Shloka 38
Vasudeva and Devakī Glorify Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; The Recovery of Devakī’s Six Sons from Sutala
स इन्द्रसेनो भगवत्पदाम्बुजं बिभ्रन्मुहु: प्रेमविभिन्नया धिया । उवाच हानन्दजलाकुलेक्षण: प्रहृष्टरोमा नृप गद्गदाक्षरम् ॥ ३८ ॥
sa indraseno bhagavat-padāmbujaṁ bibhran muhuḥ prema-vibhinnayā dhiyā uvāca hānanda-jalākulekṣaṇaḥ prahṛṣṭa-romā nṛpa gadgadākṣaram
Bali, der Bezwinger von Indras Heer, ergriff immer wieder die Lotosfüße der Herren und sprach aus einem Herzen, das in intensiver Liebe zerschmolz. O König, seine Augen füllten sich mit Tränen der Verzückung, seine Haare stellten sich auf, und er begann mit stockenden Worten zu sprechen.
Śrīla Prabhupāda describes this scene as follows in Kṛṣṇa: “King Bali was feeling such transcendental pleasure that he repeatedly grasped the Lord’s lotus feet and kept them on his chest; and sometimes he put them on the top of his head, and in this way he was feeling transcendental bliss. Tears of love and affection began to flow down from his eyes, and all his bodily hairs stood on end.”
FAQs
This verse describes classic signs of advanced devotion—tears of bliss, hairs standing on end, and a choked voice—arising when the devotee repeatedly holds the Lord’s lotus feet in the heart.
Because his mind was overwhelmed and “broken open” by prema (pure love), and remembrance of Bhagavān’s lotus feet triggered intense devotional ecstasy.
Practice steady remembrance of the Lord’s lotus feet through nāma-japa, prayer, and hearing Bhāgavatam; genuine emotion is not forced but arises naturally from sincere, repeated devotion.