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 Lord, great souls—even Śiva, the lord of Umā—yearn to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet to destroy the darkness of ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I will give up my life-breath, made feeble by severe vows and austerities; then, after striving through hundreds of births, I may perhaps attain Your grace.
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.