tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave 'py akuṇá¹ha-
smá¹›tir ajitÄtma-surÄdibhir vimá¹›gyÄt
na calati bhagavat-padÄravindÄl
lava-nimiá¹£Ärdham api yaḥ sa vaiṣṇavÄgryaḥ
tri-bhuvana - of the three worlds comprising the material universe; vibhava-hetave - for the sake of the opulences; api - even; akuṇá¹ha-smá¹›tiḥ - whose remembrance is undisturbed; ajita-Ätma - of whom the unconquerable Lord is the very soul; sura-Ädibhiḥ - by the demigods and others; vimá¹›gyÄt - which are sought; na calati - he does not go away; bhagavat - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pada-aravindÄt - from the lotus feet; lava - of eight forty-fifths of one second; nimiá¹£a - or of three times that; ardham - one half; api - even; yaḥ - who; saḥ - he; vaiṣṇava-agryaḥ - the foremost of devotees of Lord Viṣṇu.
The lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are sought even by the greatest of demigods, such as BrahmÄ and Åšiva, who have all accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their life and soul. A pure devotee of the Lord can never forget those lotus feet in any circumstance. He will not give up his shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord for a single moment — indeed, not for half a moment — even in exchange for the benediction of ruling and enjoying the opulence of the entire universe. Such a devotee of the Lord is to be considered the best of the Vaiṣṇavas.
According to ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« one may ask, “If one were able to gain the opulence of the entire universe in exchange for leaving the Lord’s lotus feet for just half a moment, what would be the harm in leaving the Lord’s lotus feet for such an insignificant amount of time?†The answer is given by the word akuṇá¹ha-smá¹›ti. It is simply impossible for a pure devotee to forget the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, since everything that exists is in fact an expansion of the Supreme Lord. Since nothing is separate from the Supreme Lord, a pure devotee of the Lord cannot think of anything but the Lord. Nor can a pure devotee contemplate ruling or enjoying universal opulence; even if given all the opulence of the universe, he would immediately offer it at the lotus feet of the Lord and return to his position of a humble servant of the Lord.
The words ajitÄtma-surÄdibhir vimá¹›gyÄt are very significant in this verse. The lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa are so opulent that even the lords of all material opulence, namely BrahmÄ and Åšiva, as well as the other demigods, are always searching for a glimpse of the Lord’s lotus feet. The word vimá¹›gyÄt indicates that the demigods are not actually able to see the lotus feet of the Lord, but are endeavoring to see them. An example of this is given in the Tenth Canto when Lord BrahmÄ offers prayers to Viṣṇu, begging the Lord to rectify the disturbances on the earth.
A similar verse is found elsewhere in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.14.14):
na pÄrameá¹£á¹hyaá¹ na mahendra-dhiṣṇyaá¹
na sÄrvabhaumaá¹ na rasÄdhipatyam
na yoga-siddhÄ«r apunar-bhavaá¹ vÄ
mayy arpitÄtmecchati mad vinÄnyat
“The devotee who has offered his soul to Me does not want anything if it is separate from Me — not the position of the supreme demigod of the universe, BrahmÄ, nor that of Lord Indra, nor kingship over the entire earth or over the lower planetary systems, nor the mystic perfections of yoga, nor even freedom from the cycle of rebirth.â€
According to ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura, the word ajitÄtmÄ can also be taken to mean ajitendriyÄḥ, or “those whose senses are uncontrolled.†Although the demigods are all to be respected as devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, the absence of gross material discomfort in the higher planetary systems makes them tend to become affected by the bodily concept of life, and sometimes they experience some spiritual difficulty due to the gorgeous material facilities available to them. Such disturbances, however, cannot exist within the mind of a pure devotee of the Lord, as indicated in this verse by the word akuṇá¹ha-smá¹›ti. According to ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura, we can understand from this verse that since none of the material facilities available in any of the universal planetary systems can distract a pure devotee of the Lord, such a devotee can never possibly fall or become inimical to the Lord’s service.
