स्वर्गापवर्गयोरपि भवन्तमुपधावति प्रजायामर्थप्रत्ययो धनदमिवाधनः
फलीकरणम् ॥१३॥
kiñcÄyaá¹ rÄjará¹£ir apatya-kÄmaḥ prajÄá¹ bhavÄdṛśīm ÄÅ›ÄsÄna Ä«Å›varam ÄÅ›iá¹£Äá¹ svargÄpavargayor api bhavantam upadhÄvati prajÄyÄm artha-pratyayo dhanadam ivÄdhanaḥ phalÄ«karaṇam
kiñca - moreover; ayam - this; rÄja-ṛṣiḥ - pious King (NÄbhi); apatya-kÄmaḥ - desiring offspring; prajÄm - a son; bhavÄdṛśīm - exactly like You; ÄÅ›ÄsÄnaḥ - hoping for; Ä«Å›varam - the supreme controller; ÄÅ›iá¹£Äm - of benedictions; svarga-apavargayoḥ - of the heavenly planets and liberation; api - although; bhavantam - You; upadhÄvati - worships; prajÄyÄm - children; artha-pratyayaḥ - regarding as the ultimate goal of life; dhana-dam - unto a person who can give immense wealth as charity; iva - like; adhanaḥ - a poor man; phalÄ«karaṇam - a little husk.
Dear Lord, here is the great King NÄbhi, whose ultimate goal in life is to have a son like You. Your Lordship, his position is like that of a person approaching a very rich man and begging for a little grain. MahÄrÄja NÄbhi is so desirous of having a son that he is worshiping You for a son, although You can offer him any exalted position, including elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation back to Godhead.
The priests were a little ashamed that King NÄbhi was performing a great sacrifice just to ask the Lord’s benediction for a son. The Lord could offer him promotion to the heavenly planets or the Vaikuṇá¹ha planets. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has taught us how to approach the Supreme Lord and ask Him for the ultimate benediction. He said: na dhanaá¹ na janaá¹ na sundarÄ«á¹ kavitÄá¹ vÄ jagad-Ä«Å›a kÄmaye. He did not want to ask the Supreme Lord for anything material. Material opulence means riches, a nice family, a good wife and many followers, but an intelligent devotee doesn’t ask the Supreme Lord for anything material. His only prayer is: mama janmani janmanÄ«Å›vare bhavatÄd bhaktir ahaitukÄ« tvayi. He wants to be engaged perpetually in the loving service of the Lord. He does not want promotion to the heavenly planets or mukti, liberation from material bondage. If this were the case, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu would not have said, mama janmani janmani. It doesn’t matter to a devotee whether or not he takes birth life after life, as long as he remains a devotee. Actually eternal liberty means returning home, back to Godhead. A devotee is never concerned about anything material. Although NÄbhi MahÄrÄja wanted a son like Viṣṇu, wanting a son like God is also a form of sense gratification. A pure devotee wants only to engage in the Lord’s loving service.
