Text 43
yasyāṅghri-paṅkaja-rajaḥ-snapanaṁ mahānto
vāñchanty umā-patir ivātma-tamo-’pahatyai
yarhy ambujākṣa na labheya bhavat-prasādaṁ
jahyām asūn vrata-kṛśān śata-janmabhiḥ syāt
yasya — whose; aṅghri — of the feet; paṅkaja — lotus; rajaḥ — with the dust; snapanam — bathing; mahāntaḥ — great souls; vāñchanti — hanker after; umā-patiḥ — Lord Śiva, husband of Goddess Umā; iva — just as; ātma — their own; tamaḥ — of the ignorance; apahatyai — to vanquish; yarhi — when; ambuja-akṣa — O lotus-eyed one; na labheya — I cannot obtain; bhavat — Your; prasādam — mercy; jahyām — I should give up; asūn — my life airs; vrata — by austere penances; kṛśān — weakened; śata — hundreds; janmabhiḥ — after lifetimes; syāt — it may be.
O lotus-eyed one, great souls like Lord Śiva hanker to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet and thereby destroy their ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavor, I may obtain Your mercy.
The divine Rukmiṇī’s extraordinary dedication to Śrī Kṛṣṇa is possible only on the spiritual platform, not in the fragile world of mundane affection.