Devanagari
श्री रूपिणी क्वणयती चरणारविन्दं
लीलाम्बुजेन हरिसद्मनि मुक्तदोषा ।
संलक्ष्यते स्फटिककुड्य उपेतहेम्नि
सम्मार्जतीव यदनुग्रहणेऽन्ययत्न: ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
śrī rūpiṇī kvaṇayatī caraṇāravindaṁ
līlāmbujena hari-sadmani mukta-doṣā
saṁlakṣyate sphaṭika-kuḍya upeta-hemni
sammārjatīva yad-anugrahaṇe ’nya-yatnaḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune
;
rūpiṇī
—
assuming a beautiful form
;
kvaṇayatī
—
tinkling
;
caraṇa
—
aravindam — lotus feet
;
līlā
—
ambujena — playing with a lotus flower
;
hari
—
sadmani — the house of the Supreme Personality
;
mukta
—
doṣā — freed from all faults
;
saṁlakṣyate
—
becomes visible
;
sphaṭika
—
crystal
;
kuḍye
—
walls
;
upeta
—
mixed
;
hemni
—
gold
;
sammārjatī iva
—
appearing like a sweeper
;
yat
—
anugrahaṇe — to receive her favor
;
anya
—
others’
;
yatnaḥ
—
very much careful .
Translation
The ladies in the Vaikuṇṭha planets are as beautiful as the goddess of fortune herself. Such transcendentally beautiful ladies, their hands playing with lotuses and their leg bangles tinkling, are sometimes seen sweeping the marble walls, which are bedecked at intervals with golden borders, in order to receive the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Laksmī, beauty personified, whose feet jingle with ankle bells, holding a lotus in her hand, appears to be sweeping the palace of the Lord made of crystal and emeralds inlaid with gold, but she is without fault. Others make great effort to attain her mercy.
It goes without saying that everyone in Vaikuṇṭha is blissful in serving the Lord. Even Laksmī is engaged in service there. This is described in two verses. She has the highest form of beauty, and makes sounds with her foot bells by her graceful gait in the Lord’s house having crystal walls and gold embellishments to increase the beauty. Reflected on the polished walls, she seems to be cleaning with a broom, though she actually holds a lotus in her extended hand. Or she appears to be a maidservant who does the cleaning. But she is without fault. The lotus represents other objects also that she holds in her hand. Her glory should not be diminished by her appearance. Others take great effort to gain her mercy.
Purport
In the
Brahma-saṁhitā
it is stated that the Supreme Lord, Govinda, is always served in His abode by many, many millions of goddesses of fortune.
Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam.
These millions and trillions of goddesses of fortune who reside in the Vaikuṇṭha planets are not exactly consorts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but are the wives of the devotees of the Lord and also engage in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is stated here that in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the houses are made of marble. Similarly, in the
Brahma-saṁhitā
it is stated that the ground on the Vaikuṇṭha planets is made of touchstone. Thus there is no need to sweep the stone in Vaikuṇṭha, for there is hardly any dust on it, but still, in order to satisfy the Lord, the ladies there always engage in dusting the marble walls. Why? The reason is that they are eager to achieve the grace of the Lord by doing so.
It is also stated here that in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the goddesses of fortune are faultless. Generally the goddess of fortune does not remain steadily in one place. Her name is Caṣcalā, which means “one who is not steady.” We find, therefore, that a man who is very rich may become the poorest of the poor. Another example is Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa took away Lakṣmī, Sītājī, to his kingdom, and instead of being happy by the grace of Lakṣmī, his family and his kingdom were vanquished. Thus Lakṣmī in the house of Rāvaṇa is Caṣcalā, or unsteady. Men of Rāvaṇa’s class want Lakṣmī only, without her husband, Nārāyaṇa; therefore they become unsteady due to Lakṣmījī. Materialistic persons find fault on the part of Lakṣmī, but in Vaikuṇṭha Lakṣmījī is fixed in the service of the Lord. In spite of her being the goddess of fortune, she cannot be happy without the grace of the Lord. Even the goddess of fortune needs the Lord’s grace in order to be happy, yet in the material world even Brahmā, the highest created being, seeks the favor of Lakṣmī for happiness.