kiḿ citram acyuta tavaitad aśeṣa-bandho
dāseṣv ananya-śaraṇesu yad ātma-sāttvam
yo 'rocayat saha mṛgaiḥ svayam īśvarāṇāḿ śrīmat-kirīṭa-taṭa-pīḍita-pāda-pīṭhaḥ
kim -- what; citram -- wonder; acyuta -- O infallible Lord; tava -- Your; etat -- this; asesha-bandho -- O friend of all; daseshu -- for the servants; ananya-saraneshu -- who have taken no other shelter; yat -- which; atma-sattvam -- intimacy with You; yah -- who; arocayat -- acted affectionately; saha -- with; mrigaih -- the animals (monkeys); svayam -- Yourself; isvaranam -- of the great demigods; srimat -- effulgent; kirita -- of the helmets; tata -- by the edges; pidita -- shaken; pada-pithah -- whose footstool.
My dear infallible Lord, it is not very astonishing that You intimately approach Your servants who have taken exclusive shelter of You. After all, during Your appearance as Lord Ramacandra, even while great demigods like Brahma were vying to place the effulgent tips of their helmets upon the cushion where Your lotus feet rested, You displayed special affection for monkeys such as Hanuman because they had taken exclusive shelter of You.
The devotees of the Lord become completely successful by the Lord's causeless mercy. Sometimes Lord Krishna accepts a position of subservience to His great devotees, as with Nanda Maharaja, the gopis, Bali Maharaja and others. Although demigods like Lord Brahma were standing in line to touch their helmets to the Lord's foot cushion, still Lord Ramacandra awarded His most intimate friendship to subhumans, such as the monkeys headed by Hanuman. Similarly Lord Krishna's affection for the deer and cows, and even for the trees of Vrindavana, is well known. Further, the Lord gladly drove the chariot of Arjuna and acted as the messenger and faithful subordinate of King Yudhishthira. Such devotees have no need for the elaborate jnana-yoga systems or the process for achieving mystic powers. All these devotees are represented here by Sri Uddhava, who frankly informs the Lord that the sophisticated systems of philosophical speculation and mystic yoga are not appealing for one who has developed a taste for direct loving service to the Lord.
