Canto 1: Bāla-kāṇḍa (Boyhood)Chapter 31: Viśvāmitra, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa Depart for MithilāText 1.31.4
Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 31: Viśvāmitra, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa Depart for Mithilā
Text 1.31.4
इमौ स्म मुनिशार्दूल किङ्करौ समुपस्थितौ।
आज्ञापय यथेष्टं वै शासनं करवाव किम्॥
imau sma muni-śārdūla kiṅkarau samupasthitau
ājñāpaya yatheṣṭaṁ vai śāsanaṁ karavāva kim
imau sma = we; muni-śārdūla = O best of the sages; kiṅkarau = as your order-carriers; samupasthitau = have come before you; ājñāpaya = please order Us; yathā-iṣṭam vai = as you desire; śāsanam karavāva kim = what instruction of yours can we fulfill [now].
O best of the sages, We have come before you as your order-carriers. Please order Us as you desire. What instruction of yours can we fulfill [now]?
1 The incident of a prince being sold off at the time of burning a dead body took place in the famous life of King Hariścandra.
Imau sma indicates that Śrī Rāma and Śrī Lakṣmaṇa have carried out everything ordered by the sage Viśvāmitra. “O best of the sages” means “O best of those who meditate on the Supreme Being,” thereby indicating Viśvāmitra’s boundless devotion to Lord Rāma.
Kiṅkarau indicates that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa were purchased by the devotion of Viśvāmitra (bhakti-krīto janārdanaḥ). They came before Viśvāmitra for They were unable to be without Their devotee Viśvāmitra, even for a moment. This is similar to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s remark about Bhīṣma in the Mahābhārata:
śara-talpa-gato bhīṣmaḥ śāmyann iva hutāśanaḥ
māṁ dhyāti puruṣa-vyāghras tato me tad-gataṁ manaḥ
“Bhīṣma on the bed of arrows is like a pacifying sacrificial fire. That tiger among men is absorbed in meditation on Me and so My mind is absorbed in him.” (Mahābhārata 12.46.11)
Ājñāpaya yatheṣṭam indicates that just as a prince sold off for a small price at the time of burning a dead body cannot be returned, similarly Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa were ready to be ordered by Viśvāmitra as he desired.1 Śāsanaṁ karavāma kim indicates that Viśvāmitra should not hesitate to order Them to do what he wanted.
This verse states that the Supreme Lord does not give anything other than Himself to His devotee. He doesn’t give Himself to the devotee after calling him to come to Him. Rather, He personally goes to that devotee and gives Himself to be engaged by that devotee to fulfill his desires.