Text 37
śrīr yat padāmbuja-rajaś cakame tulasyā
labdhvāpi vakṣasi padaṁ kila bhṛtya-juṣṭam
yasyāḥ sva-vīkṣaṇa utānya-sura-prayāsas
tadvad vayaṁ ca tava pāda-rajaḥ prapannāḥ
śrīḥ — the goddess of fortune, wife of Lord Nārāyaṇa; yat — as; pada-ambuja — of the lotus feet; rajaḥ — the dust; cakame — desired; tulasyā — together with Tulasī-devī; labdhvā — having obtained; api — even; vakṣasi — upon His chest; padam — her position; kila — indeed; bhṛtya — by servants; juṣṭam — served; yasyāḥ — whose (Lakṣmī’s); sva — upon themselves; vīkṣaṇe — for the sake of the glance; uta — on the other hand; anya — of the other; sura — demigods; prayāsaḥ — the endeavor; tadvat — in the same way; vayam — we; ca — also; tava — Your; pāda — of the feet; rajaḥ — the dust; prapannāḥ — have approached for shelter.
Goddess Lakṣmī, whose glance is sought after by the demigods with great endeavor, has achieved the unique position of always remaining on the chest of her Lord, Nārāyaṇa. Still, she desires the dust of His lotus feet, even though she has to share that dust with Tulasī-devī and indeed with the Lord’s many other servants. Similarly, we have approached the dust of Your lotus feet for shelter.
The gopīs here point out that the dust of the Lord’s feet is so ecstatic and enlivening that the goddess of fortune wants to abandon her unique position on His chest to share with many other devotees a position at His feet. Thus the gopīs urge Lord Kṛṣṇa not to be guilty of a double standard. Since the Lord gave the goddess of fortune a place on His chest and also allowed her to seek the dust of His lotus feet, Kṛṣṇa should certainly give the same opportunity to His most loving devotees, the gopīs. “After all” the gopīs plead, “seeking the dust of Your lotus feet is perfectly justified, and You should encourage us in this endeavor and not try to send us away.”