Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 28 Verse 21

Canto 3: The Status Quo | Chapter 28: Kapila's Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.28.21

sañcintayed bhagavataś caraṇāravindaḿ

vajrāńkuśa-dhvaja-saroruha-lāñchanāḍhyam

uttuńga-rakta-vilasan-nakha-cakravāla-

jyotsnābhir āhata-mahad-dhṛdayāndhakāram

SYNONYMS

sañcintayet — he should concentrate; bhagavataḥ — of the Lord; caraṇa-aravindam — on the lotus feet; vajra — thunderbolt; ańkuśa — goad (rod for driving elephants); dhvaja — banner; saroruha — lotus; lāñchana — marks; āḍhyam — adorned with; uttuńga — prominent; rakta — red; vilasat — brilliant; nakha — nails; cakravāla — the circle of the moon; jyotsnābhiḥ — with splendor; āhata — dispelled; mahat — thick; hṛdaya — of the heart; andhakāram — darkness.

TRANSLATION

The devotee should first concentrate his mind on the Lord's lotus feet, which are adorned with the marks of a thunderbolt, a goad, a banner and a lotus. The splendor of their beautiful ruby nails resembles the orbit of the moon and dispels the thick gloom of one's heart.

PURPORT

The Māyāvādī says that because one is unable to fix his mind on the impersonal existence of the Absolute Truth, one can imagine any form he likes and fix his mind on that imaginary form; but such a process is not recommended here. Imagination is always imagination and results only in further imagination.

A concrete description of the eternal form of the Lord is given here. The Lord's sole is depicted with distinctive lines resembling a thunderbolt, a flag, a lotus flower and a goad. The luster of His toenails, which are brilliantly prominent, resembles the light of the moon. If a yogī looks upon the marks of the Lord's sole and on the blazing brilliance of His nails, then he can be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence. This liberation is not achieved by mental speculation, but by seeing the light emanating from the lustrous toenails of the Lord. In other words, one has to fix his mind first on the lotus feet of the Lord if he wants to be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence.

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