Text 15
taṁ mopayātaṁ pratiyantu viprā
gaṅgā ca devī dhṛta-cittam īśe
dvijopasṛṣṭaḥ kuhakas takṣako vā
daśatv alaṁ gāyata viṣṇu-gāthāḥ
tam — for that reason; mā — me; upayātam — taken shelter of; pratiyantu — just accept me; viprāḥ — O brāhmaṇas; gaṅgā — mother Ganges; ca — also; devī — direct representative of the Lord; dhṛta — taken into; cittam — heart; īśe — unto the Lord; dvija-upasṛṣṭaḥ — created by the brāhmaṇa; kuhakaḥ — something magical; takṣakaḥ — the snake-bird; vā — either; daśatu — let it bite; alam — without further delay; gāyata — please go on singing; viṣṇu-gāthāḥ — narration of the deeds of Viṣṇu.
O brāhmaṇas, just accept me as a completely surrendered soul, and let mother Ganges, the representative of the Lord, also accept me in that way, for I have already taken the lotus feet of the Lord into my heart. Let the snake-bird — or whatever magical thing the brāhmaṇa created — bite me at once. I only desire that you all continue singing the deeds of Lord Viṣṇu.
As soon as one is given up completely unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, he is not at all afraid of death. The atmosphere created by the presence of great devotees of the Lord on the bank of the Ganges and Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s complete acceptance of the Lord’s lotus feet were sufficient guarantee to the King for going back to Godhead. He thus became absolutely free from all fear of death.