Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.23.39

anudinam idam ādareṇa śṛṇvan

pṛthu-caritaḿ prathayan vimukta-sańgaḥ

bhagavati bhava-sindhu-pota-pāde

sa ca nipuṇāḿ labhate ratiḿ manuṣyaḥ

SYNONYMS

anu-dinam — day after day; idam — this; ādareṇa — with great respect; śṛṇvan — hearing; pṛthu-caritam — the narration of Pṛthu Mahārāja; prathayan — chanting; vimukta — liberated; sańgaḥ — association; bhagavati — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhava-sindhu — the ocean of nescience; pota — the boat; pāde — whose lotus feet; saḥ — he; ca — also; nipuṇām — complete; labhate — achieves; ratim — attachment; manuṣyaḥ — the person.

TRANSLATION

Whoever, with great reverence and adoration, regularly reads, chants and describes the history of Mahārāja Pṛthu's activities will certainly increase unflinching faith and attraction for the lotus feet of the Lord. The Lord's lotus feet are the boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience.

PURPORT

The word bhava-sindhu-pota-pāde is significant in this verse. The lotus feet of the Lord are known as mahat-padam; this means that the total source of material existence rests on the lotus feet of the Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), ahaḿ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: everything is emanating from Him. This cosmic manifestation, which is compared to an ocean of nescience, is also resting on the lotus feet of the Lord. As such, this great ocean of nescience is minimized by a person who is a pure devotee. One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord need not cross over the ocean, for he has already crossed it by virtue of his position at the Lord's lotus feet. By hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord or the Lord's devotee, one can become firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. This position can also be achieved very easily by narrating the history of the life of Pṛthu Mahārāja regularly every day. The word vimukta-sańgaḥ is also significant in this connection. Because we associate with the three qualities of material nature, our position in this material world is full of dangers, but when we engage in the devotional service of the Lord by the process of śravaṇam and kīrtanam, we immediately become vimukta-sańga, or liberated.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Mahārāja Pṛthu's Going Back Home."

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