tan naḥ prasīda nirapekṣa-vimṛgya-yuṣmat
pÄdÄravinda-dhiá¹£aṇÄnya-gá¹›hÄndha-kÅ«pÄt
niá¹£kramya viÅ›va-Å›araṇÄá¹…ghry-upalabdha-vá¹›ttiḥ
Å›Änto yathaika uta sarva-sakhaiÅ› carÄmi
tat - in such a way; naḥ - to us; prasÄ«da - please be merciful; nirapeká¹£a - by those who have no material motives; vimá¹›gya - searched for; yuá¹£mat - Your; pÄda - than the feet; aravinda - lotus; dhiá¹£aṇa - shelter; anya - other; gá¹›ha - from the home; andha - blind; kÅ«pÄt - which is a well; niá¹£kramya - going out; viÅ›va - to the whole world; Å›araṇa - of those who are helpful (the trees); aá¹…ghri - at the feet; upalabdha - obtained; vá¹›ttiḥ - whose livelihood; Å›Äntaḥ - peaceful; yathÄ - as; ekaḥ - alone; uta - or else; sarva - of everyone; sakhaiḥ - with the friends; carÄmi - I may wander.
Please be merciful to me so I may get out of the blind well of family life — my false home — and find the true shelter of Your lotus feet, which selfless sages always seek. Then, either alone or in the company of great saints, who are the friends of everyone, I may wander freely, finding life’s necessities at the feet of the universally charitable trees.
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« states that in response to Bali’s prayers, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa invited him to choose some benediction, and in this verse Bali submits his request. Bali begs to be relieved of the entanglement of material life so he will be free to leave home and wander in the wilderness, with only the Lord’s lotus feet as his shelter. For his subsistence, Bali proposes, he will take help from the forest trees, at whose feet are fruits to eat and leaves to sleep on, for all to use as needed. And if the Lord is especially merciful to him, Bali hopes, he will not have to wander alone but will be allowed to travel in the company of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s devotees.
