Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 8 Verse 23

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 8: Dhruva Mahārāja Leaves Home for the Forest

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.8.23

nānyaḿ tataḥ padma-palāśa-locanād

duḥkha-cchidaḿ te mṛgayāmi kañcana

yo mṛgyate hasta-gṛhīta-padmayā

śriyetarair ańga vimṛgyamāṇayā

SYNONYMS

na anyam — no others; tataḥ — therefore; padma-palāśa-locanāt — from the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead; duḥkha-chidam — one who can mitigate others' difficulties; te — your; mṛgayāmi — I am searching after; kañcana — anyone else; yaḥ — who; mṛgyate — searches; hasta-gṛhīta-padmayā — taking a lotus flower in the hand; śriyā — the goddess of fortune; itaraiḥ — by others; ańga — my dear boy; vimṛgyamāṇayā — one who is worshiped.

TRANSLATION

My dear Dhruva, as far as I am concerned, I do not find anyone who can mitigate your distress but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose eyes are like lotus petals. Many demigods such as Lord Brahmā seek the pleasure of the goddess of fortune, but the goddess of fortune herself, with a lotus flower in her hand, is always ready to render service to the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT

Sunīti pointed out herewith that the benediction received from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that received from the demigods are not on an equal level. Foolish persons say that no matter whom one worships one will get the same result, but actually that is not a fact. In Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that benedictions received from the demigods are all temporary and are meant for the less intelligent. In other words, because the demigods are all materialistically conditioned souls, although they are situated in very exalted positions, their benedictions cannot be permanent. permanent benediction is spiritual benediction, since a spirit soul is eternal. It is also said in Bhagavad-gītā that only persons who have lost their intelligence go to worship the demigods. Therefore Sunīti told her son that he should not seek the mercy of the demigods, but should directly approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead to mitigate his misery.

Material opulences are controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His different potencies and specifically the goddess of fortune. Therefore, those who are after material opulences seek the pleasure or mercy of the goddess of fortune. Even the highly placed demigods worship the goddess of fortune, but the goddess of fortune, Mahā-Lakṣmī herself, is always seeking the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anyone, therefore, who takes to the worship of the Supreme Lord automatically receives the blessings of the goddess of fortune. At this stage of his life, Dhruva Mahārāja was seeking material opulences, and his mother advised rightly that even for material opulences it is better to worship not the demigods but the Supreme Lord.

Although a pure devotee does not seek benedictions from the Supreme Lord for material advancement, it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that pious persons go to the Lord even for material benedictions. A person who goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for material gain is gradually purified in association with the Supreme Lord. Thus he becomes free from all material desires and is elevated to the platform of spiritual life. Unless one is raised to the spiritual platform, it is not possible for him to completely transcend all material contamination.

Sunīti, the mother of Dhruva, was a farseeing woman, and therefore she advised her son to worship the Supreme Lord and no one else. The Lord is described herein as lotus eyed (padma-palāśa-locanāt). When a person is fatigued, if he sees a lotus flower all his fatigue can be immediately reduced to nil. Similarly, when an aggrieved person sees the lotus face of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, immediately all his grief is reduced. A lotus flower is also an insignia in the hand of Lord Viṣṇu as well as in the hand of the goddess of fortune. The worshipers of the goddess of fortune and Lord Viṣṇu together are certainly very opulent in all respects, even in material life. The Lord is sometimes described as śiva-viriñci-nutam, which means that Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā also offer their respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness