सविनयकृष्णसारतनयतनुतरसुभगशिवतमाखरखुरपदपङ्क्तिभिर्द्रविण विधुरातुरस्य
कृपणस्य मम द्रविणपदवीं सूचयन्त्यात्मानं च सर्वतः कृतकौतुकं
द्विजानां स्वर्गापवर्गकामानां देवयजनं करोति ॥२३॥
kiá¹ vÄ are Äcaritaá¹ tapas tapasvinyÄnayÄ yad iyam avaniḥ savinaya-kṛṣṇa-sÄra-tanaya-tanutara-subhaga-Å›ivatamÄkhara-khura-pada-paá¹…ktibhir draviṇa-vidhurÄturasya ká¹›paṇasya mama draviṇa-padavÄ«á¹ sÅ«cayanty ÄtmÄnaá¹ ca sarvataḥ ká¹›ta-kautukaá¹ dvijÄnÄá¹ svargÄpavarga-kÄmÄnÄá¹ deva-yajanaá¹ karoti
kim vÄ - what; are - oh; Äcaritam - practiced; tapaḥ - penance; tapasvinyÄ - by the most fortunate; anayÄ - this planet earth; yat - since; iyam - this; avaniḥ - earth; sa-vinaya - very mild and well-behaved; kṛṣṇa-sÄra-tanaya - of the calf of the black deer; tanutara - small; subhaga - beautiful; Å›iva-tama - most auspicious; akhara - soft; khura - of the hooves; pada-paá¹…ktibhiḥ - by the series of the marks; draviṇa-vidhura-Äturasya - who is very aggrieved because of loss of wealth; ká¹›paṇasya - a most unhappy creature; mama - for me; draviṇa-padavÄ«m - the way to achieve that wealth; sÅ«cayanti - indicating; ÄtmÄnam - her own personal body; ca - and; sarvataḥ - on all sides; ká¹›ta-kautukam - ornamented; dvijÄnÄm - of the brÄhmaṇas; svarga-apavarga-kÄmÄnÄm - who are desirous of achieving heavenly planets or liberation; deva-yajanam - a place of sacrifice to the demigods; karoti - it makes.
After speaking like a madman in this way, MahÄrÄja Bharata got up and went outside. Seeing the footprints of the deer on the ground, he praised the footprints out of love, saying: O unfortunate Bharata, your austerities and penances are very insignificant compared to the penance and austerity undergone by this earth planet. Due to the earth’s severe penances, the footprints of this deer, which are small, beautiful, most auspicious and soft, are imprinted on the surface of this fortunate planet. This series of footprints show a person like me, who am bereaved due to loss of the deer, how the animal has passed through the forest and how I can regain my lost wealth. By these footprints, this land has become a proper place for brÄhmaṇas who desire heavenly planets or liberation to execute sacrifices to the demigods.
It is said that when a person becomes overly involved in loving affairs, he forgets himself as well as others, and he forgets how to act and how to speak. It is said that once when a man’s son was blind since birth, the father, out of staunch affection for the child, named him Padmalocana, or “lotus-eyed.†This is the situation arising from blind love. Bharata MahÄrÄja gradually fell into this condition due to his material love for the deer. It is said in the smá¹›ti-Å›Ästra:
yasmin deśe mṛgaḥ kṛṣṇas
tasmin dharmÄnn ivodhata
“That tract of land wherein the footprints of a black deer can be seen is to be understood as a suitable place to execute religious rituals.â€
