Padukasahasra 31

I take refuge in the sandal, the goddess herself, who is like supreme knowledge, / which the Teacher of the Universe, taking pity, bestows upon the wretched.

Even in another birth, O sandal, might I through faultless deeds become like those / who with humility present you at the appointed hour to the feet of the Lord of Raṅgam?

Time here brings endless transformations even to Brahmā and the rest, / as if [measuring] you; yet even now, O Śauri's sandal, / my mind does not turn to you as its faultless support.

While inside the treasury of Raṅgam there abides that effortless, easily reached treasure inhabited by Kamalā, / and while you are present to secure Him, O sandal, my mind seeks elsewhere!

Even if I, unsteady of mind, should fail to remember you, why should you yourself not remember me? / When her child takes eager delight in straying, what is the state of an affectionate mother, O Keśava's foot-protector?

O Mother, what sin of mine, concealing even Mukunda's compassion, could be greater than this: / that you, who firmly hold His feet under pretext of His walking, do not sport to urge Him [towards me]?

O golden foot-protector, you are intoxicated by savoring the nectar of the lotus feet of the enemy of Kaiṭabha; / otherwise, O goddess overflowing with compassion, how could you fail to hear the plaintive words of me who dwell beside you?

O Mother, if misfortunes still befall one who has cast his burden on Mukunda's feet through you, / would not your fame, dedicated to protecting the surrendered, feel shame, O golden footwear?

I am tormented, O foot-protector, by entering the holes of evil rich men, with terrible obstacles made by door-keepers who are like two-tongued serpents; / therefore, swiftly bring my desire to rest in you alone, the summit of imperishable treasure in that abode of Raṅgam!

For us who are bewildered in mirages created by an illusion, in the summer of the threefold afflictions, / you, O foot-protector, having touched the feet of Śauri, yourself stand firm as our ultimate human goal.

Bound by the unbreakable snare of sense-objects, wretched as we are, O foot-protector of Janārdana, / you who stand upon the path of the virtuous, taking us upon your head in due course with grace, set us free in time.

O gemmed footwear, you are the beloved attendant who massages the feet of the God whose home is Raṅgam; / O Mother, who would dare prevent you if of your own accord you count my offenses among virtues?

What further can happen to me, whose conduct consists solely of sin, when nothing [good] has arisen in all this time? / Yet one thing remains, if you behold it, O sandal: equality of enjoyment at the lotus feet of the consort of Padmā!

O goddess! Through continuous anxieties over varied sense-objects and bad impressions born of long ages, I am soiled; / O sandal, perfume me with the streams of purifying fragrance from the festive lotus feet of the Lord of Raṅgam!

I have sought refuge in you, O footwear of the wielder of the Śārṅga; once appointed to the service of worshiping you, / how could I ever stretch out this hand again in the assembly of mortals puffed up with pride in their wealth?

If I endeavor to perform any rite properly, I lapse at every step because of incidental causes; / if you are the ultimate bound for such incidental penances, O Śauri's foot-protector, why should you not be my refuge here?

My mental state is muddied by the inward company of sins; the sense organs are hard to conquer, enslaved by sound and the rest; / O beloved of Viṣṇu's feet, after so long, the other shore of this sea of sorrow must be reached either through supreme knowledge or through you.

Jackals have perpetual agitation in the Malaya breeze, thieves in the cool-rayed moon, / evildoers in the good path filled with virtuous deeds presided over by you, and unsteady minds in knowledge of truth—such is the perversity of destiny, O footwear of the wielder of the Śārṅga!

At the final hour, may I not hear the terrible roar of Yama's court summoning living beings swiftly for their sins; / rather, may I instantly hear the call to service issued by the intimates of the glorious Lord of Raṅgam's feet: 'O servant of the sandals!'

Like a stone at the very end, following the principle of Gautama's wife who was closely touched, / transform me, O protector of Mukunda's feet, so that I become fit for serving the Master's feet.

Thus ends the thirty-first section, the Section on World-Weariness, in the Thousand [Verses] on the Sandals of the Glorious Raṅganātha composed by the venerable Vedāntācārya, the venerable Veṅkaṭanātha, the Lion among poets and logicians, the master of all systems.

32. Section on the Fruit (38)