based on the vyakhyanam of Sri Periyavaccan Pillai
by Sri M.N. Ramanuja

durgatAvapi jAtAyAm tvadgato mE manoratha:
yadi nAsham na vindEta tAvatA(a)smi kritI sadA

Meaning:
tvad gata:-- firmly attached to You
mE-- my
manOratha:-- aspiration
durgatau jAtAyAm api-- even when born in a woeful bad low category of life or even in the worst circumstances
nAsham na vindEta yadi-- if it does not get destroyed
tAvatA-- by this much
sadA-- for ever
kritI asmi-- I am satisfied

Introduction:
(durgatAvapi etc) God asks "neither retirement from this sorrowful samsAra is wanted nor the attainment of that land which is full of happiness is wanted. Will it be a sufficient puruSAhArtha if there is merely that eligibility criterion of jnAna and adherance to Him as the means and goal (see shlokam 11.). Besides, as in "janmAntarE(a)pi", is it not contra-indication to the soul, to sanction more births which prevent early reunion with god". Then I say, "Well, do not sanction anything asked for in the earlier shlokams. Even if I remain as a samsAri, and more over, get entangled in most unenviable circumstances, and again not materealising the cherished jnAna (regarding Your divine feet) and adherance to it, my aspiration remains only a dream, still I consider myself as satisfied as one who has done his duty and is in self control.

VyakhyAnam:
(durgatAvapi jAtAyam) What is durgati? -- it is a state in which all organs except the mind are uncooperative in the body. That is -- owing to debility, as in "aiyyAr kanThamadaikkilum" (TiruVaiMozhi-2-9-3), in the state of soul exiting from the body, in the dream state when all the external organs are senseless due to sleep, etc. In any of these states of debility.

(tvadgata:) my aspirations involved in the feet of Yours who is saturated with svarUpa rUpa guna and vibhUti.

(mE manoratha:) the aspirations of mine who am unable to wiggle physically out of my indulgence in mundane desires and work for attaining the goal.

What is manOratha? It means the action of keeping thinking about an object of desire or puruShArtham even if that did not materialize, out of deep attachment to that object.

If one asks, "if an aspiration does not materialize, can the action of just thinking about it be a source of solace? can the thinking of unfulfilled aspiration itself be a source of pleasure?", Well, a person, who enjoyed for a long time in the company of Urvashi, and later lost her company owing to the exhaustion of his punya (punya kshayam), even if provided with other sources of pleasure, his mind will not cherish them and will find comfort in merely thinking about her only and consider it as his purushArtham. The same applies here too.

It is rather sweeter to merely nurture (unfulfilled) aspirations of higher distinguished objects than to physically enjoy trivial objects.

What is the nature of aspirations in respect of god? Well, as in "pitA tvam mAtA tvam...", desiring that He alone should be all types of relations to me, as in "uNNum shORu paRugu nIr tinnumveRRilaiyumellAm" He alone should be all sustenance, nourishment and enjoyment for me, and desiring that the means for obtaining Him should be He alone.

(yadi nAsham na vindEta) If this aspiration does not suffer a discontinuity owing to distraction by other sense objects. "yadi" is used here because it is so impossible and rare to come by an unbroken continuity in the aspiration in respect of god in this samsAra where trivial sense objects are beckoning all and ruling the roost. The inference here is that, just like the obtainment of happiness by reaching a special land (vaikuntham), or like the elimination of sorrow of this samsAra, or like the obtainment of the jnAna, even the instilling of this aspiration in respect of god is totally dependent on the grace and mercy of the lord.

(tAvatA(a)smi kritI sadA) I consider my duties discharged for all time to come, just by harbouring such aspiration with respect to god. Irrespective of whether one is in a state of sound health or in a state of diseased body, whether one is sitting or sleeping or standing anywhere, or in various different births, I am satisfied fully by merely harbouring such an aspiration as much as by attaining the goal itself (prApyasiddhiyiRpOlE). This is reflected in the nAradIya sUkta vachanam...

**AsInA vA shayAnA vA tiShThanto yatra kutra vA.
namo nArAyaNAyEti mantraika sharaNA vayam**

Meaning:
Whether sitting or sleeping or standing anywhere, we always adopt the mantra called "namo narAyaNAya" as the only resort.

In the previous shlokam, as much sweet as attaining the God tastes, even so much sweet does merely having the jnAna also tastes. In this shlokam, that concept is pushed to the boundary of sweetness by saying that even having that jnAna is not necessary ; it is adequate if merely the (unfulfilled) aspiration for that jnAna is harboured in the mind. After all, the essence of sweetness of the object worth remembering, is found and experienced in the remembering or recalling activity itself. Thus, the unboundedness or the limitlessness of the sweetness of the object worth remembering (god) is also described. See "ninaindennuLLE ninRu, nekkum kaNgaL ashum pozhuga, ninaindirundE shiramam thIrndhEn nEmi nediyavanE" graced by periyAzhvAr based on this concept alone.

Also read "nAhantu sakhyo bhajato (a)pi jantUn.....tadva: pratiyAtu sAdhunA" in BhAgavatam 10-32-21,22,23.

Meaning:
Krishna said to gopis "Oh friends! Just to make their meditation of mine uninterrupted, I do not show up before the living beings who are devoted to me. Girls! just as a moneyed man who loses all his riches becomes filled with the thought of the lost riches and so does not think of anything else, so also, I vanished from your sight, so that you who left behind all your family world, may develop stronger thoughts regarding Me. Oh dears! you should not feel jealous and dejected with me on that account. I can not fully well repay you all even by the ages of angels, for mingling with me without any sort of crookedness. Let your chains of bondage to samsAra get unlocked for having cut asunder your bondages to your families, houses and husbands and children and having come to enjoy my company. That is my gift to you."