Devanagari
सञ्चिन्तयेद्भगवतश्चरणारविन्दं
वज्राङ्कुशध्वजसरोरुहलाञ्छनाढ्यम् ।
उत्तुङ्गरक्तविलसन्नखचक्रवाल-
ज्योत्स्नाभिराहतमहद्धृदयान्धकारम् ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
saṣcintayed bhagavataś caraṇāravindaṁ
vajrāṅkuśa-dhvaja-saroruha-lāṣchanāḍhyam
uttuṅga-rakta-vilasan-nakha-cakravāla-
jyotsnābhir āhata-mahad-dhṛdayāndhakāram
Synonyms
saṣcintayet
—
he should concentrate
;
bhagavataḥ
—
of the Lord
;
caraṇa
—
aravindam — on the lotus feet
;
vajra
—
thunderbolt
;
aṅkuśa
—
goad (rod for driving elephants)
;
dhvaja
—
banner
;
saroruha
—
lotus
;
lāṣchana
—
marks
;
āḍhyam
—
adorned with
;
uttuṅga
—
prominent
;
rakta
—
red
;
vilasat
—
brilliant
;
nakha
—
nails
;
cakravāla
—
the circle of the moon
;
jyotsnābhiḥ
—
with splendor
;
āhata
—
dispelled
;
mahat
—
thick
;
hṛdaya
—
of the heart
;
andhakāram
—
darkness .
Translation
The devotee should first concentrate his mind on the Lord’s lotus feet, which are adorned with the marks of a thunderbolt, a goad, a banner and a lotus. The splendor of their beautiful ruby nails resembles the orb of the moon and dispels the thick gloom of one’s heart.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One should meditate on the Lord’s lotus foot marked with a thunderbolt, elephant goad, flag, and lotus, which destroys the great darkness of the heart with the brilliance of the array of his gleaming, raised, red toenails.
Meditation on the limbs beginning from the feet is now described. One should meditate on the elephant goad below the little toe of the right foot. This foot is seen by the devotees, as Kṛṣṇa stands in the pose with three bends beneath a desire tree. Below the elephant goad is a thunder bolt. Below the next toe is a lotus and below the lotus is a flag. Below the big toe is a barley corn, a cakra and other items. The foot is adorned (āḍhyam) with such marks (lāṣchana).
Purport
The Māyāvādī says that because one is unable to fix his mind on the impersonal existence of the Absolute Truth, one can imagine any form he likes and fix his mind on that imaginary form; but such a process is not recommended here. Imagination is always imagination and results only in further imagination.
A concrete description of the eternal form of the Lord is given here. The Lord’s sole is depicted with distinctive lines resembling a thunderbolt, a flag, a lotus flower and a goad. The luster of His toenails, which are brilliantly prominent, resembles the light of the moon. If a
yogī
looks upon the marks of the Lord’s sole and on the blazing brilliance of His nails, then he can be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence. This liberation is not achieved by mental speculation, but by seeing the light emanating from the lustrous toenails of the Lord. In other words, one has to fix his mind first on the lotus feet of the Lord if he wants to be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence.