Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 83 Verses 41-42

Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 83: Draupadī Meets the Queens of Kṛṣṇa

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.83.41-42

na vayaḿ sādhvi sāmrājyaḿ

svārājyaḿ bhaujyam apy uta

vairājyaḿ pārameṣṭhyaḿ ca

ānantyaḿ vā hareḥ padam

kāmayāmaha etasya

śrīmat-pāda-rajaḥ śriyaḥ

kuca-kuńkuma-gandhāḍhyaḿ

mūrdhnā voḍhuḿ gadā-bhṛtaḥ

SYNONYMS

na — not; vayam — we; sādhvi — O saintly lady (Draupadī); sāmrājyam — rulership over the entire earth; sva-rājyam — the position of Lord Indra, King of heaven; bhaujyam — unlimited powers of enjoyment; api uta — even; vairājyam — mystic power; pārameṣṭhyam — the position of Lord Brahmā, creator of the universe; ca — and; ānantyam — immortality; vā — or; hareḥ — of the Supreme Lord; padam — the abode; kāmayāmahe — we desire; etasya — His; śrī-mat — divine; pāda — of the feet; rajaḥ — the dust; śrīyaḥ — of the goddess of fortune; kuca — from the breast; kuńkuma — of the cosmetic powder; gandha — by the fragrance; āḍhyam — enriched; mūrdhnā — on our heads; voḍhum — to carry; gadābhṛtaḥ — of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the wielder of the club.

TRANSLATION

O saintly lady, we do not desire dominion over the earth, the sovereignty of the King of heaven, unlimited facility for enjoyment, mystic power, the position of Lord Brahmā, immortality or even attainment of the kingdom of God. We simply desire to carry on our heads the glorious dust of Lord Kṛṣṇa's feet, enriched by the fragrance of kuńkuma from His consort's bosom.

PURPORT

The verb rāj means "to rule," and from it are derived the words sāmrājyam, meaning "rulership over the entire earth," and svārājyam, meaning "rulership over heaven." Bhaujyam comes from the verb bhuj, "to enjoy," and thus refers to the capacity of enjoying whatever one desires. Virāṭ is explained by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī as representing the phrase vividhaḿ virājate ("one enjoys many kinds of opulence") and specifically indicating the eight mystic perfections of aṇimā and so on.

An alternative explanation of these terms is given by Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, who says that according to the Bahv-ṛca Brāhmaṇa, these four terms designate the power of sovereignty over each of the four cardinal directions: sāmrājya for the East, bhaujya for the South, svārājya for the West, and vairājya for the North.

Lord Kṛṣṇa's queens clearly state that they do not desire any of these powers, or even the position of Brahmā, liberation or entrance into the kingdom of God. They simply want the dust from Śrī Kṛṣṇa's feet, which Goddess Śrī herself worships. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī tells us that the goddess of fortune mentioned here is not Lakṣmī, the consort of Nārāyaṇa. After all, the ācārya explains, Goddess Lakṣmī could not attain the direct association of Kṛṣṇa even after performing extended austerities, as Uddhava states: nāyaḿ śrīyo 'ńga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ (Bhāg. 10.47.60). Rather, the Śrī referred to here is the supreme goddess of fortune identified by the Bṛhad-gautamīya-tantra:

devī kṛṣṇa-mayī proktā

rādhikā para-devatā

sarva-lakṣmī-mayī sarva

kāntiḥ sammohinī parā

"The transcendental goddess Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the direct counterpart of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord."

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