| Canto 11: General History | Chapter 11: The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.26-27
sādhus tavottama-śloka
bhaktis tvayy upayujyeta
etan me purushādhyaksha
pranatāyānuraktāya
SYNONYMS
śrī-uddhavah uvāca — Śrī Uddhava said; sādhuh — a saintly person; tava — in Your; uttama-śloka — my dear Lord; matah — opinion; kīdrik-vidhah — what kind would he be; prabho — my dear Personality of Godhead; bhaktih — devotional service; tvayi — unto Your Lordship; upayujyeta — deserves to be executed; kīdriśī — what type is it; sadbhih — by Your pure devotees such as Nārada; ādritā — honored; etat — this; me — to me; purusha-adhyaksha — O ruler of the universal controllers; loka-adhyaksha — O Supreme Lord of Vaikuntha; jagat-prabho — O God of the universe; pranatāya — 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 Vaikuntha 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 Krishna because they are already absorbed in love of Krishna. Uddhava herein requests Lord Krishna 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 Thākura remarks that the word purushādhyaksha indicates that Lord Krishna is the supreme ruler of the universal controllers headed by Mahā-Vishnu, and thus the Lord possesses infinite sovereignty. The term lokādhyaksha indicates that Lord Krishna is the ultimate supervising authority of all of the Vaikuntha planets, and therefore the Lord is unlimitedly glorious and perfect. Uddhava further addresses Lord Krishna 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 pranatāya ("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 Thākura, Uddhava mentions that he is anuraktāya, or completely bound in love to Lord Krishna, 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 Krishna, having no other shelter.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari