śrīr yat padāmbuja-rajaś cakame tulasyā
labdhvāpi vakṣasi padaḿ kila bhṛtya-juṣṭam
yasyāḥ sva-vīkṣaṇa utānya-sura-prayāsas
tadvad vayaḿ ca tava pāda-rajaḥ prapannāḥ
srih -- the goddess of fortune, wife of Lord Narayana; yat -- as; pada-ambuja -- of the lotus feet; rajah -- the dust; cakame -- desired; tulasya -- together with Tulasi-devi; labdhva -- having obtained; api -- even; vakshasi -- upon His chest; padam -- her position; kila -- indeed; bhritya -- by servants; jushtam -- served; yasyah -- whose (Lakshmi's); sva -- upon themselves; vikshane -- for the sake of the glance; uta -- on the other hand; anya -- of the other; sura -- demigods; prayasah -- the endeavor; tadvat -- in the same way; vayam -- we; ca -- also; tava -- Your; pada -- of the feet; rajah -- the dust; prapannah -- have approached for shelter.
Goddess Lakshmi, whose glance is sought after by the demigods with great endeavor, has achieved the unique position of always remaining on the chest of her Lord, Narayana. Still, she desires the dust of His lotus feet, even though she has to share that dust with Tulasi-devi and indeed with the Lord's many other servants. Similarly, we have approached the dust of Your lotus feet for shelter.
The gopis here point out that the dust of the Lord's feet is so ecstatic and enlivening that the goddess of fortune wants to abandon her unique position on His chest to share with many other devotees a position at His feet. Thus the gopis urge Lord Krishna not to be guilty of a double standard. Since the Lord gave the goddess of fortune a place on His chest and also allowed her to seek the dust of His lotus feet, Krishna should certainly give the same opportunity to His most loving devotees, the gopis. "After all" the gopis plead, "seeking the dust of Your lotus feet is perfectly justified, and You should encourage us in this endeavor and not try to send us away."
