Devanagari
यत्पादपङ्कजपरागनिषेवतृप्ता
योगप्रभावविधुताखिलकर्मबन्धा: ।
स्वैरं चरन्ति मुनयोऽपि न नह्यमाना-
स्तस्येच्छयात्तवपुष: कुत एव बन्ध: ॥ ३४ ॥
Verse text
yat-pāda-paṅkaja-parāga-niṣeva-tṛptā
yoga-prabhāva-vidhutākhila-karma-bandhāḥ
svairaṁ caranti munayo ’pi na nahyamānās
tasyecchayātta-vapuṣaḥ kuta eva bandhaḥ
Synonyms
yat
—
whose
;
pāda
—
paṅkaja — of the lotus feet
;
parāga
—
of the dust
;
niṣeva
—
by the service
;
tṛptāḥ
—
satisfied
;
yoga
—
prabhāva — by the power of yoga
;
vidhuta
—
washed away
;
akhila
—
all
;
karma
—
of fruitive activity
;
bandhāḥ
—
whose bondage
;
svairam
—
freely
;
caranti
—
they act
;
munayaḥ
—
wise sages
;
api
—
also
;
na
—
never
;
nahyamānāḥ
—
becoming bound up
;
tasya
—
of Him
;
icchayā
—
by His desire
;
ātta
—
accepted
;
vapuṣaḥ
—
transcendental bodies
;
kutaḥ
—
where
;
eva
—
indeed
;
bandhaḥ
—
bondage .
Translation
Material activities never entangle the devotees of the Supreme Lord, who are fully satisfied by serving the dust of His lotus feet. Nor do material activities entangle those intelligent sages who have freed themselves from the bondage of all fruitive reactions by the power of yoga. So how could there be any question of bondage for the Lord Himself, who assumes His transcendental forms according to His own sweet will?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Material activities never entangle the devotees of the Supreme Lord, who are fully satisfied by serving the dust of His lotus feet. Nor do material activities entangle those intelligent sages who have freed themselves from the bondage of all fruitive reactions by the power of yoga. So how could there be any question of bondage for the Lord Himself, who assumes His transcendental forms according to His own sweet will?
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Even the devotees of the Lord are not bound by dharma and adharma. The devotees of the Lord, satisfied with serving exclusively the dust of his lotus feet, by the power of bhakti yoga (yoga), become liberated from the bondage of karma, and wander about freely. What is the question of bondage for the Lord of those devotees, who accepted the bodies of others wives by his unrestricted free will (iccayatta vapusah)?
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The point is made clear by another kaimutya. Yat means yasya (whose) and is connected with tasya in the last line. How can there be bondage for the Lord (tasya) who accepts a body by his will, whose (yasya) lotus feet satisfy devotees who constantly serve (ni--ṣeva) the particles of beauty (parāga) from those feet though meditation. Tṛptā means their intelligence does not wander anywhere else: they are full of prema. By the power of his (yasya) bhakti-yoga, the sages, free of all material bondage, wander about at their will, and though doing prescribed or unprescribed actions, are not bound up. Therefore, how can the Lord be bound up? Not at all. Having shown the kaimutya, from the particular nature of the description, his absence of bondage is shown. He brings his body into the material world by his own will, not under the control of karma like the jīvas. Therefore the Lord sometimes transgresses dharma without faults. An example is defeating Durvāsā to give mercy to his special devotee Ambarīṣa.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The devotees serve particles of beauty (pollen) emanating from the Lord’s lotus feet. This shows their special bhakti with humility in serving. Niseva indicates constant service, by their nature. They are attached to such service. Or parāga indicates service at a distance and niseva means a little service. They serve without fear, proudly (dṛptāḥ in some versions) or completely satisfied (tṛptāḥ), even doing a little service at a distance. They do their activities with regard for rules or prohibitions, at their will because they are not bound by those rules since they are not attached to them (nahyamānāḥ).
Even (api) the sages destroy the bondage of karma accrued for millions of births by the power of aṣṭāṅga-yoga or jñāṇa in samādhi. Api indicates the lesser status of yogīs compared to devotees. They are proud (dṛptāḥ) of their achievement.
The Lord has a body which he manifests (ātta) by his will (icchayā). He is supremely independent.
Or he manifests his body with a desire to distribute his prema-bhakti. Thus it is suitable that he also does not respect the rules and prohibitions. Or he manifests his body as an avatāra such as Matsya or Kūrma by desire of the devotees. This shows his supreme power. What then is the question of his being bound up? There is no bondage at all.
Or even the sages destroy karma by the power of bhakti-yoga (yoga). Then what to speak of the devotees who destroy karma from the very beginning of their practice? Or the devotees destroy karmas. And even the yogīs absorbed in actions destroy karmas. There are three types of people. There are sages who are householders, engaged in karmas. There are jñānīs who wander freely of two types: those who practice yoga and those who practice karma (those described in the present interpretation). The last is the lowest in status. Even this person wanders freely. What to speak of all the devotees being free, because of being dear to the Lord? The example is given to destroy Parīkṣit’s doubt.