परवानस्मि काकुत्स्थ त्वयि वर्षशतं स्थिते।
स्वयं तु रुचिरे देशे क्रियतामिति मां वद॥
paravān asmi kākutstha tvayi varṣa-śataṁ sthite
svayaṁ tu rucire deśe kriyatām iti māṁ vada
paravān = [Your] dependant; asmi = I am; kākutstha = O descendant of Kakutstha; tvayi = while You; varṣa-śatam = for hundreds of years; sthite = are here; svayam tu = to You; rucire = pleasing; deśe = in a spot; kriyatām iti = set up an āśrama [here]; mām = Me; vada = You should order.
O descendant of Kakutstha, I am [Your] dependant while You are here for hundreds of years. In a spot pleasing to You, You should order Me, “Set up an āśrama [here].”1
1. Here we get a glimpse of a proper master-servant relationship: the master is desirous of pleasing His servant without any duplicity or diplomacy, and the servant is desirous of pleasing His master without any duplicity or diplomacy. This is how those in master-servant relationships should function within communities that follow varṇāśrama-dharma and bhāgavata-dharma. Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: svayaṁ rucire deśe tavaiva ramaṇīye pradeśe āśramaḥ kriyatām iti māṁ vada.
1 Here we get a glimpse of a proper master-servant relationship: the master is desirous of pleasing His servant without any duplicity or diplomacy, and the servant is desirous of pleasing His master without any duplicity or diplomacy. This is how those in master-servant relationships should function within communities that follow varṇāśrama-dharma and bhāgavata-dharma. Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: svayaṁ rucire deśe tavaiva ramaṇīye pradeśe āśramaḥ kriyatām iti māṁ vada.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: pāratantryaika-veṣā mamāsmiteti bhāvaḥ.
2 Dependence refers to carrying out the order of the one being depended upon. Lakṣmaṇa not only does the needful for Rāmacandra with pleasure, but also carries out His specific instructions.
3 Some Viṣṇu-tattva forms of the Lord are eternally devotees of some other Viṣṇu-tattva forms of the Lord. The former have the eternal attitude of being dependent on the latter. For instance, we note in Bhāgavatam 3.8.3-4 that Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa always worships Lord Vāsudeva. Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: evaṁ pāratantryasyaiva mat-svarūpatvena tad-anukūlatayā tvayā ājñāpanaṁ kartavyam ity āha svayam iti.
Lakṣmaṇa implies here that His identity is unlike Rāma’s identity [for] it is of the nature of dependence [on Rāma].1 He intended to tell Rāma, “O descendant of Kakutstha, this dependence [of Mine on You] is not only when [We are] in the spiritual world, but also when [We] descend [to the material world].”
How long [will Lakṣmaṇa maintain] this dependence? “For hundreds of years” meaning “an unlimited number of years.” Lakṣmaṇa implies that His dependence on Rāmacandra is for all time.2 Through the second line, Lakṣmaṇa intends to say, “Dependence [on You] is My sole constitutional nature. Therefore in accordance with My nature, You should order Me.”3
NOTE. Lakṣmaṇa’s attitude and endeavor should accepted as being worthy of emulation by all of us—the living entities—for we are anyway constitutionally subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prabhupāda explains this in the following manner:
The Supreme Lord as the Supersoul is also stated in the Vedic literature (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.16) to be pradhāna-kṣetrajña-patir guṇeśaḥ, the chief knower of the body and the master of the three modes of material nature. In the smṛti it is said, dāsa-bhūto harer eva nānyasyaiva kadācana. The living entities are eternally in the service of the Supreme Lord. This is also confirmed by Lord Caitanya in His teachings. (Bhagavad-gītā 13.13 purport)