Text 23] The Residents of Jambiadvipa Offer Prayers 195
vatam—on the head of the devotees; bibharsi—You maintain; maém—
me; laksma—as an insignia on Your chest; varenya—O worshipable
one; madyaya—with deceit; kah—who; isvarasya—of the supremely
powerful controller; thitam—the desires; whitum—to understand by
reason and argument; vibhuh—is able; iti—thus.
TRANSLATION
O infallible one, Your lotus palm is the source of all benediction.
Therefore Your pure devotees worship it, and You very mercifully
place Your hand on their heads. I wish that You may also place
Your hand on My head, for although You already bear my insignia
of golden streaks on Your chest, I regard this honor as merely a
kind of false prestige for me. You show Your real mercy to Your
devotees, not to me. Of course, You are the supreme absolute con-
troller, and no one can understand Your motives.
PURPORT
In many places, the sdstras describe the Supreme Personality of
Godhead as being more inclined toward His devotees than toward His
wife, who always remains on His chest. In Srimad-Bhagavatam
(11.14.15) it is stated:
na tatha me priyatama
Gtma-yonir na sankarah
na ca sankarsano na Srir
naivatma ca yatha bhavan
Here Krsna plainlv savs that His devotees are more dear to Him than
Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Lord Sankarsana (the original cause of cre-
ation, the goddess of fortune or even His own Self. Elsewhere in Srimad-
Bhagavatam (10.9.20) Sukadeva Gosvami says,
nemam virifico na bhavo
na Srir apy anga sarhsraya
prasadam lebhire gopi
yat tat prapa vimuktidat
