Canto 8: Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations | Chapter 22: Bali Mahārāja Surrenders His Life |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.22.23
yat-pādayor aśaṭha-dhīḥ salilaḿ pradāya
dūrvāńkurair api vidhāya satīḿ saparyām
apy uttamāḿ gatim asau bhajate tri-lokīḿ
dāśvān aviklava-manāḥ katham ārtim ṛcchet
SYNONYMS
yat-pādayoḥ — at the lotus feet of Your Lordship; aśaṭha-dhīḥ — a great-minded person who is without duplicity; salilam — water; pradāya — offering; dūrvā — with fully grown grass; ańkuraiḥ — and with buds of flowers; api — although; vidhāya — offering; satīm — most exalted; saparyām — with worship; api — although; uttamām — the most highly elevated; gatim — destination; asau — such a worshiper; bhajate — deserves; tri-lokīm — the three worlds; dāśvān — giving to You; aviklava-manāḥ — without mental duplicity; katham — how; ārtim — the distressed condition of being arrested; ṛcchet — he deserves.
TRANSLATION
By offering even water, newly grown grass, or flower buds at Your lotus feet, those who maintain no mental duplicity can achieve the most exalted position within the spiritual world. This Bali Mahārāja, without duplicity, has now offered everything in the three worlds. How then can he deserve to suffer from arrest?
PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) it is stated:
patraḿ puṣpaḿ phalaḿ toyaḿ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaḿ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind that if an unsophisticated person, with devotion and without duplicity, offers at the lotus feet of the Lord a little water, a flower, a fruit or a leaf, the Lord accepts it. Then the devotee is promoted to Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual world. Brahmā drew the Lord's attention to this subject and requested that He release Bali Mahārāja, who was suffering, being bound by the ropes of Varuṇa, and who had already given everything, including the three worlds and whatever he possessed.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness