tad-bhakteṣu ca sādhuṣu
vāsudeve bhagavati
tad-bhakteṣu ca sādhuṣu
prāpto bhāvaṁ paraṁ viśvaṁ
yenedaṁ loṣṭravat smṛtam
He had the highest devotion for the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva and his devotees, because of which he considered the whole world to be as worthless as stone.
By that high prema, he considered the whole world to be like stone.
|| 9.4.18-20 ||
sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane
karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣu
śrutiṁ cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye
mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśane dṛśau
tad-bhṛtya-gātra-sparśe 'ṅga-saṅgamam
ghrāṇaṁ ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe
śrīmat-tulasyā rasanāṁ tad-arpite
pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe
śiro hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane
kāmaṁ ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā
yathottamaśloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ
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, without desiring material enjoyment, in order to develop rati as possessed by great devotees.
Three verses describe his sādhana for producing prema. The verb is cakāra. Just as a king engages his servants in his kingdom, wherever Ambarīṣa engaged his mind and senses, there the mind and senses would go, taking the order on their heads. The sovereignty of the king was extraordinary. He engaged his ears in the excellent topics of the Lord and his devotees (sat), not in jñāna or karma. He engaged his eyes in seeing the forms of the Lord as well as the temples, the abodes such as Mathurā, and the devotees (ālaya). He engaged his nose in the fragrance of the tulasī which was offered to the lotus feet of the Lord. He engaged his tongue in the food offered to the Lord. He engaged his feet in repeatedly going to the places such as Mathurā and the temples of the Lord. He engaged his head in bowing down to the Lord and the devotees. He engaged his desire in being the servant of the Lord, not with a desire for material enjoyment. The instrumental case of kāma-kāmyayā means the locative case. Why did he do this? He did it so that he could somehow develop rati without material desire, such as possessed by Prahlāda and others.
|| 9.4.21 ||
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