Devanagari
लब्ध्वाङ्गसङ्गं प्रणतं कृताञ्जलिं
मां वक्ष्यतेऽक्रूर ततेत्युरुश्रवा: ।
तदा वयं जन्मभृतो महीयसा
नैवादृतो यो धिगमुष्य जन्म तत् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
labdhvāṅga-saṅgam praṇatam kṛtāṣjaliṁ
māṁ vakṣyate ’krūra tatety uruśravāḥ
tadā vayaṁ janma-bhṛto mahīyasā
naivādṛto yo dhig amuṣya janma tat
Synonyms
labdhvā
—
having achieved
;
aṅga
—
saṅgam — physical contact
;
praṇatam
—
who am standing with head bowed
;
kṛta
—
aṣjalim — with palms joined together in supplication
;
mām
—
to me
;
vakṣyate
—
He will speak
;
akrūra
—
O Akrūra
;
tata
—
My dear relative
;
iti
—
in such words
;
uruśravāḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose fame is vast
;
tadā
—
then
;
vayam
—
we
;
janma
—
bhṛtaḥ — our birth becoming successful
;
mahīyasā
—
by the greatest of all persons
;
na
—
not
;
eva
—
indeed
;
ādṛtaḥ
—
honored
;
yaḥ
—
who
;
dhik
—
to be pitied
;
amuṣya
—
his
;
janma
—
birth
;
tat
—
that .
Translation
Having been embraced by the all-famous Lord Kṛṣṇa, I will humbly stand before Him with bowed head and joined palms, and He will address me, “My dear Akrūra.” At that very moment my life’s purpose will be fulfilled. Indeed, the life of anyone whom the Supreme Personality fails to recognize is simply pitiable.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Having been embraced by the all-famous Lord Kṛṣṇa, I will humbly stand before Him with bowed head and joined palms, and He will address me, "My dear Akrūra." At that very moment my life's purpose will be fulfilled. Indeed, the life of anyone whom the Supreme Personality fails to recognize is simply pitiable.
KB 10.38.21-22
“When our bodies touch, I will immediately stand up with folded hands, with all humility. Certainly Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma will call me ‘Akrūra, Uncle,’ and at that time my whole life will be glorious. Unless one is recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his life cannot be successful.”
It is clearly stated here that one should try to be recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s service and devotion, without which the human form of life is condemned. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is equal to everyone. He has no friends and no enemies. But He is inclined to a devotee who renders Him service with devotional love. The Bhagavad-gītā also declares that the Supreme Lord is responsive in proportion to the devotional service rendered by the devotee. Akrūra thought that Kṛṣṇa was like the desire tree in the heavenly planets, which gives fruit according to the desire of the worshiper. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also the source of everything. A devotee must know how to render service unto Him and thus be recognized by Him. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is therefore explained that one should serve both the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa simultaneously and in that way make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Service rendered to Kṛṣṇa under the direction of the spiritual master is bona fide service because the spiritual master is the manifested representative of Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that when one satisfies the spiritual master, he satisfies the Supreme Lord. It is exactly like service in a government office. One has to work under the supervision of the departmental head. If the supervisor of the department is satisfied with the service of a particular person, a promotion and increase in pay will automatically come.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"When he calls out to me O uncle! My life will become successful. Otherwise my life is useless. One is unfortunate if one does not get respected by great persons."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Not satisfied he develops another desire. By getting contact with Kṛṣṇa’s body, Akrūra in joy offers respects again. With my hands folded, he will say to me “My dear Akrūra.” Tata is used instead of tāta because Kṛṣṇa will speak with agitation of prema. He indicates the Lord’s great mercy: The Lord has immense fame because of qualities like his unconditional mercy (uruśravaḥ). My birth will be successful. This indicates that this last desire is the greatest among all of them since by loving words of the Lord one can attain the highest bliss. The desires stated are increasingly greater in succession. He who is not addressed by the Lord has a useless birth. The word eva indicates that if the Lord at some time speaks to him, then his birth will become successful. The word amuṣya (that person) indicates an unseen person situated far from the Lord. It also shows he is greatly disrespected by the Lord. Not being spoken to by the Lord, his birth is useless. Or because he is so low and fallen, he cannot be mentioned. Or, he may be elevated by birth, but still he is useless. Śrīdhara Svāmī calls such a person a “creature.” Being disrespected by the great Lord, he lacks all good qualities. Or, if he is not respected by a great servant of the Lord full of qualities like mercy (mahīyasā), his birth is useless, what to speak of his uselessness if he were disrespected by the Lord full of sweet qualities like mercy.