Devanagari
भगवत उरुविक्रमाङ्घ्रिशाखा-
नखमणिचन्द्रिकया निरस्ततापे ।
हृदि कथमुपसीदतां पुन: स
प्रभवति चन्द्र इवोदितेऽर्कताप: ॥ ५४ ॥
Verse text
bhagavata uru-vikramāṅghri-śākhā-
nakha-maṇi-candrikayā nirasta-tāpe
hṛdi katham upasīdatāṁ punaḥ sa
prabhavati candra ivodite ’rka-tāpaḥ
Synonyms
bhagavataḥ
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
uru
—
vikrama — which have performed great heroic deeds
;
aṅghri
—
of the lotus feet
;
śākhā
—
of the toes
;
nakha
—
of the nails
;
maṇi
—
which are like jewels
;
candrikayā
—
by the moonshine
;
nirasta
—
tāpe — when the pain has been removed
;
hṛdi
—
in the hearts
;
katham
—
how indeed
;
upasīdatām
—
of those who are worshiping
;
punaḥ
—
again
;
saḥ
—
that pain
;
prabhavati
—
can have its effect
;
candre
—
when the moon
;
iva
—
just as
;
udite
—
risen
;
arka
—
of the sun
;
tāpaḥ
—
the burning heat .
Translation
How can the fire of material suffering continue to burn the hearts of those who worship the Supreme Lord? The Lord’s lotus feet have performed innumerable heroic deeds, and the beautiful nails on His toes resemble valuable jewels. The effulgence emanating from those nails resembles cooling moonshine, for it instantly relieves the suffering within the heart of the pure devotee, just as the appearance of the moon’s cooling light relieves the burning heat of the sun.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
How can the heat of material existence again arise in the hearts of those who worship the Lord, since the heat of lust is destroyed by the Lord’s heroic lotus feet, his toes, his toenails, his toe jewels and the soothing light from his feet? When the moon rises, the heat of the sun is dissipated.
If there is agitation of lust by seeking material enjoyment, the devotee will be disturbed. But such lust does not exist in the great devotees. How can the heat again arise in the hearts of persons who worship the Lord who has destroyed the heat of lust by his two heroic feet, by his toes, by his toe nails, by the jewels on his toes, by the cool rays emanating from those toes? When the moon rises the sun’s heat is destroyed.
Purport
When the moon rises, the expansion of its rays drives away the distress of the sun’s fierce heat. Similarly, the cooling rays emanating from the lotus nails of the Personality of Godhead’s lotus feet vanquish all distress for the Lord’s pure devotee. According to the Vaiṣṇava commentators it is to be understood from this verse that material lust, exemplified by uncontrolled sexual desire, is exactly like a blazing fire. The flames of this fire burn to ashes the peace and happiness of the conditioned soul, who perpetually wanders in 8,400,000 species of life, vainly struggling to extinguish this intolerable fire. The pure devotees of the Lord place the Lord’s cooling, jewellike lotus feet within their hearts, and thus all of the pain and suffering of material existence are extinguished.
The word
uru-vikramāṅghri
indicates that the Lord’s lotus feet are quite heroic. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is famous for His incarnation as Vāmana, the dwarf
brāhmaṇa,
who extended His beautiful toes up to the outer limits of the universe and perforated the universal shell, thus bringing the waters of the holy Ganges into the universe. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa was entering the city of Mathurā to challenge the demoniac King Kaṁsa and His entrance was impeded by a ferocious elephant named Kuvalayāpīḍa, Lord Kṛṣṇa kicked the elephant to death and peacefully entered the city gates. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are so exalted that the Vedic literatures state that the entire material manifestation rests beneath His lotus feet:
samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
(
Bhāg.
10.14.58
).