194. Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 18
opulences, but such opulences were not mayd-sukha. When a devotee ac-
quires unparalleled opulences, they are the direct gifts of the goddess of
fortune, who resides in the heart of Narayana.

The material opulences a person obtains by offering prayers to the
goddess Durga are temporary. As described in Bhagavd-gita (7.23), an-
tavat tu phalarh tesam tad bhavaty alpa-medhasdm: men of meager in-
telligence desire temporary happiness. We have actually seen that one of
the disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura wanted to enjoy the
property of his spiritual master, and the spiritual master, being merciful
toward him, gave him the temporary property, but not the power to
preach the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. That special
mercy of the power to preach is given to a devotee who does not want
anything material from his spiritual master but wants only to serve him.
The story of the demon Ravana illustrates this point. Although Ravana
tried to abduct the goddess of fortune Sitadevi from the custody of Lord
Ramacandra, he could not possibly do so. The Sitadevi he forcibly took
with him was not the original Sitadevi, but an expansion of maya, or
Durgadevi. As a result, instead of winning the favor of the real goddess
of fortune, Ravana and his whole family were vanquished by the power
of Durgadevi (srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sddhana-saktir eka).

TEXT 23
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Rast TAT ATA |
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sa tvam mamapy acyuta Sirsni vanditam
karaémbujam yat tvad-adhdyi sdtvatam
bibharsi mam laksma varenya mayaya
ka isvarasyehitam thitum vibhur iti

sah—that; tvam—You; mama—of me; api—also; acyuta—O infalli-
ble one; Sirsni—on the head; vanditam—worshiped; kara-ambujam—
Your lotus hand; yat—which; tvat—by You; adhdayi—placed; sdt-
