Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 9 Chapter 4 Verses 18-20

Canto 9: Liberation | Chapter 4: Ambarīṣa Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.4.18-20

sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor

vacāḿsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane

karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣu

śrutiḿ cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye

mukunda-lińgālaya-darśane dṛśau

tad-bhṛtya-gātra-sparśe 'ńga-sańgamam

ghrāṇaḿ ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe

śrīmat-tulasyā rasanāḿ tad-arpite

pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe

śiro hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane

kāmaḿ ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā

yathottamaśloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ

SYNONYMS

saḥ — he (Mahārāja Ambarīṣa); vai — indeed; manaḥ — his mind; kṛṣṇa-pada-aravindayoḥ — (fixed) upon the two lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vacāḿsi — his words; vaikuṇṭha-guṇa-anuvarṇane — describing the glories of Kṛṣṇa; karau — his two hands; hareḥ mandira-mārjana-ādiṣu — in activities like cleansing the temple of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śrutim — his ear; cakāra — engaged; acyuta — of or about Kṛṣṇa, who never falls down; sat-kathā-udaye — in hearing the transcendental narrations; mukunda-lińga-ālaya-darśane — in seeing the Deity and temples and holy dhāmas of Mukunda; dṛśau — his two eyes; tat-bhṛtya — of the servants of Kṛṣṇa; gātra-sparśe — in touching the bodies; ańga-sańgamam — contact of his body; ghrāṇam ca — and his sense of smell; tat-pāda — of His lotus feet; saroja — of the lotus flower; saurabhe — in (smelling) the fragrance; śrīmat-tulasyāḥ — of the tulasī leaves; rasanām — his tongue; tat-arpite — in the prasāda offered to the Lord; pādau — his two legs; hareḥ — of the Personality of Godhead; kṣetra — holy places like the temple or Vṛndāvana and Dvārakā; pada-anusarpaṇe — walking to those places; śiraḥ — the head; hṛṣīkeśa — of Kṛṣṇa, the master of the senses; pada-abhivandane — in offering obeisances to the lotus feet; kāmam ca — and his desires; dāsye — in being engaged as a servant; na — not; tu — indeed; kāma-kāmyayā — with a desire for sense gratification; yathā — as; uttamaśloka-jana-āśrayā — if one takes shelter of a devotee such as Prahlāda; ratiḥ — attachment.

TRANSLATION

Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's temples and Kṛṣṇa's places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.1) the Lord recommends, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaḿ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This indicates that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible, however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master. Therefore, according to the instructions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the first business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the Lord. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.1), asaḿśayaḿ samagraḿ māḿ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. In other words, if one wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in completeness, one must follow the prescriptions given by Kṛṣṇa by following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. It is said, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaḿ bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Kṛṣṇa, who is called Hṛṣīkeśa or Acyuta. These words are used in these verses. Acyuta-sat-kathodaye, hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane. The words Acyuta and Hṛṣīkeśa are also used in Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is kṛṣṇa-kathā spoken directly by Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also kṛṣṇa-kathā because everything described in the Bhāgavatam is in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

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