Shloka 45
Vasudeva and Devakī Glorify Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; The Recovery of Devakī’s Six Sons from Sutala
तन्न: प्रसीद निरपेक्षविमृग्ययुष्मत्- पादारविन्दधिषणान्यगृहान्धकूपात् । निष्क्रम्य विश्वशरणाङ्घ्रयुपलब्धवृत्ति: शान्तो यथैक उत सर्वसखैश्चरामि ॥ ४५ ॥
tan naḥ prasīda nirapekṣa-vimṛgya-yuṣmat pādāravinda-dhiṣaṇānya-gṛhāndha-kūpāt niṣkramya viśva-śaraṇāṅghry-upalabdha-vṛttiḥ śānto yathaika uta sarva-sakhaiś carāmi
ข้าแต่พระผู้เป็นเจ้า โปรดเมตตาข้าพเจ้าให้พ้นจากบ่อมืดแห่งชีวิตครอบครัว—เรือนลวงนี้—เพื่อได้พึ่งพิงแท้จริงที่พระบาทดอกบัวของพระองค์ ซึ่งฤๅษีผู้ไม่หวังสิ่งตอบแทนแสวงหาเสมอ แล้วข้าพเจ้าจะสงบใจ เดินทางได้อย่างเสรี ทั้งลำพังหรือร่วมกับมหาสาธุผู้เป็นมิตรของสรรพชีวิต โดยอาศัยร่มไม้ผู้เอื้อเฟื้อแก่โลกเป็นปัจจัยยังชีพ
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī states that in response to Bali’s prayers, Śrī Kṛṣṇa invited him to choose some benediction, and in this verse Bali submits his request. Bali begs to be relieved of the entanglement of material life so he will be free to leave home and wander in the wilderness, with only the Lord’s lotus feet as his shelter. For his subsistence, Bali proposes, he will take help from the forest trees, at whose feet are fruits to eat and leaves to sleep on, for all to use as needed. And if the Lord is especially merciful to him, Bali hopes, he will not have to wander alone but will be allowed to travel in the company of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s devotees.
FAQs
In this verse, household attachment is compared to a blind well because one can fall into it and remain trapped—absorbed in material duties and desires—without seeing the higher goal of taking shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet.
Akrūra acknowledges that Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are sought even by desireless sages, and he begs grace because real freedom and peace come only by fixing one’s mind on those feet and leaving material entanglement.
Practice steady devotion—regular hearing, chanting, and remembrance of Kṛṣṇa—while reducing obsessive attachment to status and possessions, so that one’s peace and “sustenance” come from spiritual shelter rather than constant material anxiety.