Text 9
tāpa-trayeṇābhihatasya ghore
santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīśa
paśyāmi nānyac charaṇaṁ tavāṅghri-
dvandvātapatrād amṛtābhivarṣāt
tāpa — by the miseries; trayeṇa — threefold; abhihatasya — of one overwhelmed; ghore — which is terrible; santapyamānasya — being tormented; bhava — of material existence; adhvani — in the path; īśa — O Lord; paśyāmi — I see; na — none; anyat — other; śaraṇam — shelter; tava — Your; aṅghri — lotus feet; dvandva — of the two; ātapatrāt — than the umbrella; amṛta — of nectar; abhivarṣāt — the shower.
My dear Lord, for one who is being tormented on the terrible path of birth and death and is constantly overwhelmed by the threefold miseries, I do not see any possible shelter other than Your two lotus feet, which are just like a refreshing umbrella that pours down showers of delicious nectar.
Lord Kṛṣṇa, recognizing Uddhava’s highly intellectual nature, has repeatedly recommended to him that one should achieve perfection by cultivation of transcendental knowledge. But the Lord has also clearly demonstrated that such knowledge must bring one to the point of loving devotional service to Him, for otherwise it is useless. In this verse Śrī Uddhava corroborates Lord Kṛṣṇa’s statements that actual happiness is obtained by surrendering to His lotus feet. When the incarnation of Godhead Pṛthu Mahārāja was crowned, the demigod Vāyu presented him with an umbrella that constantly sprayed fine particles of water. The Lord’s two lotus feet are similarly compared here to a wonderful umbrella that produces a constant shower of delicious nectar, the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Normally, speculative analytic knowledge terminates in an impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth, but the so-called bliss of merging into impersonal spiritual existence can never be compared to the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as stated here by Śrī Uddhava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness thus automatically constitutes perfect knowledge, since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate shelter of all living entities. The words abhihatasya and abhivarṣāt are significant in this verse. Abhihatasya indicates one who is being defeated on all sides by the onslaught of material nature, whereas abhivarṣāt indicates a downpour of nectar that eliminates all of the problems of material existence. By our intelligence we should look beyond the dull material body and nonsensical material mind to observe the unlimited shower of blissful nectar coming from the two lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then our real good fortune will begin.