Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 83: Draupadī Meets the Queens of Kṛṣṇa |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.83.15-16
śrī-bhadrovāca
pitā me mātuleyāya
svayam āhūya dattavān
kṛṣṇe kṛṣṇāya tac-cittām
akṣauhiṇyā sakhī-janaiḥ
asya me pāda-saḿsparśo
bhavej janmani janmani
karmabhir bhrāmyamāṇāyā
yena tac chreya ātmanaḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-bhadrā uvāca — Śrī Bhadrā said; pitā — father; me — my; mātuleyāya — to my maternal cousin; svayam — of his own accord; āhūya — inviting; dattavān — gave; kṛṣṇe — O Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī); kṛṣṇāya — to Lord Kṛṣṇa; tat — absorbed in whom; cittām — whose heart; akṣauhiṇyā — with an akṣauhiṇī military guard; sakhī-janaiḥ — and with my female companions; asya — His; me — for me; pāda — of the feet; saḿsparśaḥ — the touch; bhavet — may it be; janmani janmani — in one life after another; karmabhiḥ — due to the reactions of material activities; bhrāmyamāṇāyāḥ — who will be wandering; yena — by which; tat — that; śreyaḥ — ultimate perfection; ātmanaḥ — of myself.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Bhadrā said: My dear Draupadī, of his own free will my father invited his nephew Kṛṣṇa, to whom I had already dedicated my heart, and offered me to Him as His bride. My father presented me to the Lord with an akṣauhiṇi military guard and a retinue of my female companions. My ultimate perfection is this: to always be allowed to touch Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet as I wander from life to life, bound by my karma.
PURPORT
With the word ātmanaḥ, Queen Bhadrā speaks not only for herself but for all living entities as well. The soul's perfection (śreya ātmanaḥ) is devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, both in this world and beyond, in liberation.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī comments that although in civilized society it is normally considered disrespectful to publicly speak the name of one's guru or husband, Lord Kṛṣṇa's name is unique: the mere utterance of the name Kṛṣṇa is commendable as the highest expression of reverence for God. As the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.19) states, yasya nāma mahad yaśaḥ: "The holy name of the Lord is supremely glorious."
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
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