Devanagari
यस्तां विविक्तचरितैरनुवर्तमानां
नात्याद्रियत्परमभागवतप्रसङ्ग: ।
स त्वं द्विजानुपथपुण्यरज: पुनीत:
श्रीवत्सलक्ष्म किमगा भगभाजनस्त्वम् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
yas tāṁ vivikta-caritair anuvartamānāṁ
nātyādriyat parama-bhāgavata-prasaṅgaḥ
sa tvaṁ dvijānupatha-puṇya-rajaḥ-punītaḥ
śrīvatsa-lakṣma kim agā bhaga-bhājanas tvam
Synonyms
yaḥ
—
who
;
tām
—
Lakṣmī
;
vivikta
—
completely pure
;
caritaiḥ
—
devotional services
;
anuvartamānām
—
serving
;
na
—
not
;
atyādriyat
—
attached
;
parama
—
the highest
;
bhāgavata
—
devotees
;
prasaṅgaḥ
—
attached
;
saḥ
—
the Supreme Lord
;
tvam
—
You
;
dvija
—
of the brāhmaṇas
;
anupatha
—
on the path
;
puṇya
—
sanctified
;
rajaḥ
—
dust
;
punītaḥ
—
purified
;
śrīvatsa
—
of Śrīvatsa
;
lakṣma
—
the mark
;
kim
—
what
;
agāḥ
—
You obtained
;
bhaga
—
all opulences or all good qualities
;
bhājanaḥ
—
the reservoir
;
tvam
—
You .
Translation
O Lord, You are exceedingly attached to the activities of Your pure devotees, yet You are never attached to the goddesses of fortune who constantly engage in Your transcendental loving service. How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brāhmaṇas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Śrīvatsa on Your chest?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
You are not attached to Lakṣmī among those who do pure service simply because she is your wife. Rather you are most attached to the greatest devotees. How can you say that you, full of six powers and marked with Śrīvatsa, have been purified by the pure dust on the path tread by brāhmaṇas?
You are not very attached to Lakṣmī by pure service (vivikta-caritaiḥ). The word ati indicates that the Lord is not attracted to Lakṣmī just because she is his wife. But he is attracted by her service as a devotee. And he is attracted (prasaṅgaḥ) to the greatest devotees. How can you say that Lakṣmī does not give you up though she serves you and you are indifferent to her, simply because of the mercy of brāhmaṇas? Do you, marked with Srīvatsa, obtain the pure dust from the path of the brāhmaṇas? You are endowed with six powers (bhaga-bhājanaḥ). How can they with their pure dust purify you marked with the Śrīvatsa? This is difficult to understand.
Purport
It is said in the
Brahma-saṁhitā
that the Lord is always served by many hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune in His Vaikuṇṭha planet, yet because of His attitude of renunciation of all opulences, He is not attached to any one of them. The Lord has six opulences — unlimited wealth, unlimited fame, unlimited strength, unlimited beauty, unlimited knowledge and unlimited renunciation. All the demigods and other living entities worship Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, just to get her favor, yet the Lord is never attached to her because He can create an unlimited number of such goddesses for His transcendental service. The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is sometimes envious of the
tulasī
leaves which are placed at the lotus feet of the Lord, for they remain fixed there and do not move, whereas Lakṣmījī, although stationed by the chest of the Lord, sometimes has to please other devotees who pray for her favor. Lakṣmījī sometimes has to go to satisfy her numerous devotees, but
tulasī
leaves never forsake their position, and the Lord therefore appreciates the service of the
tulasī
more than the service of Lakṣmī. So when the Lord says that it is due to the causeless mercy of the
brāhmaṇas
that Lakṣmījī does not leave Him, we can understand that Lakṣmījī is attracted by the opulence of the Lord, not by the
brāhmaṇas’
benedictions upon Him. The Lord is not dependent on anyone’s mercy for His opulence; He is always self-sufficient. The Lord’s statement that His opulence is due to the benediction of the
brāhmaṇas
and Vaiṣṇavas is only to teach others that they should offer respect to the
brāhmaṇas
and Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees of the Lord.