Shloka 15
Uttaṅka’s Petition for Madayantī’s Divine Earrings (Maṇikuṇḍala) — Agreement, Proof, and Vigilance
उत्तडुक उवाच भवद्गतेन मनसा भवत्प्रियचिकीर्षया । भवद्धक्तिगतेनेह भवद्धावानुगेन च
uttaḍuka uvāca: bhavad-gatena manasā bhavat-priya-cikīrṣayā | bhavad-bhakti-gateneha bhavad-dhāvānugena ca ||
Uttaḍuka berkata: “Wahai Guru yang mulia! Fikiranku sentiasa terpaut pada tuan, dengan hasrat melakukan apa yang menyenangkan tuan. Dengan bakti hanya kepada tuan, aku tetap tinggal di sini berkhidmat, mengikuti tuan dengan keterikatan yang teguh. Tenggelam dalam pengabdian kepada tuan, aku tidak mengejar kenikmatan duniawi, bahkan kedatangan usia tua pun tidak kusadari. Walaupun seratus tahun telah berlalu sejak aku tinggal di sini, tuan masih belum mengizinkan aku pulang ke rumah.”
उत्तडुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Single-pointed devotion expressed as sustained service: the speaker claims that dedication to the revered person (guru/elder) can eclipse worldly pleasures and even the awareness of time and aging, but also implies an ethical need for proper closure—permission to return home after fulfilling service.
Uttaḍuka addresses his superior, explaining that he has spent a very long time (said to be a hundred years) serving with unwavering devotion and without seeking worldly comforts, and he laments that he has not yet been granted leave to go back home.