Verse Text
anekāṅgā, yathā navame—
sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane |
karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣu
śrutiṁ cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye ||266||
mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśane dṛśau
tad-bhṛtya-gātra-sparśe ’ṅga-saṅgamaṁ |
ghrāṇaṁ ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe
śrīmat-tulasyā rasanāṁ tad-arpite ||267||
pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe
śiro hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane |
kāmaṁ ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā
yathottamaḥśloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ ||268||
Translation
An example of practicing many aṅgas equally is found in the Ninth Canto: Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s temples and Kṛṣṇa’s places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires. SB 9.4.18-20
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
He engaged his eyes in seeing the forms of Mukunda, the temples of the Lord, the eternal dhāmas such as Mathurā and the Vaiṣṇavas. He engaged his nose in smelling the Lord’s lotus feet with tulasī leaves on them, and in smelling the tulasī that had been offered to the lotus feet of the Lord. This means he had direct contact with the Lord’s feet covered with tulasī. He engaged his tongue (rasanām) in tasting the food offered to the Lord (tad-arpite). He engaged his feet in repeatedly going to the Lord’s holy places (kṣetra) such as Mathurā and to the Lord’s temples (pada). He engaged his head in bowing down to the feet of the Lord and to the feet of the devotees. He did all this in such a way that rati, devoid of material attachments, found in the devotees of the Lord (uttama-śloka-jana) such as Prahlāda would appear. He did not perform the actions with a desire for material objects.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
After offering tulasī leaves to the lotus feet of the Lord, the leaves take on the special fragrance of His feet. Ambarīṣa engaged his nose in smelling that fragrance. In the phrase mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśane, the word liṅga means the deity form of the Lord. Ambarīṣa engaged his feet in walking to the holy places (kṣetra), such as Mathurā, and to the Lord’s temples (pada). He engaged all his senses in these activities in such a way that the devotees of the Lord would be pleased (yathā uttamaḥ-śloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ).
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
There are also examples of devotees who discharged all the different items together. In the Ninth Canto, Fourth Chapter, verses 18, 19 and 20, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a statement about Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, who followed every one of the devotional processes. In these verses, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, “King Ambarīṣa first of all concentrated his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and then engaged his speech in describing the pastimes and activities of the Lord. He engaged his hands in washing the temple of the Lord. He engaged his ears in hearing of the transcendental glories of the Lord. He engaged his eyes in seeing the beautiful Deity in the temple. He engaged his body in associating with the pure devotees of the Lord. [When you associate with someone you have to sit down together, eat together, etc.—and in this way the touch of your body with his body is inevitable. Ambarīṣa Mahārāja made his association only with pure devotees and did not allow his body to be touched by anyone else]. He engaged his nostrils in smelling the flowers and tulasī offered to Kṛṣṇa, and he engaged his tongue in tasting Kṛṣṇa prasāda [food prepared specifically for offering to the Lord, the remnants of which are taken by the devotees]. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was able to offer very nice prasāda to Kṛṣṇa because he was a king and had no scarcity of finances. He used to offer Kṛṣṇa the most royal dishes and would then taste the remnants as kṛṣṇa-prasāda. There was no scarcity in his royal style, because he had a very beautiful temple wherein the Deity of the Lord was decorated with costly paraphernalia and offered high-grade food. So everything was available, and his engagement was always completely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” The idea is that we should follow in the footsteps of great devotees. If we are unable to execute all the different items of devotional service, we must try to execute at least one of them, as exemplified by previous ācāryas. If we are engaged in the execution of all the items of devotional service, as was Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, then the perfection of devotional service is guaranteed from each one of these items. With the first complete engagement, one becomes automatically detached from material contamination, and liberation becomes the maidservant of the devotee. This idea is confirmed by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. If one develops unalloyed devotion to the Lord, liberation will follow the devotee as his maidservant.