Canto 11: General HistoryChapter 11: The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.26-27

śrī-uddhava uvāca

sādhus tavottama-śloka

mataḥ kīdṛg-vidhaḥ prabho

bhaktis tvayy upayujyeta

kīdṛśī sadbhir ādṛtā

etan me puruṣādhyakṣa

lokādhyakṣa jagat-prabho

praṇatāyānuraktāya

prapannāya ca kathyatām

SYNONYMS

śrī-uddhavaḥ uvācaŚrī Uddhava said; sādhuḥa saintly person; tavain Your; uttama-śloka — my dear Lord; mataḥ — opinion; kīdṛk-vidhaḥ — what kind would he be; prabho — my dear Personality of Godhead; bhaktiḥ — devotional service; tvayi — unto Your Lordship; upayujyeta — deserves to be executed; kīdṛśī — what type is it; sadbhiḥ — by Your pure devotees such as Nārada; ādṛtā — honored; etat — this; meto me; puruṣa-adhyakṣaO ruler of the universal controllers; loka-adhyakṣaO Supreme Lord of Vaikuṇṭha; jagat-prabhoO God of the universe; praṇatāya — unto Your surrendered devotee; anuraktāya — who loves You; prapannāya — who has no other shelter than You; ca — also; kathyatām — let this be spoken.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, what type of person do You consider to be a true devotee, and what type of devotional service is approved by great devotees as worthy of being offered to Your Lordship? My dear ruler of the universal controllers, O Lord of Vaikuṇṭha and almighty God of the universe, I am Your devotee, and because I love You I have no other shelter than You. Therefore please explain this to me.

PURPORT

In the previous verse it was stated that one can achieve the Lord's supreme abode by associating with devotees. Therefore, Uddhava naturally inquires about the symptoms of a distinguished devotee whose association can promote one to the kingdom of God. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī notes that the Personality of Godhead knows who is actually a sincere devotee because the Lord is always attached to His loving servitors. Similarly, pure devotees can expertly explain the proper methods of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa because they are already absorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa. Uddhava herein requests Lord Kṛṣṇa to describe the qualities of a devotee and asks the Lord to explain the devotional service that the devotees themselves approve as worthy to be offered to the Lord.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that the word puruṣādhyakṣa indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme ruler of the universal controllers headed by Mahā-Viṣṇu, and thus the Lord possesses infinite sovereignty. The term lokādhyakṣa indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate supervising authority of all of the Vaikuṇṭha planets, and therefore the Lord is unlimitedly glorious and perfect. Uddhava further addresses Lord Kṛṣṇa as jagat-prabhu, because even in the illusory material world the Lord exhibits His unlimited mercy by personally incarnating to uplift the conditioned souls. The word praṇatāya ("Your surrendered devotee") indicates that Uddhava is not proud like ordinary fools who do not enjoy bowing down to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Uddhava mentions that he is anuraktāya, or completely bound in love to Lord Kṛṣṇa, because unlike other great devotees such as Arjuna, who sometimes worshiped demigods in order to comply with social customs or to show respect for their positions in the scheme of planetary management, Uddhava never worshiped any demigods. Therefore, Uddhava is prapannāya, or completely surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having no other shelter.

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