Verse 1.14.43

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.14.43:

নিরবধি তুলসীর করেন সেবন ততো’ধিক শচীর সেবায তাঙ্’র মন ॥ ৪৩ ॥

निरवधि तुलसीर करेन सेवन ततो’धिक शचीर सेवाय ताङ्’र मन ॥ ४३ ॥

niravadhi tulasīra karena sevana tato’dhika śacīra sevāya tāṅ’ra mana || 43 ||

niravadhi tulasira karena sevana tato’dhika sacira sevaya tan’ra mana (43)

English translation:

(43) She constantly served tulasī, yet she served Śacī even more.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The worshipers of Lord Viṣṇu greatly respect Tulasī-devī as one of the ingredients for the Lord’s service and therefore most intimate with the Lord. Lakṣmīpriyā-devī spent more time in serving her mother-in-law, Gaura’s mother, than in serving Tulasī-devī. Those who pretend to be ācāryas while holding a tulasī plant in one hand and a pipe for smoking intoxicants in the other should properly follow the ideal example of serving Tulasī-devī set by Gaura-Lakṣmīpriyā. And yet, knowing the Lord as the best of those devoted to their mothers, Lakṣmīpriyā-devī, the Lord’s wife, established that her service with awe and reverence to her mother-in-law was superior to the affectionate service of Tulasī-devī, the maidservant of Gaura, and was nondifferent from service to her husband.