Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.19.16

punaś ca bhūyād bhagavaty anante

ratih prasańgaś ca tad-āśrayeshu

mahatsu yām yām upayāmi srishtim

maitry astu sarvatra namo dvijebhyah

SYNONYMS

punah — again; ca — and; bhūyāt — let it be; bhagavati — unto Lord Śrī Krishna; anante — who has unlimited potency; ratih — attracting; prasańgah — association; ca — also; tat — His; āśrayeshu — with those who are His devotees; mahatsu — within the material creation; yām yām — wherever; upayāmi — I may take; srishtim — my birth; maitrī — friendly relation; astu — let it be; sarvatra — everywhere; namah — my obeisances; dvijebhyah — unto the brāhmanas.

TRANSLATION

Again, offering obeisances unto all you brāhmanas, I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world I will have complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Krishna, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings.

PURPORT

That a devotee of the Lord is the only perfect living being is explained herein by Mahārāja Parīkshit. A devotee of the Lord is no one's enemy, although there may be many enemies of a devotee. A devotee of the Lord does not like to associate with nondevotees, although he has no enmity with them. He desires association with the devotees of the Lord. This is perfectly natural because birds of the same feather mix together. And the most important function of a devotee is to have complete attachment for Lord Śrī Krishna, the father of all living beings. As a good son of the father behaves in a friendly way with all his other brothers, so also the devotee of the Lord, being a good son of the supreme father, Lord Krishna, sees all other living beings in relation with the supreme father. He tries to bring back the upstart sons of the father to a saner stage and to get them to accept the supreme fatherhood of God. Mahārāja Parīkshit was certainly going back to Godhead, but even if he were not to go back, he prayed for a pattern of life which is the most perfect way in the material world. A pure devotee does not desire the company of a personality as great as Brahmā, but he prefers the association of a petty living being, provided he is a devotee of the Lord.

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