Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.72.5
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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deva-deva
—
O Lord of lords
Compound vocative. The devas themselves bow to You — so when You display anubhāva to mere humans, no power can match it.
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caraṇa-aravinda
—
lotus feet
The standard Gauḍīya target of bhakti. The Rājasūya, the kingdom, the worlds — all are merely surroundings for service to these feet.
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anubhāvam
—
the power (of devotional service)
Not just abstract power — anubhāva is power one can actually witness. Yudhiṣṭhira wants the empirical, visible glory of bhakti to be exhibited.
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niṣṭhām
—
the position, the final standing
Important Gauḍīya word. Niṣṭhā is one of the stages of bhakti (śraddhā → sādhu-saṅga → bhajana-kriyā → anartha-nivṛtti → niṣṭhā). Here in classical usage, niṣṭhā means the settled end-state of those who serve versus those who don't.
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kuru-sṛñjayānām
—
of the Kurus and Sṛñjayas
Compound genitive. The Sṛñjayas are the Pāñcāla allies; the Kurus include both Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas. The same lineage, the same battlefield to come — the verse subtly anticipates Kurukṣetra, where this very niṣṭhā will be displayed.
Here we clearly see the heart of a preacher. The great devotee Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja implores Lord Kṛṣṇa to demonstrate plainly the result of worshiping Him and the result of not worshiping Him. If the people of the world could understand this, they could begin to recognize that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that everyone’s ultimate self-interest lies in surrendering to Him. As confirmed by great authorities, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja is a pure devotee of the Lord, and thus his actual motivation in discharging his duties as a king was to establish the supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the real purport of the activities of the Pāṇḍavas, which are described in both the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Mahābhārata.
"Therefore (tat), that is, when your supremacy as God is established by the distinguished assembly headed by Brahma, let the people of this planet see the power of serving your lotus feet. Then show the high and low destinations (nishta) suitable to those who worship you by accepting you as God and to those who do not worship you , thinking you to be a human being. This will take place at the proposed sacrifice, if you give your consent."
“If you know the glories of bhakti to me, why do you give up bhakti for performing a rājasūya sacrifice?” Because of what I just said, you should let the world see your power. You are to be worshipped by all persons worthy of worship (devadeva). Even though we know that by service to you all the devatās are satisfied, still, let the world know. In your present avatāra, full of mercy for all the people (iha), let these people (eṣa lokaḥ), materialists generally, who are astonished only by wealth, see the power of serving your lotus feet. He then illustrates this. The Kurus and Sṛñjayas worship you whereas Duryodhana and others do not worship you. Show the position of each. I am doing this in order to show to the materialists the glory of bhakti rendered to you. You can do anything (vibho). Therefore this is nothing for you. The accompanying purpose mentioned by Nārada, the desire to gain of wealth to serve Kṛṣṇa, he did not reveal out of shyness.
“If you know the glories of bhakti to me, why do you give up bhakti for performing a rājasūya sacrifice?” Because bhakti yields all results (tat), let all the people having various impressions or living in this world or all the present people (eṣaḥ) see in my house or in this world (iha) the power of bhakti. O Lord of all devatās like Brahmā or Lord most worshippable in the universe! The experience of serving you is extraordinary. Show the position of Kurus and Sṛñjayas who worship you and do not worship you with or without devotion (ubhayeṣām). The devotees attain everything and are always happy. The non-devotees are the opposite. Show this directly (pra) to the people. You are capable of doing this, O supreme Lord (vibho)! By showing this even those dedicated to karmas will take shelter of your bhakti. I want to perform the sacrifice to spread your bhakti. Or show the position of devotees and non-devotees (ubhayeṣām) to the Kurus and Sṛñjayas. Yudhiṣṭhira does not speak directly of the sacrifice out of humility. Or since most of those present were devotees, he wanted to produce bliss by having the Lord show the different results. Or O lord of the Kurus (vibho)! Do this to please all your devotees.
- What about Kṛṣṇa do I most want others to see?
- Where does my devotion stay private when it could become quietly visible?
A goldsmith does not test the worth of gold by argument — he holds it against the touchstone. Yudhiṣṭhira asks Kṛṣṇa to be that touchstone: let the world see, by comparing Kurus and Sṛñjayas who serve You against those who do not, the actual worth of devotional service.
Father and son, same household, same wealth — yet Hiraṇyakaśipu burned with hatred for the Lord and Prahlāda was bathed in His mercy. The two positions (niṣṭhām) of those who worship and those who do not were displayed in one family, on one day, as Nṛsiṁha emerged from the pillar.
Yudhiṣṭhira's request is for the same kind of pedagogical demonstration, now writ across the Kuru-Sṛñjaya world.
My note
Source: vedabase.io