tapaḥ sutaptaá¹ kim anena pÅ«rvaá¹
nirasta-mÄnena ca mÄna-dena
dharmo 'tha vÄ sarva-janÄnukampayÄ
yato bhavÄá¹s tuá¹£yati sarva-jÄ«vaḥ

 tapaḥ - austerity; su-taptam - properly performed; kim - what; anena - by this KÄliya; pÅ«rvam - in previous lives; nirasta-mÄnena - being free from false pride; ca - and; mÄna-dena - giving respect to others; dharmaḥ - religious duty; atha vÄ - or else; sarva-jana - to all persons; anukampayÄ - with compassion; yataḥ - by which; bhavÄn - Your good self; tuá¹£yati - is satisfied; sarva-jÄ«vaḥ - the source of life for all beings.


Text

Did our husband carefully perform austerities in a previous life, with his mind free of pride and full of respect for others? Is that why You are pleased with him? Or did he in some previous existence carefully execute religious duties with compassion for all living beings, and is that why You, the life of all living beings, are now satisfied with him?

Purport

In this regard ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda comments in his Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter Sixteen: “The NÄgapatnÄ«s confirm that one cannot come in contact with Kṛṣṇa without having executed pious activities in devotional service in his previous lives. As Lord Caitanya advised in His Åšiká¹£Äṣṭaka, one has to execute devotional service by humbly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street and not expecting honor for himself but offering all kinds of honor to others. The NÄgapatnÄ«s were astonished that, although KÄliya had the body of a serpent as the result of grievous sinful activities, at the same time he was in contact with the Lord to the extent that the Lord’s lotus feet were touching his hoods. Certainly this was not the ordinary result of pious activities. These two contradictory facts astonished them.â€