प्राचीनानां भजनमतुलं दुष्करं शृण्वतो मे
नैराश्येन ज्वलति हृदयं भक्तिलेशालसस्य ।
विष्वद्रीचीमघहर तवाकर्ण्य कारुण्यवीची-
माशाबिन्दूक्षितमिदमुपैत्यन्तरे हन्त शैत्यम् ॥
prācīnānāṁ bhajanam atulaṁ duṣkaraṁ śṛṇvato me
nairāśyena jvalati hṛdayaṁ bhakti-leśālasasya |
viṣvadrīcīm aghahara tavākarṇya kāruṇya-vīcīm
āśā-bindūkṣitam idam upaity antare hanta śaityam ||
(Stava-mālā: 1.16.2)
“Upon hearing of the unparalleled and difficult to perform bhajana of the ancients [i.e., Śuka, Ambarīṣa, and others], my heart burns with despair, as I am indolent about even a small amount of bhakti. Hanta! O Destroyer of Agha, upon hearing [however] of the waves of your compassion extending everywhere [i.e., from Brahmā down to even the most lowly], my heart feels within it a coolness moist with drops of hope.”