Devanagari
भक्त्याहमेकया ग्राह्य: श्रद्धयात्मा प्रिय: सताम् ।
भक्ति: पुनाति मन्निष्ठा श्वपाकानपि सम्भवात् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ
śraddhayātmā priyaḥ satām
bhaktiḥ punāti man-niṣṭhā
śva-pākān api sambhavāt
Synonyms
bhaktyā
—
by devotional service
;
aham
—
I
;
ekayā
—
unalloyed
;
grāhyaḥ
—
am to be obtained
;
śraddhayā
—
by faith
;
ātmā
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
priyaḥ
—
the object of love
;
satām
—
of the devotees
;
bhaktiḥ
—
pure devotional service
;
punāti
—
purifies
;
mat
—
niṣṭhā — fixing Me as the only goal
;
śva
—
pākān — dog-eaters
;
api
—
even
;
sambhavāt
—
from the contamination of low birth .
Translation
Only by practicing unalloyed devotional service with full faith in Me can one obtain Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am naturally dear to My devotees, who take Me as the only goal of their loving service. By engaging in such pure devotional service, even the dog-eaters can purify themselves from the contamination of their low birth.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Only by bhakti with full faith can the devotees obtain me, Paramātmā, the object of love. Bhakti fixed in me purifies even a dog eater of his low birth.
The word yathā in the previous verse may indicate to some people that other processes also lead to attainment of the Lord, though they are not as effective. This verse counters that idea. I am obtained by bhakti alone (ekayā), not by the other processes. Though it is heard that by jṣāna one can attain Brahman, it should be understood that the secondary bhakti within jṣāna gives the attainment of Brahman. Thus jṣāna and karma cannot produce attainment of the Lord. They are useful only in destroying sin. But they are not even as powerful in destroying sin as bhakti is. This is expressed in the last two lines of the verse. Bhakti purifies a dog eater of his low birth (sambhavāt). This is the meaning given by Śrīdhara Svāmī. This means that bhakti destroys the prārabdha sins (effects of karma destined to be experienced in this life).
Purport
Sambhavāt
indicates
jāti-doṣāt,
or the pollution of low birth.
Jāti-doṣa
does not refer to mundane social, economic or professional status, but rather to one’s degree of spiritual enlightenment. All around the world, many people are born into rich and powerful families, but they often acquire abominable habits that are part of their so-called family tradition. However, even unfortunate persons who are taught from birth to engage in sinful activities can at once be purified by the potency of pure devotional service. Such service must have Lord Kṛṣṇa as the only goal (
man-niṣṭhā
), must be rendered with full faith (
śraddhayā
), and must be unalloyed, or without any selfish motivation (
ekayā
).