SB 4.21.48
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 48
- vīra-varya pitaḥ pṛthvyāḥ
- samāḥ sañjīva śāśvatīḥ
- yasyedṛśy acyute bhaktiḥ
- sarva-lokaika-bhartari
SYNONYMS
vīra-varya — the best of the warriors; pitaḥ — the father; pṛthvyāḥ — of the globe; samāḥ — equal to in years; sañjīva — live; śāśvatīḥ — forever; yasya — whose; īdṛśī — like this; acyute — unto the Supreme; bhaktiḥ — devotion; sarva — all; loka — planets; eka — one; bhartari — maintainer.
TRANSLATION
All the saintly brāhmaṇas thus addressed Pṛthu Mahārāja: O best of the warriors, O father of this globe, may you be blessed with a long life, for you have great devotion to the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the master of all the universe.
PURPORT
Pṛthu Mahārāja was blessed by the saintly persons present at the meeting to have a long life because of his unflinching faith and his devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although one's duration of life is limited in years, if by chance one becomes a devotee, he surpasses the duration prescribed for his life; indeed, sometimes yogīs die according to their wish, not according to the laws of material nature. Another feature of a devotee is that he lives forever because of his infallible devotion to the Lord. It is said, kīrtir yasya sa jīvati: "One who leaves a good reputation behind him lives forever." Specifically, one who is reputed as a devotee of the Lord undoubtedly lives forever. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was talking with Rāmānanda Rāya, Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired, "What is the greatest reputation?" Rāmānanda Rāya replied that a person who is reputed as a great devotee has the greatest reputation, for a devotee not only lives forever in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, but by his reputation he also lives forever within this material world.