SB 10.51.55 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

न कामयेऽन्यं तव पादसेवना- दकिञ्चनप्रार्थ्यतमाद्वरं विभो । आराध्य कस्त्वां ह्यपवर्गदं हरे वृणीत आर्यो वरमात्मबन्धनम् ॥ ५५ ॥

Verse text

na kāmaye ’nyaṁ tava pāda-sevanād akiṣcana-prārthyatamād varaṁ vibho ārādhya kas tvāṁ hy apavarga-daṁ hare vṛṇīta āryo varam ātma-bandhanam

Synonyms

na kāmaye — I do not desire ; anyam — another ; tava — Your ; pāda — of the feet ; sevanāt — than the service ; akiṣcana — by those who want nothing material ; prārthya — tamāt — which is the favorite object of entreaty ; varam — boon ; vibho — O all-powerful one ; ārādhya — worshiping ; kaḥ — who ; tvām — You ; hi — indeed ; apavarga — of liberation ; dam — the bestower ; hare — O Lord Hari ; vṛṇīta — would choose ; āryaḥ — a spiritually advanced person ; varam — boon ; ātma — his own ; bandhanam — (cause of) bondage .

Translation

O all-powerful one, I desire no boon other than service to Your lotus feet, the boon most eagerly sought by those free of material desire. O Hari, what enlightened person who worships You, the giver of liberation, would choose a boon that causes his own bondage?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O all-powerful one, I desire no boon other than service to Your lotus feet, the boon most eagerly sought by those free of material desire. O Hari, what enlightened person who worships You, the giver of liberation, would choose a boon that causes his own bondage? KB 10.51.55 “My dear Lord, I therefore pray that I may simply be engaged in rendering transcendental loving service unto Your lotus feet. This is the ambition of pure devotees, who are freed from all material contamination. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You can offer me anything I want, including liberation. But who is such a fool that after pleasing You he would ask from You something which might cause entanglement in this material world? I do not think any sane man would ask such a benediction from You.

Purport

The Lord offered Mucukunda anything he desired, but Mucukunda desired only the Lord. This is pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

You have said "Ask for a benediction." I answer with this verse. Those who are akincana pray for bhakti. More worthy of prayer is prema. Most worthy of prayer is to serve your lotus feet. Thus I do not want liberation, what to speak of any other boon. Here apavarga da, referring to the Lord, means he who gives bhakti yoga. , as in the use of the word in the fifth canto of bhagavatam. Can an intelligent person after worshipping you who gives bhakti, accept boons which bind him to the word, even if you give them? Another meaning can be: even one who worships and gets liberation from you, if he is intelligent, can he accept your boons which create bondage to the world again? What to speak then of the devotee.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

I do not desire anything for getting blessings other than service to your lotus feet, by direct engagements. I desire only that. Why? It is desired by the devotees who regard even liberation as insignificant (akiñcana). They pray for bhakti. More than that, they pray to see you. And more than that, they pray for service to your lotus feet. It is greater than all other human goals. He calls out for qualification. O powerful lord, capable of bestowing happiness of all human goals (vibho)! Worshipping or attaining you (ārādhya), who gives bhakti (apavarga), what person would accept bondage? Apavarga means bhakti as in the following: apavargaś cāpi bhavati yo 'sau bhagavati sarva-bhūtātmany anātmye 'nirukte 'nilayane paramātmani vāsudeve 'nanya-nimitta-bhakti-yoga-lakṣaṇo nānā-gati-nimittāvidyā-granthi-randhana-dvāreṇa yadā hi mahā-puruṣa-puruṣa-prasaṅgaḥ. That liberation, whose essential nature is unmotivated bhakti-yoga to the Lord full of qualities, who attracts the minds of all beings, who is not the object of merging, who is not described by material words, who remains beyond destruction of the universe, who is the most excellent ātmā, who is the son of Vasudeva, takes place by destruction of the knot of ignorance which causes various material goals, when there is association with devotees of the Lord. SB 5.19.19-20 Or apavarga means liberation. Why do you not accept liberation? Worshipping or serving you who are permanent with some affection, what person can accept a benediction which gives mere liberation? Accepting that benediction is a cause of bondage.