Shloka 14
Akrūra’s Prayers (Akrūra-stuti): The Lord as Cause of Causes, Virāṭ, and the Goal of All Paths
अग्निर्मुखं तेऽवनिरङ्घ्रिरीक्षणं सूर्यो नभो नाभिरथो दिश: श्रुति: । द्यौ: कं सुरेन्द्रास्तव बाहवोऽर्णवा: कुक्षिर्मरुत् प्राणबलं प्रकल्पितम् ॥ १३ ॥ रोमाणि वृक्षौषधय: शिरोरुहा मेघा: परस्यास्थिनखानि तेऽद्रय: । निमेषणं रात्र्यहनी प्रजापति- र्मेढ्रस्तु वृष्टिस्तव वीर्यमिष्यते ॥ १४ ॥
agnir mukhaṁ te ’vanir aṅghrir īkṣaṇaṁ sūryo nabho nābhir atho diśaḥ śrutiḥ dyauḥ kaṁ surendrās tava bāhavo ’rṇavāḥ kukṣir marut prāṇa-balaṁ prakalpitam
Fire is Your face; the earth, Your feet; the sun, Your eye; and the sky, Your navel. The directions are Your hearing, the lords of the devas Your arms, and the oceans Your belly. Heaven is Your head, and the wind is Your prāṇa and strength. Trees and herbs are the hairs of Your body, clouds the hair upon Your head, and mountains—O Supreme—Your bones and nails. The passing of day and night is the blinking of Your eyes; Prajāpati is Your generative organ, and rain is praised as Your sacred seed.
FAQs
In Akrura’s prayers, the cosmos is described as the Lord’s body—fire as His mouth, earth as His feet, sun as His eye—teaching that all elements rest in and depend on Him.
While traveling to bring Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, Akrura’s devotion overflows; he recognizes Krishna as the Supreme and offers Vedic-style cosmic praise to glorify His all-pervading lordship.
It trains the mind to see the sacred in all of nature—reducing ego and anxiety by remembering a higher order and offering daily experiences back to God in gratitude.