SB 6.11.18 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अथो हरे मे कुलिशेन वीर हर्ता प्रमथ्यैव शिरो यदीह । तत्रानृणो भूतबलिं विधाय मनस्विनां पादरज: प्रपत्स्ये ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

atho hare me kuliśena vīra hartā pramathyaiva śiro yadīha tatrānṛṇo bhūta-baliṁ vidhāya manasvināṁ pāda-rajaḥ prapatsye

Synonyms

atho — otherwise ; hare — O King Indra ; me — of me ; kuliśena — by your thunderbolt ; vīra — O great hero ; hartā — you cut off ; pramathya — destroying my army ; eva — certainly ; śiraḥ — head ; yadi — if ; iha — in this battle ; tatra — in that case ; anṛṇaḥ — relieved of all debts in this material world ; bhūta — balim — a presentation for all living entities ; vidhāya — arranging ; manasvinām — of great sages like Nārada Muni ; pāda — rajaḥ — the dust of the lotus feet ; prapatsye — I shall achieve .

Translation

But if in this battle you cut off my head with your thunderbolt and kill my soldiers, O Indra, O great hero, I shall take great pleasure in offering my body to other living entities [such as jackals and vultures]. I shall thus be relieved of my obligations to the reactions of my karma, and my fortune will be to receive the dust from the lotus feet of great devotees like Nārada Muni.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O great hero Indra! If you destroy my army and cut off my head in this battle, I will be relieved of my debt and, making an offering of my body to the jackals, I will attain the dust of the lotus feet of the great devotees. Giving up my material body as an offering to the jackals, I will be free of my debt and will attain the dust of the lotus feet of devotees like Nārada.

Purport

Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings: ei chaya gosāṣi yāra, mui tāra dāsa tāṅ’ sabāra pada-reṇu mora paṣca-grāsa “I am the servant of the Six Gosvāmīs, and the dust of their lotus feet provides my five kinds of food.” A Vaiṣṇava always desires the dust of the lotus feet of previous ācāryas and Vaiṣṇavas. Vṛtrāsura was certain that he would be killed in the battle with Indra, because this was the desire of Lord Viṣṇu. He was prepared for death because he knew that after his death he was destined to return home, back to Godhead. This is a great destination, and it is achieved by the grace of a Vaiṣṇava. Chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: no one has ever gone back to Godhead without being favored by a Vaiṣṇava. In this verse, therefore, we find the words manasvināṁ pāda-rajaḥ prapatsye: “I shall receive the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees.” The word manasvinām refers to great devotees who always think of Kṛṣṇa. They are always peaceful, thinking of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore they are called dhīra. The best example of such a devotee is Nārada Muni. If one receives the dust of the lotus feet of a manasvī, a great devotee, he certainly returns home, back to Godhead.