Text 21
yas tāṁ vivikta-caritair anuvartamānāṁ
nātyādriyat parama-bhāgavata-prasaṅgaḥ
sa tvaṁ dvijānupatha-puṇya-rajaḥ-punītaḥ
śrīvatsa-lakṣma kim agā bhaga-bhājanas tvam
yaḥ — who; tām — Lakṣmī; vivikta — completely pure; caritaiḥ — devotional services; anuvartamānām — serving; na — not; atyādriyat — attached; parama — the highest; bhāgavata — devotees; prasaṅgaḥ — attached; saḥ — the Supreme Lord; tvam — You; dvija — of the brāhmaṇas; anupatha — on the path; puṇya — sanctified; rajaḥ — dust; punītaḥ — purified; śrīvatsa — of Śrīvatsa; lakṣma — the mark; kim — what; agāḥ — You obtained; bhaga — all opulences or all good qualities; bhājanaḥ — the reservoir; tvam — You.
O Lord, You are exceedingly attached to the activities of Your pure devotees, yet You are never attached to the goddesses of fortune who constantly engage in Your transcendental loving service. How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brāhmaṇas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Śrīvatsa on Your chest?
It is said in the Brahma-saṁhitā that the Lord is always served by many hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune in His Vaikuṇṭha planet, yet because of His attitude of renunciation of all opulences, He is not attached to any one of them. The Lord has six opulences — unlimited wealth, unlimited fame, unlimited strength, unlimited beauty, unlimited knowledge and unlimited renunciation. All the demigods and other living entities worship Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, just to get her favor, yet the Lord is never attached to her because He can create an unlimited number of such goddesses for His transcendental service. The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is sometimes envious of the tulasī leaves which are placed at the lotus feet of the Lord, for they remain fixed there and do not move, whereas Lakṣmījī, although stationed by the chest of the Lord, sometimes has to please other devotees who pray for her favor. Lakṣmījī sometimes has to go to satisfy her numerous devotees, but tulasī leaves never forsake their position, and the Lord therefore appreciates the service of the tulasī more than the service of Lakṣmī. So when the Lord says that it is due to the causeless mercy of the brāhmaṇas that Lakṣmījī does not leave Him, we can understand that Lakṣmījī is attracted by the opulence of the Lord, not by the brāhmaṇas’ benedictions upon Him. The Lord is not dependent on anyone’s mercy for His opulence; He is always self-sufficient. The Lord’s statement that His opulence is due to the benediction of the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas is only to teach others that they should offer respect to the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees of the Lord.