tataḥ — thereafter; sapta ṛṣayaḥ — the seven great sages (beginning with Marīci); tat prabhāva-abhijñāḥ — who knew very well the influence of the Ganges River; yām — this Ganges water; nanu — indeed; tapasaḥ — of our austerities; ātyantikī — the ultimate; siddhiḥ — perfection; etāvatī — this much; bhagavati — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sarva-ātmani — in the all-pervading; vāsudeve — Kṛṣṇa; anuparata — continuous; bhakti-yoga — of the mystic process of devotional service; lābhena — simply by achieving this platform; eva — certainly; upekṣita — neglected; anya — other; artha-ātma-gatayaḥ — all other means of perfection (namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation); muktim — liberation from material bondage; iva — like; āgatām — obtained; mumukṣavaḥ — persons desiring liberation; iva — like; sa-bahu-mānam — with great honor; adya api — even now; jaṭā-jūṭaiḥ — with matted locks of hair; udvahanti — they carry.
Translation
The seven great sages [Marīci, Vasiṣṭha, Atri and so on] reside on planets 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 jñānīs 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.
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