SB 5.3.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अथ कथञ्चित्स्खलनक्षुत्पतनजृम्भणदुरवस्थानादिषु विवशानां न: स्मरणाय ज्वरमरणदशायामपि सकलकश्मलनिरसनानि तव गुणकृतनामधेयानि वचनगोचराणि भवन्तु ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

atha kathaṣcit skhalana-kṣut-patana-jṛmbhaṇa-duravasthānādiṣu vivaśānāṁ naḥ smaraṇāya jvara-maraṇa-daśāyām api sakala-kaśmala-nirasanāni tava guṇa-kṛta-nāmadheyāni vacana-gocarāṇi bhavantu.

Synonyms

atha — still ; kathaṣcit — somehow or other ; skhalana — stumbling ; kṣut — hunger ; patana — falling down ; jṛmbhaṇa — yawning ; duravasthāna — because of being placed in an undesirable position ; ādiṣu — and so on ; vivaśānām — unable ; naḥ — of ourselves ; smaraṇāya — to remember ; jvara — maraṇa — daśāyām — in the case of having a high fever at the time of death ; api — also ; sakala — all ; kaśmala — sins ; nirasanāni — which can dispel ; tava — Your ; guṇa — attributes ; kṛta — activities ; nāmadheyāni — names ; vacana — gocarāṇi — possible to be uttered ; bhavantu — let them become .

Translation

Dear Lord, we may not be able to remember Your name, form and qualities due to stumbling, hunger, falling down, yawning or being in a miserable diseased condition at the time of death when there is a high fever. We therefore pray unto You, O Lord, for You are very affectionate to Your devotees. Please help us remember You and utter Your holy names, attributes and activities, which can dispel all the reactions of our sinful lives.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

May we chant your names describing your qualities, which destroy all sins at the time of death, in order to help us remember you, who are unable to remember you while stumbling, suffering hunger, falling down, yawning, or suffering calamity! Even if we have unsteady, dull minds, let us think of you. So that persons like us who cannot remember you may remember you, may your names be available to us.

Purport

The real success in life is ante nārāyaṇa-smṛti — remembering the holy name, attributes, activities and form of the Lord at the time of death. Although we may be engaged in the Lord’s devotional service in the temple, material conditions are so tough and inevitable that we may forget the Lord at the time of death due to a diseased condition or mental derangement. Therefore we should pray to the Lord to be able to remember His lotus feet without fail at the time of death, when we are in such a precarious condition. In this regard, one may also see Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.2.9-10 and 14-15).