Verse Text
tathā ekādaśe (11.2.53) ca—
tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave’py akuṇṭha-
smṛtir ajitātma-surādibhir vimṛgyāt |
na calati bhagavat-padāravindāl
lava-nimiṣārdham api yaḥ sa vaiṣṇavāgryaḥ ||190||
Translation
Trust in the Lord is also illustrated in the Eleventh Canto: The lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are sought even by the greatest of demigods, such as Brahmā and Śiva, who have all accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their life and soul. A pure devotee of the Lord can never forget those lotus feet in any circumstance. He will not give up his shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord even for a single moment — indeed, not even for half a moment — even in exchange for the benediction of ruling the entire universe or taking the post of a devatā. Such a devotee of the Lord is to be considered the best of the Vaiṣṇavas. SB 11.2.53
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The statement of the siddha devotee Draupadī is not that of sādhana-bhakti and the statement of this verse, an expression of a siddha-bhakta on the uttama-bhakti level, is also not sādhana-bhakti. The siddha-bhaktas also partake of the aṅgas of sakhya and ātma-nivedana. These aṅgas are not exclusive to sādhana-bhakti. It will be said:
duṣkaratvena virale dve sakhyātma-nivedane |
keṣāṁcid eva dhīrāṇāṁ labhate sādhanārhatām ||
Friendship and offering the self and body are rare because of the difficulty in performance in sādhana. However, some wise men have considered that these two qualify as part of sādhana. BRS 1.2.198
Thus, it should be understood that only some rare persons performing sādhana who are almost siddhas are qualified for these aṅgas, and not all sādhakas. Tribhuvana-vibhava-hetave akuṇṭha-smṛti means that the devotee is not disturbed in his remembrance of the Lord even after hearing, “Give up remembering the Lord for a second, and I will give you the dominion of the three worlds.” Therefore, this best of the Vaiṣṇavas does not waver from the lotus feet of the Lord, which are sought but not attained by the devatās who cannot control their senses (ajitāmā).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave (domination of the three worlds and causes of that domination) is used instead of tri-bhuvana-vibhavāya (domination of the three worlds) for emphasis. The meaning is “the devotee does not deviate from his remembrance of the Lord for the domination in the three worlds and even for the posts of those who bestow such powers.” The singular form is used (instead of tribhuvana-vibhava-hetubhyām) according to the rule that dvandva compound with a collective meaning can alternatively be used in the singular case.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
A similar statement is there in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Chapter, verse 53, where Havis, the son of King Ṛṣabha, addresses Mahārāja Nimi: “My dear King, a person who never deviates even for a moment from engagement in service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Person (engagement which is sought even by great demigods like Indra), with firm conviction that there is nothing more worshipable or desirable than this, is called the first-class devotee.”