taá¹ tvÄnurÅ«pam abhajaá¹ jagatÄm adhÄ«Å›am
ÄtmÄnam atra ca paratra ca kÄma-pÅ«ram
syÄn me tavÄá¹…ghrir araṇaá¹ sá¹›tibhir bhramantyÄ
yo vai bhajantam upayÄty aná¹›tÄpavargaḥ
tam - Him; tvÄ - Yourself; anurÅ«pam - suitable; abhajam - I have chosen; jagatÄm - of all the worlds; adhÄ«Å›am - the ultimate master; ÄtmÄnam - the Supreme Soul; atra - in this life; ca - and; paratra - in the next life; ca - also; kÄma - of desires; pÅ«ram - the fulfiller; syÄt - may they be; me - for me; tava - Your; aá¹…ghriḥ - feet; araṇam - shelter; sá¹›tibhiḥ - by the various movements (from one species of life to another); bhramantyÄḥ - who has been wandering; yaḥ - which (feet); vai - indeed; bhajantam - their worshiper; upayÄti - approach; aná¹›ta - from untruth; apavargaḥ - freedom.
Because You are suitable for me, I have chosen You, the master and Supreme Soul of all the worlds, who fulfill our desires in this life and the next. May Your feet, which give freedom from illusion by approaching their worshiper, give shelter to me, who have been wandering from one material situation to another.
An alternate reading for the word sá¹›tibhiḥ is Å›rutibhiḥ, in which case the idea Rukmiṇī expresses is this: “I have been bewildered by hearing from various religious scriptures about numerous rituals and ceremonies with their promises of fruitive results.†ŚrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« gives this explanation, while ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« and ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« give an additional idea Rukmiṇī might express with the word Å›rutibhiḥ: “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I was bewildered by hearing about Your various incarnations. I heard that when You descended as RÄma You abandoned Your wife, SÄ«tÄ, and that in this life You abandoned the gopÄ«s. Thus I was bewildered.â€
It is understood that Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī is the eternally liberated consort of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but in these verses she humbly plays the part of a mortal woman taking shelter of the Supreme Lord.
