Shloka 27
Satī at Dakṣa’s Sacrifice: Condemnation of Blasphemy and Voluntary Departure by Yoga-Fire
तत: स्वभर्तुश्चरणाम्बुजासवं जगद्गुरोश्चिन्तयती न चापरम् । ददर्श देहो हतकल्मष: सती सद्य: प्रजज्वाल समाधिजाग्निना ॥ २७ ॥
tataḥ sva-bhartuś caraṇāmbujāsavaṁ jagad-guroś cintayatī na cāparam dadarśa deho hata-kalmaṣaḥ satī sadyaḥ prajajvāla samādhijāgninā
Then Satī thought of nothing else, but only the nectar of the lotus feet of her husband—Śiva, the Jagad-guru, the supreme spiritual master of the world. Thus all impurity was destroyed, and she saw her body at once blaze forth in the fire born of samādhi.
Satī at once thought of the lotus feet of her husband, Lord Śiva, who is one of the three great personalities of Godhead in charge of the management of the material world, and simply by meditating on his lotus feet she derived such great pleasure that she forgot everything in relationship with her body. This pleasure was certainly material because she gave up her body for another body that was also material, but by this example we can appreciate the devotee’s pleasure in concentrating his mind and attention on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. There is such transcendental bliss in simply meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord that one can forget everything but the Lord’s transcendental form. This is the perfection of yogic samādhi, or ecstasy. In this verse it is stated that by such meditation she became free from all contamination. What was that contamination? The contamination was her concept of the body derived from Dakṣa, but she forgot that bodily relationship in trance. The purport is that when one becomes free from all bodily relationships within this material world and simply places himself in the position of an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord, it is to be understood that all the contamination of his material attachment has been burned by the blazing fires of transcendental ecstasy. It is not necessary for one to manifest a blazing fire externally, for if one forgets all his bodily relationships within this material world and becomes situated in his spiritual identity, it is said that one has been freed from all material contamination by the blazing fire of yogic samādhi, or ecstasy. That is the topmost perfection of yoga. If one keeps his bodily relationships within this material world and poses himself as a great yogī, he is not a bona fide yogī. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.15) it is stated, yat-kīrtanaṁ yat-smaraṇaṁ. Simply by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by remembering the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, simply by offering prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is immediately freed from material contamination, the material bodily concept, by the blazing fire of ecstasy. This effect takes place immediately, without a second’s delay.
FAQs
This verse describes how Satī’s impurities were destroyed and her body ignited by the “fire of samādhi,” indicating that deep, one-pointed spiritual absorption can burn contamination and karma.
Because Śiva is described here as jagad-guru, Satī fixed her mind exclusively on the nectar of his lotus feet, entering trance and leaving her body in a state of purified consciousness.
Practice one-pointed remembrance of the Lord and guru principle—reducing distractions—so that steady meditation and devotion gradually cleanse the mind of impurities.