Text 23
mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām
amṛtatvāya kalpate
diṣṭyā yad āsīn mat-sneho
bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ
mayi — to Me; bhaktiḥ — devotional service; hi — certainly; bhūtānām — of the living beings; amṛtatvāya — the eternal life; kalpate — brings about; diṣṭyā — by good fortune; yat — which; āsīt — was; mat — for Me; snehaḥ — the affection; bhavatīnām — of all of you; mat — of Me; āpanaḥ — the obtaining.
“ ‘Devotional service rendered to Me by the living beings revives their eternal life. O My dear damsels of Vraja, your affection for Me is your good fortune, for it is the only means by which you have obtained My favor.’
Pure devotional service is represented in the activities of the residents of Vrajabhūmi (Vṛndāvana). During a solar eclipse, the Lord came from Dvārakā and met the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana at Samanta-pañcaka. The meeting was intensely painful for the damsels of Vrajabhūmi because Lord Kṛṣṇa had apparently left them to reside at Dvārakā. But the Lord obligingly acknowledged the pure devotional service of the damsels of Vraja by speaking this verse (Bhāg. 10.82.44).