तत: सप्त ऋषयस्तत्प्रभावाभिज्ञा यां ननु तपसआत्यन्तिकी सिद्धिरेतावती भगवति सर्वात्मनि वासुदेवेऽनुपरतभक्तियोगलाभेनैवोपेक्षितान्यार्थात्मगतयो मुक्तिमिवागतां मुमुक्षव इव सबहुमानमद्यापि जटाजूटैरुद्वहन्ति ॥ ३ ॥
tatah sapta rsayas tat prabhavabhijna yam nanu tapasa atyantiki siddhir etavati bhagavati sarvatmani vasudeve ’nuparata-bhakti-yoga-labhenaivopeksitanyarthatma-gatayo muktim ivagatam mumuksava iva sabahu-manam adyapi jata-jutair udvahanti.
- tatah
- thereafter
- sapta rsayah
- the seven great sages (beginning with Marici)
- tat prabhava-abhijnah
- who knew very well the influence of the Ganges River
- yam
- this Ganges water
- nanu
- indeed
- tapasah
- of our austerities
- atyantiki
- the ultimate
- siddhih
- perfection
- etavati
- this much
- bhagavati
- the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- sarva-atmani
- in the all-pervading
- vasudeve
- Krsna
- anuparata
- continuous
- bhakti-yoga
- of the mystic process of devotional service
- labhena
- simply by achieving this platform
- eva
- certainly
- upeksita
- neglected
- anya
- other
- artha-atma-gatayah
- all other means of perfection (namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation)
- muktim
- liberation from material bondage
- iva
- like
- agatam
- obtained
- mumuksavah
- persons desiring liberation
- iva
- like
- sa-bahu-manam
- with great honor
- adya api
- even now
- jata-jutaih
- with matted locks of hair
- udvahanti
- they carry
The seven great sages (Marici, Vasistha, Atri and so on) reside on planes beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Ganges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts of hair on their heads. They have concluded that this is the ultimate wealth, the perfection of all austerities, and the best means of prosecuting transcendental life. Having obtained uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they neglect all other beneficial processes like religion, economic development, sense gratification and even merging into the Supreme. Just as jnanis think that merging into the existence of the Lord is the highest truth, these seven exalted personalities accept devotional service as the perfection of life.