(1)
āmāra samāna hīna nāhi e saṁsāre
asthira hañāchi paḍi’ bhava-pārāvāre
In this mundane world there is none as fallen as I. Becoming restless, I have fallen into the ocean of material existence.
(2)
kula-devī yogamāyā more kṛpā kari’
āvaraṇa saṁhāribe kabe viśvodarī
O family-deity Yogamāyā, O mother of the universe, when will you show mercy to me and remove this covering of illusion?*
*Translator’s Note: Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s family deity (kula-devī) was Ulā-cāṇḍi, or Goddess Durgā. Herein, he is seeing his family deity from a different angle – not as Mahāmāyā, but as Yogamāyā.
(3)
śunechi āgame vede mahimā tomāra
śrī-kṛṣṇa-vimukhe bāndhi’ karā-o saṁsāra
I have heard from the Āgamas and the Vedas of your glories. You bind those who are averse to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the world of birth and death.
(4)
śrī-kṛṣṇa-sāmmukhya yāra bhāgya-krame haya
tāre mukti diyā kara aśoka abhaya
Those who, by fortune, attain a disposition favourable toward Śrī Kṛṣṇa – upon them you bestow liberation, making them free from sorrow and fear.*
*Medhas says in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa:
tatra mūlā vicāryā kārya-yoga-nidrā jagat-pateḥ
mahā-māyā hareś caitas taro saṁmohayate jagat
saiṣā prasannā varadā nṛṇāṁ bhavati muktaye
In this matter, the essential point to be understood is the Lord of the universe’s yogic sleep (yoga-nidrā), which is the root cause of creation. That Mahā-māyā of Hari deludes the entire world within the mind. But when she becomes pleased, she grants boons to human beings, leading them to liberation.
(5)
e dāse jananī kari’ akaitava dayā
vṛndāvane deha’ sthāna tumi yogamāyā
O Mother, please show causeless, non-deceptive mercy to this servant. O Yogamāyā, give him a place in Vṛndāvana.
(6)
tomāke laṅghi’ kathā jīva kṛṣṇa pāya
kṛṣṇa-rasa prakaṭila tomāra kṛpāya
How can a jīva attain Kṛṣṇa by transgressing you? It is by your mercy that the taste of kṛṣṇa-rasa becomes manifest.
(7)
tumi kṛṣṇa-sahacarī jagata-jananī
tumi dekhāile more kṛṣṇa-cintāmaṇi
You are the companion of Kṛṣṇa and the mother of the universe. You have revealed to me the cintāmaṇi jewel of Kṛṣṇa.
(8)
niṣkapaṭa hañā mātā cāo mora pāne
vaiṣṇava-viśvāsa bāḍhuka prati-kṣaṇe
O Mother, kindly look upon me without duplicity. May my faith in the Vaiṣṇavas increase at every moment.
(9)
vaiṣṇava-caraṇa vinā bhava-pārāvāra
bhaktivinoda nāre haibāre pāra
Without the shelter of the Vaiṣṇavas’ feet, Bhaktivinoda has no power to cross the ocean of material existence.*
*Translator’s Note: The earlier version of this verse is:
vaiṣṇava-caraṇa vinā bhavābdhi uddhāra
kabhu nā haite pare durjana kedāra
Without the shelter of the feet of a Vaiṣṇava, there is never deliverance from the ocean of material existence — so says the wicked Kedāra.