या वै लसच्छ्रीतुलसीविमिश्र कृष्णाङ्घ्रिरेण्वभ्यधिकाम्बुनेत्री ।
पुनाति लोकानुभयत्र सेशान्कस्तां न सेवेत मरिष्यमाणः ॥६॥

yÄ vai lasac-chrÄ«-tulasÄ«-vimiÅ›ra-
kṛṣṇÄá¹…ghri-reṇv-abhyadhikÄmbu-netrÄ«
punÄti lokÄn ubhayatra seÅ›Än
kas tÄá¹ na seveta mariá¹£yamÄṇaḥ

  - the river which; vai - always; lasat - floating with; Å›rÄ«-tulasÄ« - tulasÄ« leaves; vimiÅ›ra - mixed; kṛṣṇa-aá¹…ghri - the lotus feet of the Lord, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa; reṇu - dust; abhyadhika - auspicious; ambu - water; netrÄ« - that which is carrying; punÄti - sanctifies; lokÄn - planets; ubhayatra - both the upper and lower or inside and outside; sa-Ä«Å›Än - along with Lord Åšiva; kaḥ - who else; tÄm - that river; na - does not; seveta - worship; mariá¹£yamÄṇaḥ - one who is to die at any moment.


Text

The river [by which the King sat to fast] carries the most auspicious water, which is mixed with the dust of the lotus feet of the Lord and tulasī leaves. Therefore that water sanctifies the three worlds inside and outside and even sanctifies Lord Śiva and other demigods. Consequently everyone who is destined to die must take shelter of this river.

Purport

MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, just after receiving the news of his death within seven days, at once retired from family life and shifted himself to the sacred bank of the YamunÄ River. Generally it is said that the King took shelter on the bank of the Ganges, but according to ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«, the King took shelter on the bank of the YamunÄ. ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmī’s statement appears to be more accurate because of the geographical situation. MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it resided in his capital HastinÄpura, situated near present Delhi, and the river YamunÄ flows down past the city. Naturally the King would take shelter of the river YamunÄ because she was flowing past his palace door. And as far as sanctity is concerned, the river YamunÄ is more directly connected with Lord Kṛṣṇa than the Ganges. The Lord sanctified the river YamunÄ from the beginning of His transcendental pastimes in the world. While His father Vasudeva was crossing the YamunÄ with the baby Lord Kṛṣṇa for a safe place at Gokula on the other bank of the river from MathurÄ, the Lord fell down in the river, and by the dust of His lotus feet the river at once became sanctified. It is especially mentioned herein that MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it took shelter of that particular river which is beautifully flowing, carrying the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, mixed with tulasÄ« leaves. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are always besmeared with the tulasÄ« leaves, and thus as soon as His lotus feet contact the water of the Ganges and the YamunÄ, the rivers become at once sanctified. The Lord, however, contacted the river YamunÄ more than the Ganges. According to the VarÄha PurÄṇa, as quoted by ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«, there is no difference between the water of the Ganges and the YamunÄ, but when the water of the Ganges is sanctified one hundred times, it is called the YamunÄ. Similarly, it is said in the scriptures that one thousand names of Viṣṇu are equal to one name of RÄma, and three names of Lord RÄma are equal to one name of Kṛṣṇa.