Devanagari
तेषामहं पादसरोजरेणु-
मार्या वहेयाधिकिरीटमायु: ।
यं नित्यदा बिभ्रत आशु पापं
नश्यत्यमुं सर्वगुणा भजन्ति ॥ ४३ ॥
Verse text
teṣām ahaṁ pāda-saroja-reṇum
āryā vaheyādhi-kirīṭam āyuḥ
yaṁ nityadā bibhrata āśu pāpaṁ
naśyaty amuṁ sarva-guṇā bhajanti
Synonyms
teṣām
—
of all of them
;
aham
—
I
;
pāda
—
feet
;
saroja
—
lotus
;
reṇum
—
dust
;
āryāḥ
—
O respectable persons
;
vaheya
—
shall bear
;
adhi
—
up to
;
kirīṭam
—
helmet
;
āyuḥ
—
up to the end of life
;
yam
—
which
;
nityadā
—
always
;
bibhrataḥ
—
carrying
;
āśu
—
very soon
;
pāpam
—
sinful activities
;
naśyati
—
are vanquished
;
amum
—
all those
;
sarva
—
guṇāḥ — fully qualified
;
bhajanti
—
worship .
Translation
O respectable personalities present here, I beg the blessings of all of you that I may perpetually carry on my crown the dust of the lotus feet of such brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas until the end of my life. He who can carry such dust on his head is very soon relieved of all the reactions which arise from sinful life, and eventually he develops all good and desirable qualities.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Honorable people! Since the brāhmaṇa, by faith, austerity, proper conduct, silence, and senses control, continually supports the eternal, pure Veda in which this universe is reflected as in a mirror, in order to obtain knowledge of the truth about objects, for my whole life I pray to carry on my crown the dust from the lotus feet of the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, which quickly destroys sin and awards all good qualities to the bearer.
The brāhmaṇa is not superior to the fire just because he is conscious, but because he has knowledge. The brāhmaṇa supports the Veda (brahma) by faith, austerity, proper conduct (maṅgala), silence and sense control. The definition of maṅgala is given as follows:
praśastācaraṇaṁ nityam apraśastasya varjanam
yat tad dhi maṅgalaṁ proktam ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ
The wise sages have said that maṅgala means proper conduct at all times, while being devoid of bad conduct.
Silence means avoiding that talking which is contrary to studying the Vedas. Samādhinā means with “steadiness of mind.” Why? They support the Vedas for knowledge of real things (artha-dṛṣtaye). How do the Vedas do this? In the Vedas (yatra) everything in this world becomes its subject. (The Vedas reveal everything about the world.) The Vedas are like a mirror. O honorable people (āryāḥ)! For my whole life (ā āyuḥ) I shall carry (vaheya) on (adhi) my crown their foot dust. Potential case is used to express a wish. For the person carrying that dust (yam), it destroys sin, and all good qualities come to that person who carries that dust (amum).
Purport
It is said that one who has unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which means unflinching faith in the Vaiṣṇava or the pure devotee of the Supreme Lord, develops all the good qualities of the demigods:
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiṣcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
(
Bhāg.
5.18.12
). Prahlāda Mahārāja also said,
naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim
(
Bhāg.
7.5.32
): unless one takes the dust of the lotus feet of a pure Vaiṣṇava on one’s head, one cannot understand what the Supreme Personality of Godhead is, and unless one knows the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one’s life remains imperfect. A great soul who has fully surrendered to the Supreme Lord after understanding Him fully and after repeatedly undergoing austerities and penances for many, many lives is very rare. The crown of a king is simply a big load if the king or head of the state does not actually bear the dust of the lotus feet of
brāhmaṇas
and Vaiṣṇavas. In other words, if a liberal king like Pṛthu Mahārāja does not follow the instructions of
brāhmaṇas
and Vaiṣṇavas or does not follow the brahminical culture, he is simply a burden on the state, for he cannot benefit the citizens. Mahārāja Pṛthu is the perfect example of an ideal chief executive.