Shloka 49
The Kingdom of God (Vaikuṇṭha) and the Curse of Jaya and Vijaya
कामं भव: स्ववृजिनैर्निरयेषु न: स्ता- च्चेतोऽलिवद्यदि नु ते पदयो रमेत । वाचश्च नस्तुलसिवद्यदि तेऽङ्घ्रि शोभा: पूर्येत ते गुणगणैर्यदि कर्णरन्ध्र: ॥ ४९ ॥
kāmaṁ bhavaḥ sva-vṛjinair nirayeṣu naḥ stāc ceto ’livad yadi nu te padayo rameta vācaś ca nas tulasivad yadi te ’ṅghri-śobhāḥ pūryeta te guṇa-gaṇair yadi karṇa-randhraḥ
O Lord, even if by our own sins we must be born in hellish conditions, let our minds, like bees, delight in Your lotus feet. Let our words beautify Your feet like tulasi leaves offered there, and let our ears be ever filled with the chanting of Your transcendental qualities.
The four sages now offer their humility to the Personality of Godhead because of their having been haughty in cursing two other devotees of the Lord. Jaya and Vijaya, the two doorkeepers who checked them from entering the Vaikuṇṭha planet, were certainly offenders, but as Vaiṣṇavas, the four sages should not have cursed them in anger. After the incident, they became conscious that they had done wrong by cursing the devotees of the Lord, and they prayed to the Lord that even in the hellish condition of life their minds might not be distracted from the engagement of service to the lotus feet of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Those who are devotees of the Lord are not afraid of any condition of life, provided there is constant engagement in the service of the Lord. It is said of the nārāyaṇa-para, or those who are devotees of Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, na kutaścana bibhyati ( Bhāg. 6.17.28 ). They are not afraid of entering a hellish condition, for since they are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, heaven or hell is the same for them. In material life both heaven and hell are one and the same because they are material; in either place there is no engagement in the Lord’s service. Therefore those who are engaged in the service of the Lord see no distinction between heaven and hell; it is only the materialists who prefer one to the other.
FAQs
This verse teaches that even suffering or hellish conditions become insignificant if the mind lovingly rests on the Lord’s lotus feet, like a bee drawn to nectar.
After beholding the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha, the Kumāras express pure devotion—valuing remembrance of His feet, glorifying Him with speech, and hearing His qualities above any material destination.
Regularly listen to Bhagavatam/Krishna-kathā and speak uplifting words of devotion; this redirects attention from anxiety and wrongdoing toward steady inner devotion.