ketus tri-vikrama-yutas tri-patat-patāko
yas te bhayābhaya-karo 'sura-deva-camvoḥ
svargāya sādhuṣu khaleṣv itarāya bhūman
padaḥ punātu bhagavan bhajatām aghaḿ naḥ
ketuh -- a flagpole; tri-vikrama -- three mighty steps in conquering Bali Maharaja; yatah -- adorned by; tri-patat -- falling into each of the three planetary systems; patakah -- the flag upon which; yah -- which; te -- Your (lotus feet); bhaya-abhaya -- fear and fearlessness; karah -- creating; asura-deva -- of the demons and the demigods; camvoh -- for the respective armies; svargaya -- for the attainment of heaven; sadhushu -- among the saintly demigods and devotees; khaleshu -- among the envious; itaraya -- for just the opposite; bhuman -- O most powerful Lord; padah -- the lotus feet; punatu -- may they purify; bhagavan -- O Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhajatam -- who are engaged in worshiping You; agham -- the sins; nah -- of us.
O omnipotent Lord, in Your incarnation as Trivikrama, You raised Your leg like a flagpole to break the shell of the universe, allowing the holy Ganges to flow down, like a banner of victory, in three branches throughout the three planetary systems. By three mighty steps of Your lotus feet, Your Lordship captured Bali Maharaja, along with his universal kingdom. Your lotus feet inspire fear in the demons by driving them down to hell and fearlessness among Your devotees by elevating them to the perfection of heavenly life. We are sincerely trying to worship You, our Lord; therefore may Your lotus feet kindly free us from all of our sinful reactions.
In order to reclaim for the demigods the universal kingdom seized by Bali Maharaja, Lord Krishna, as described in the Eighth Canto of this great work, appeared as the beautiful dwarf-brahmana Vamana, who extended His foot upward to the outer limits of the universe. When the Lord's leg breached a hole in the universal shell, the holy Ganges water came flowing into the universe. This scene appeared like an upraised flagpole with a wonderfully flowing victory banner.
As stated in the sruti-mantras, caranam pavitram vitatam puranam yena putas tarati dushkritani: "The lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead are most pure, all-pervading and the oldest of all. One who is purified by them crosses over all previous sinful activities." Throughout the universe the process of worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord is most famous.
