Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 43
Mucukunda’s Departure; Jarāsandha’s Pursuit; Prelude to Rukmiṇī’s Abduction
Rukmiṇī’s Message Begins
यस्याङ्घ्रिपङ्कजरज:स्नपनं महान्तो वाञ्छन्त्युमापतिरिवात्मतमोऽपहत्यै । यर्ह्यम्बुजाक्ष न लभेय भवत्प्रसादं जह्यामसून्व्रतकृशान् शतजन्मभि: स्यात् ॥ ४३ ॥
yasyāṅghri-paṅkaja-rajaḥ-snapanaṁ mahānto vāñchanty umā-patir ivātma-tamo-’pahatyai yarhy ambujākṣa na labheya bhavat-prasādaṁ jahyām asūn vrata-kṛśān śata-janmabhiḥ syāt
O lotus-eyed one, great souls like Lord Śiva hanker to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet and thereby destroy their ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavor, I may obtain Your mercy.
The divine Rukmiṇī’s extraordinary dedication to Śrī Kṛṣṇa is possible only on the spiritual platform, not in the fragile world of mundane affection.
FAQs
This verse says that great souls long to bathe in the dust of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet because it destroys the heart’s inner darkness (ātma-tamaḥ), indicating profound purification through devotion.
Rukmiṇī cites Umāpati (Śiva) as an example of a great soul who desires Kṛṣṇa’s foot-dust for inner purification, strengthening her appeal that Kṛṣṇa’s mercy is sought even by the highest devotees.
Cultivate humble dependence on divine grace—through sincere prayer, remembrance, and devotional practice—seeing inner clarity and freedom from negativity as the real fruit of bhakti.