetra — holy places like the temple or Vrindāvana and Dvārakā; pada-anusarpane — walking to those places; śirah — the head; hrishīkeśa — of Krishna, the master of the senses; pada-abhivandane — in offering obeisances to the lotus feet; kāmam ca — and his desires; dāsye — in being engaged as a servant; na — not; tu — indeed; kāma-kāmyayā — with a desire for sense gratification; yathā — as; uttamaśloka-jana-āśrayā — if one takes shelter of a devotee such as Prahlāda; ratih — attachment.

TRANSLATION

Mahārāja Ambarīsha always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Krishna, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Krishna or about Krishna. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Krishna, Krishna's temples and Krishna's places like Mathurā and Vrindāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīsha never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.1) the Lord recommends, mayy āsakta-manāh pārtha yogam yuñjan mad-āśrayah. This indicates that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible, however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master. Therefore, according to the instructions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the first business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the Lord. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.1), asamśayam samagram mām yathā jñāsyasi tac chrinu. In other words, if one wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in completeness, one must follow the prescriptions given by Krishna by following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Ambarīsha. It is said, hrishīkena hrishīkeśa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Krishna, who is called Hrishīkeśa or Acyuta. These words are used in these verses. Acyuta-sat-kathodaye, hrishīkeśa-padābhivandane. The words Acyuta and Hrishīkeśa are also used in Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is krishna-kathā spoken directly by Krishna, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also krishna-kathā because everything described in the Bhāgavatam is in relationship with Krishna.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness