Text 31] Dhruva Maharaja Returns Home 403

aho—oh,; bata—alas; mama—my ;andtmyam—bodily consciousness; manda-
bhagyasya—of the unfortunate; pas yata—just see; bhava—material existence;
chidah—of the Lord who can cut off; pada-miilam—the lotus feet; gatva—
having approached; yace—I prayed for; yat—that which; antavat—perishable.

TRANSLATION

Alas, just look at me! I am so unfortunate. I approached the lotus feet
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can immediately cut the
chain of the repetition of birth and death, but still, out of my foolishness,
I prayed for things which are perishable.

PURPORT

The word andtmyam is very significant in this verse. Atmd means the soul,
and andtmya means without any conception of the soul. Srila Rsabhadeva
instructed his sons that unless a human being comes to the point of under-
standing the atma, or spiritual position, whatever he does is ignorance, and
this brings only defeat in his life. Dhruva Maharaja regrets his unfortunate
position, for although he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
who is always able to give His devotee the highest benediction of cessation
of the repetition of birth and death, which is impossible for any demigod
to offer, he foolishly wanted something perishable. When Hiranyakagipu
asked immortality from Lord Brahma, Lord Brahma expressed his inability
to offer such a benediction because he himself is not immortal; therefore
immortality or complete cessation of the chain of repeated birth and death
can be offered by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead Himself,
not by others. Harim vind na srtim taranti. It is said that without the blessings
of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one can stop the continu-
ous chain of birth and death within this material world. Therefore the Su-
preme Lord is also called bhava-cchida. The Vaisnava philosophy in the pro-
cess of Krgna consciousness prohibits the devotee from all kinds of material
aspirations. A Vaisnava devotee should always be anydabhildsita-siinya,
free from all material aspirations for the results of fruitive activities or em-
piric philosophical speculation. Dhruva Maharaja was actually initiated by
Narada Muni, the greatest Vaignava, in the chanting of om namo bhagavate
vasudevaya. This mantra is a visnu-mantra, for by practicing the chanting
of this mantra one is elevated to the Visnuloka. Dhruva Maharaja regrets
that although he was initiated in the visnu-mantra by a Vaignava, he still
aspired for material benefits. That was another cause for lamentation. Al-
though he got the result of the visnu-mantra by the causeless mercy of the
Lord, he lamented how foolish he was to strive for material benefits while
