Devanagari
देहंभृतामियानर्थो हित्वा दम्भं भियं शुचम् ।
सन्देशाद् यो हरेर्लिङ्गदर्शनश्रवणादिभि: ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
dehaṁ-bhṛtām iyān artho
hitvā dambhaṁ bhiyaṁ śucam
sandeśād yo harer liṅga-
darśana-śravaṇādibhiḥ
Synonyms
deham
—
bhṛtām — of embodied beings
;
iyān
—
this much
;
arthaḥ
—
the goal of life
;
hitvā
—
giving up
;
dambham
—
pride
;
bhiyam
—
fear
;
śucam
—
and sorrow
;
sandeśāt
—
beginning from his being ordered (by Kaṁsa)
;
yaḥ
—
which
;
hareḥ
—
of Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
liṅga
—
the signs
;
darśana
—
with the seeing
;
śravaṇa
—
hearing about
;
ādibhiḥ
—
and so on .
Translation
The very goal of life for all embodied beings is this ecstasy, which Akrūra experienced when, upon receiving Kaṁsa’s order, he put aside all pride, fear and lamentation and absorbed himself in seeing, hearing and describing the things that reminded him of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The very goal of life for all embodied beings is this ecstasy, which Akrūra experienced when, upon receiving Kaṁsa's order, he put aside all pride, fear and lamentation and absorbed himself in seeing, hearing and describing the things that reminded him of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
KB 10.38.27
Akrūra’s journey to Vṛndāvana is exemplary. One who intends to visit Vṛndāvana should follow the ideal footsteps of Akrūra and always think of the pastimes and activities of the Lord. As soon as one reaches the boundary of Vṛndāvana, he should immediately smear the dust of Vṛndāvana over his body without thinking of his material position and prestige. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung in a celebrated song, viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha habe mana: “When my mind will be purified after leaving the contamination of material sense enjoyment, I shall be able to visit Vṛndāvana.” Actually, one cannot go to Vṛndāvana by purchasing a ticket. The process of going to Vṛndāvana is shown by Akrūra.
Purport
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that Akrūra gave up fear by openly showing his love and reverence for Kṛṣṇa, even though he or his family might have been punished by the angry Kaṁsa. Akrūra gave up his pride in being an aristocratic member of society and worshiped the cowherd residents of the simple village of Vṛndāvana. And he gave up lamenting for his house, wife and family, which were in danger from King Kaṁsa. Giving up all these things, he rolled in the dust of the lotus feet of God.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
After describing the actions of Akrura’s body, words and mind, from his starting the journey in Mathura until his entrance in Vraja, the conclusion is given in this verse, as Akrura gave up all false pride on seeing the footprints and rolled on the ground. This is the goal of human life. He gave up the pride (hitva bambham) such as "How can I ,Akrura, minister of the king, worshipped by the king, roll in the dust of a cowherd boy?" He gave up fear of Kamsa being angry for rolling in the dust of Krsna, his enemy. He gave up lamentation (sucam) concerning destruction of his wife, children and house by angry Kamsa.
Giving up the fear can also mean giving up fear of criticism from friends .Giving up lamentation can mean giving up the following considerations: "As we are born in good families with power, respected by all. how can we roll in the dust of vaisnas who are low, penniless, dressed in worn cloth, disrespected by all others?" The wise men, on seeing the vaisnava with tilaka and garland and marks of the Lord on his body, should roll in the dust of his feet.
The phrase giving up pride, fear and lamentation can be a reference to the ordinary man, but not applicable to Akrura.
Hearing and remembering the glories of Hari from Narada, Akrura had a desire to serve the lord in dasya rasa. "When will I serve Hari in this way, and when will I get the good fortune to see him?" This should be the desire of the devotee.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
In relating how Akrūra rolled in the foot dust, Śukadeva praises Akrūra because of his intense bhakti. This is the goal for those having bodies. Otherwise the body is useless. The statement that after giving up pride, fear and anxiety this goal arises applies to Akrūra as well. Akrūra gave up pride as illustrated in verse 18, “The infallible, omniscient Lord will (I hope) not consider me an enemy, even though Kaṁsa has sent me here as his messenger.” Though pride did not manifest, he had cause for lamentation and fear since his friends were being persecuted by Kaṁsa. But in front of Kṛṣṇa who had appeared to protect his family there was no cause for becoming overcome by lamentation and fear. Verse 26 stated that he experienced increasing bliss on seeing the foot prints.
kaccid budhaḥ svasty anamīva āste
śvaphalka-putro bhagavat-prapannaḥ
yaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāṅkita-mārga-pāṁsuṣv
aceṣṭata prema-vibhinna-dhairyaḥ
How is wise, sinless Akrūra, surrendered to the Lord, who, losing control out of strong prema, rolled in the dusty path marked by the footprints of Kṛṣṇa? SB 3.1.32
He could not react in this way if all sorrow had not been removed. Instead of śucam the word śokaṁ is also seen. In order to bring the chariot into Gokula, after rolling in the dust, he again mounted it, for it is mentioned in verse 34 that again he dismounted to bow to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
In relating how Akrūra rolled in the foot dust, Śukadeva praises Akrūra because of his intense bhakti. This is the goal for those having bodies. Otherwise the body is useless. “He put aside all pride, fear and lamentation.” This is a general description. In prema, such qualities are not actually present. Dambha means falsity. Lamentation is caused by separation from things one treasures. One experiences fear because of wicked people. If these are present, he could not roll on the ground. Thus it says that he gave these up. Or it is meant as an instruction. Giving up is recommended because of the wealth of prema.
Hareḥ means “of he who attracts the mind.” He absorbed himself in hearing, seeing and the symbols (liṅga). Remembering and chanting are also included and also serving as a messenger (sandeśāt).
Or the goal of the living entities is rolling on the earth in prema (iyān). What was his verbal service? It is chanting such as verse 26. Liṅga can also mean the deity form. Chanting however is the main process since he was filled with prema. Later, he mounted the chariot to bring it into Gokula. In verse 34 it is described that he then dismounted the chariot.