Verse Text
aṣṭame śrī-gajendroktau—
ekāntino yasya na kaṣcanārthaṁ
vāṣchanti ye vai bhagavat-prapannāḥ |
aty-adbhutaṁ tac-caritaṁ sumaṅgalaṁ
gāyanta ānanda-samudra-magnāḥ ||37||
Translation
In the Eighth Canto, Gajendra speaks: Unalloyed devotees, who have no desire other than to serve the Lord, worship Him in full surrender and always hear and chant about His activities, which are most wonderful and auspicious. Thus, they always merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. SB 8.3.20
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The unalloyed devotees of the Lord do not desire anything from the Lord. The phrases of this verse are grammatically connected with the verb in the next verse (8.3.21) of the Bhāgavatam (tam iḍe—I worship Him). Thus, the full sentence is “I worship that Lord whose unalloyed devotees do not desire anything.” Why do they not desire anything? They do not desire because they are fully surrendered to the Lord (bhagavat-prapannāḥ). They are completely full of the great wealth of surrender. Their bliss is superior to that of all other persons. Singing the auspicious, most astounding pastimes of the Lord, they are immersed in an ocean of bliss.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
A similar verse is found in the Eighth Canto, Third Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, verse 20. Gajendra says there, “My dear Lord, I have no experience of the transcendental bliss derived from Your devotional service, so therefore I have asked from You some favor. But I know that persons who are pure devotees and have, by serving the lotus feet of great souls, become freed from all material desires, are always merged in the ocean of transcendental bliss and, as such, are always satisfied simply by glorifying Your auspicious characteristics. For them there is nothing else to aspire to or pray for.”