FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.19.20

न वा इदं राजर्षिवर्य चित्रं भवत्सु कृष्णं समनुव्रतेषु । येऽध्यासनं राजकिरीटजुष्टं सद्यो जहुर्भगवत्पार्श्वकामा: ॥ २० ॥
na vā idaṁ rājarṣi-varya citraṁ
[na vaa idam raajarshi-varya chitram]
bhavatsu kṛṣṇaṁ samanuvrateṣu
[bhavatsu krishnam samanuvrateshu]
ye ’dhyāsanaṁ rāja-kirīṭa-juṣṭaṁ
[ye ’dhyaasanam raaja-kireeta-jushtam]
sadyo jahur bhagavat-pārśva-kāmāḥ
[sadyo jahur bhagavat-paarshva-kaamaah]
na — neither vā — like this idam — this rājarṣi — saintly king varya — the chief citram — astonishing bhavatsu — unto all of you kṛṣṇam — Lord Kṛṣṇa samanuvrateṣu — unto those who are strictly in the line of ye — who adhyāsanam — seated on the throne rāja-kirīṭa — helmets of kings juṣṭam — decorated sadyaḥ — immediately jahuḥ — gave up bhagavat — the Personality of Godhead pārśva-kāmāḥ — desiring to achieve association.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na vā idaṁ rājarṣi-varya citraṁ
na
neither
vā
like this
idam
this
rājarṣi
saintly king
varya
the chief
citram
astonishing
bhavatsu kṛṣṇaṁ samanuvrateṣu
bhavatsu
unto all of you
kṛṣṇam
Lord Kṛṣṇa
samanuvrateṣu
unto those who are strictly in the line of
ye ’dhyāsanaṁ rāja-kirīṭa-juṣṭaṁ
ye
who
sadyo jahur bhagavat-pārśva-kāmāḥ
adhyāsanam
seated on the throne
rāja-kirīṭa
helmets of kings
juṣṭam
decorated
sadyaḥ
immediately
jahuḥ
gave up
bhagavat
the Personality of Godhead
pārśva-kāmāḥ
desiring to achieve association.
[The sages said:] O chief of all the saintly kings of the Pāṇḍu dynasty who are strictly in the line of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa! It is not at all astonishing that you give up your throne, which is decorated with the helmets of many kings, to achieve eternal association with the Personality of Godhead.

Foolish politicians who hold political administrative posts think that the temporary posts they occupy are the highest material gain of life, and therefore they stick to those posts even up to the last moment of life, without knowing that achievement of liberation as one of the associates of the Lord in His eternal abode is the highest gain of life. The human life is meant for achieving this end. The Lord has assured us in the Bhagavad-gītā many times that going back to Godhead, His eternal abode, is the highest achievement. Prahlāda Mahārāja, while praying to Lord Nṛsiṁha, said, “O my Lord, I am very much afraid of the materialistic way of life, and I am not the least afraid of Your present ghastly ferocious feature as Nṛsiṁha-deva. This materialistic way of life is something like a grinding stone, and we are being crushed by it. We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, and thus, my Lord, I pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors. This is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life. I have very bitter experience of the materialistic way of life. In whichever species of life I have taken birth, compelled by the force of my own activities, I have very painfully experienced two things, namely separation from my beloved and meeting with what is not wanted. And to counteract them, the remedies which I undertook were more dangerous than the disease itself. So I drift from one point to another, birth after birth, and I pray to You therefore to give me a shelter at Your lotus feet.”

The Pāṇḍava kings, who are more than many saints of the world, knew the bitter results of the materialistic way of life. They were never captivated by the glare of the imperial throne they occupied, and they sought always the opportunity of being called by the Lord to associate with Him eternally. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the worthy grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira gave up the imperial throne to his grandson, and similarly Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, gave up the imperial throne to his son Janamejaya. That is the way of all the kings in the dynasty because they are all strictly in the line of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus the devotees of the Lord are never enchanted by the glare of materialistic life, and they live impartially, unattached to the objects of the false, illusory materialistic way of life.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O best of kings! It is not surprising that those desiring to associate with the Lord, born in the Pāṇḍava family and devoted solely to Kṛṣṇa, immediately gave up the royal throne served by kings’ crowns.
Commentary

This refers to Yudhiṣṭhira and his family.

The sages said: O chief of saintly kings of the Pāṇḍu dynasty, strictly in Kṛṣṇa's line — it is not astonishing that you give up your throne for the Lord's lotus feet. Surrender from the saintly is not surprising. Expectation calls forth excellence.
Reflection Questions
  • What is expected of me by my lineage or community that I have not yet stepped into?
  • Where could expectation be invitation?
📝 My note

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