Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.11

api nah suhridas tata

bandhavah krishna-devatah

drishtah sruta va yadavah

sva-puryam sukham asate

SYNONYMS

api -- whether; nah -- our; suhridah -- well-wishers; tata -- O my uncle; bandhavah -- friends; krishna-devatah -- those who are always rapt in the service of Lord Sri Krishna; drishtah -- by seeing them; srutah -- or by hearing about them; va -- either; yadavah -- the descendants of Yadu; sva-puryam -- along with their residential place; sukham asate -- if they are all happy.

TRANSLATION

My uncle, you must have visited Dvaraka. In that holy place are our friends and well-wishers, the descendants of Yadu, who are always rapt in the service of the Lord Sri Krishna. You might have seen them or heard about them. Are they all living happily in their abodes?

PURPORT

The particular word krishna-devatah, i.e., those who are always rapt in the service of Lord Krishna, is significant. The Yadavas and the Pandavas, who were always rapt in the thought of the Lord Krishna and His different transcendental activities, were all pure devotees of the Lord like Vidura. Vidura left home in order to devote himself completely to the service of the Lord, but the Pandavas and the Yadavas were always rapt in the thought of Lord Krishna. Thus there is no difference in their pure devotional qualities. Either remaining at home or leaving home, the real qualification of a pure devotee is to become rapt in the thought of Krishna favorably, i.e., knowing well that Lord Krishna is the Absolute Personality of Godhead. Kamsa, Jarasandha, Sisupala and other demons like them were also always rapt in the thought of Lord Krishna, but they were absorbed in a different way, namely unfavorably, or thinking Him to be a powerful man only. Therefore, Kamsa and Sisupala are not on the same level as pure devotees like Vidura, the Pandavas and the Yadavas.

Maharaja Yudhishthira was also always rapt in the thought of Lord Krishna and His associates at Dvaraka. Otherwise he could not have asked all about them from Vidura. Maharaja Yudhishthira was therefore on the same level of devotion as Vidura, although engaged in the state affairs of the kingdom of the world.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness