यः तु इन्द्रगोपम् अथवेन्द्रम् अहो स्व कर्म
बन्ध अनुरूप फल भाजनम् आतनोति |
कर्माणि निर्दहति किन्तु च भक्ति भाजां
गोविन्दम् आदि पुरुषं तमहं भजामि ॥ ५४ ॥
yaḥ - He who (Govinda); tu - but; indra-gopam - to the small red insect called indragopa; atha vā - or even; indram - to Indra, king of heaven; aho - oh; sva-karma - of one's own fruitive activities; bandha - bondage; anurūpa - according to; phala - of reactions; bhājanam - enjoying or suffering; ātanoti - bestows; karmāṇi - all fruitive activities and their reactions; nirdahati - destroys; kintu - but; ca - also; bhakti-bhājām - of persons engaged in devotional service; govindam - Govinda; ādi-puruṣam - the original person; tam - Him; aham - I; bhajāmi - worship.
God impartially induces the fallen souls to act in the way that is consequent on the deeds of their previous births and to enjoy the fruition of their labors but, out of His great mercy to His devotees, He purges out, by the fire of ordeal, the root of all karma, viz., nescience and evil desires. Karma, though without beginning, is still perishable. The karma of those, who work with the hope of enjoying the fruits of their labors, becomes everlasting and endless and is never destroyed. The function of sannyāsa is also a sort of karma befitting an āśrama and is not pleasant to Kṛṣṇa when it aims at liberation, i.e., desire for emancipation. They also receive fruition of their karma and, even if it be disinterested, their karma ends in ātma-mamatā, i.e., self-pleasure; but those who are pure devotees always serve Kṛṣṇa by gratifying His senses forsaking all attempts of karma and jñāna, and being free from all desires save that of serving Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has fully destroyed the karma, its desires and nescience of those devotees. It is a great wonder that Kṛṣṇa, being impartial, is fully partial to His devotees.