Devanagari
न ह्यम्मयानि तीर्थानि न देवा मृच्छिलामया: ।
ते पुनन्त्युरुकालेन दर्शनादेव साधव: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
na hy am-mayāni tīrthāni
na devā mṛc-chilā-mayāḥ
te punanty uru-kālena
darśanād eva sādhavaḥ
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
hi
—
indeed
;
ap
—
mayāni — made of water
;
tīrthāni
—
holy places
;
na
—
such is not the case
;
devāḥ
—
deities
;
mṛt
—
of earth
;
śilā
—
and stone
;
mayāḥ
—
made
;
te
—
they
;
punanti
—
purify
;
uru
—
kālena — after a long time
;
darśanāt
—
by being seen
;
eva
—
only
;
sādhavaḥ
—
saints .
Translation
No one can deny that there are holy places with sacred rivers, or that the demigods appear in deity forms made of earth and stone. But these purify the soul only after a long time, whereas saintly persons purify just by being seen.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
No one can deny that there are holy places with sacred rivers, or that the demigods appear in deity forms made of earth and stone. But these purify the soul only after a long time, whereas saintly persons purify just by being seen.
KB 10.48.31
“One can take advantage of a place of pilgrimage only after going there, and worshiping a particular demigod involves waiting a long time for the fulfillment of one’s desire, but saintly persons like you, My dear Akrūra, can immediately fulfill all the desires of a devotee.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"Are not the holy waters worthy of worship?"
Shaking my head I say "No, though certainly the holy waters and the devas purify, that is very different from the purification through the devotees. The holy waters give purification by prolonged service, but the devotees give purification just by seeing them."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
To serve devotees directly is not the same as serving ordinary devatās directly though even that is rare. Serving deity forms of the devatās is even less valuable than serving them directly. And serving ordinary tīrthas is similar. The deity forms of the devatās and the deities of the tīrthas purify a person of impurities of the heart only after a long time. Use of the masculine (te) instead of neuter form (tāni) is poetic license. The first moment, not even the second moment, of seeing devotees purifies one immediately.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
“Should the devatās not be worshipped?” The meaning is this. The deity forms made of stone they are worshippable, what then to speak of the shining forms made with excellence. But in truth the devotees should be served more because the holy places purify the heart of sinful contaminations only after serving a long time.
To serve devotees directly is not the same as serving ordinary devatās directly though even that is rare. Serving deity forms of the devatās is even less valuable than serving them directly. And serving ordinary tīrthas is similar. The deity forms of the devatās and the deities of the tīrthas purify a person of impurities of the heart only after a long time. Use of the masculine (te) instead of neuter form (tāni) is poetic license. The first moment, not even the second moment, of seeing devotees purifies one immediately.