Text 26
tasyādya te dadṛśimāṅghrim aghaugha-marṣa-
tīrthāspadaṁ hṛdi kṛtaṁ su-vipakva-yogaiḥ
utsikta-bhakty-upahatāśaya jīva-kośā
āpur bhavad-gatim athānugṛhāna bhaktān
tasya — His; adya — today; te — Your; dadṛśima — we have seen; aṅghrim — the feet; agha — of sins; ogha — floods; marṣa — which undo; tīrtha — of the holy pilgrimage site (the Ganges); āspadam — the source; hṛdi — in the heart; kṛtam — placed; su — well; vipakva — matured; yogaiḥ — by those whose practice of yoga; utsikta — fully developed; bhakti — by devotional service; upahata — destroyed; āśaya — the material mentality; jīva — of the individual soul; kośāḥ — whose external covering; āpuḥ — they attained; bhavat — Your; gatim — destination; atha — therefore; anugṛhāṇa — please show mercy; bhaktān — to Your devotees.
Today we have directly seen Your feet, the source of the holy Ganges, which washes away volumes of sins. Perfected yogīs can at best meditate upon Your feet within their hearts. But only those who render You wholehearted devotional service and in this way vanquish the soul’s covering — the material mind — attain You as their final destination. Therefore kindly show mercy to us, Your devotees.
The holy river Ganges has the power to destroy all sorts of sinful reactions because she originates at the Lord’s lotus feet and thus contains the dust of His feet. Explaining this verse, Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī says, “If the Lord might advise the sages that they need not concern themselves with devotional practices because they are already far advanced in spiritual knowledge and austerity, they hereby respectfully decline such a suggestion, pointing out that only those yogīs who have destroyed their material mind and ego by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa in pure devotional service can attain full perfection. They conclude by praying to the Lord that He favor them in the most merciful way by making them His devotees.”