Text 38
diṣṭyā hare ’syā bhavataḥ pado bhuvo
bhāro ’panītas tava janmaneśituḥ
diṣṭyāṅkitāṁ tvat-padakaiḥ suśobhanair
drakṣyāma gāṁ dyāṁ ca tavānukampitām
diṣṭyā — by fortune; hare — O Lord; asyāḥ — of this (world); bhavataḥ — of Your Lordship; padaḥ — of the place; bhuvaḥ — on this earth; bhāraḥ — the burden created by the demons; apanītaḥ — now removed; tava — of Your Lordship; janmanā — by appearance as an incarnation; īśituḥ — You, the controller of everything; diṣṭyā — and by fortune; aṅkitām — marked; tvat-padakaiḥ — by Your lotus feet; su-śobhanaiḥ — which are transcendentally decorated with the marks of conchshell, disc, lotus and club; drakṣyāma — we shall surely observe; gām — upon this earth; dyām ca — in heaven also; tava anukampitām — due to Your causeless mercy upon us.
O Lord, we are fortunate because the heavy burden of the demons upon this earth is immediately removed by Your appearance. Indeed, we are certainly fortunate, for we shall be able to see upon this earth and in the heavenly planets the marks of lotus, conchshell, club and disc that adorn Your lotus feet.
The soles of the Lord’s lotus feet are marked with śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-padma — conchshell, disc, club and lotus — and also by a flag and a thunderbolt. When Kṛṣṇa walks on this earth or in the heavenly planets, these marks are visible wherever He goes. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is a transcendental place because of Kṛṣṇa’s walking on this land frequently. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were fortunate to see these marks here and there. When Akrūra went to Vṛndāvana to take Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma away to the festival arranged by Kaṁsa, upon seeing the marks of the Lord’s lotus feet on the ground of Vṛndāvana, he fell down and began to groan. These marks are visible to devotees who receive the causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (tavānukampitām). The demigods were jubilant not only because the appearance of the Supreme Lord would do away with the burdensome demons, but also because they would be able to see upon the ground the transcendental marks from the soles of the Lord’s lotus feet. The gopīs always thought of the Lord’s lotus feet when He was walking in the pasturing grounds, and, as described in the previous verse, simply by thinking of the Lord’s lotus feet, the gopīs were fully absorbed in transcendence (āviṣṭa-cetā na bhavāya kalpate). Like the gopīs, one who is always absorbed in thought of the Lord is beyond the material platform and will not remain in this material world. It is our duty, therefore, always to hear, chant and think about the Lord’s lotus feet, as actually done by Vaiṣṇavas who have decided to live in Vṛndāvana always and think of the Lord’s lotus feet twenty-four hours a day.