FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.75.3

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच पितामहस्य ते यज्ञे राजसूये महात्मन: । बान्धवा: परिचर्यायां तस्यासन्प्रेमबन्धना: ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
[shree-baadaraayanir uvaacha]
pitāmahasya te yajñe
[pitaamahasya te yajne]
rājasūye mahātmanaḥ
[raajasooye mahaatmanah]
bāndhavāḥ paricaryāyāṁ
[baandhavaah paricharyaayaam]
tasyāsan prema-bandhanāḥ
[tasyaasan prema-bandhanaah]
śrī - bāḍarāyaniḥ uvāca — Śrī Bādarāyaṇi (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) said pitāmahasya — of the grandfather te — your yajñe — at the sacrifice rājasūye — the Rājasūya mahā - ātmanaḥ — of the great soul bāndhavāḥ — family members paricaryāyām — in humble service tasya — for him āsan — were situated prema — by love bandhanāḥ — who were bound .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
śrī - bāḍarāyaniḥ uvāca
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) said
pitāmahasya te yajñe
pitāmahasya
of the grandfather
te
your
yajñe
at the sacrifice
rājasūye mahātmanaḥ
rājasūye
the Rājasūya
mahā - ātmanaḥ
of the great soul
bāndhavāḥ paricaryāyāṁ
bāndhavāḥ
family members
paricaryāyām
in humble service
tasyāsan prema-bandhanāḥ
tasya
for him
āsan
were situated
prema
by love
bandhanāḥ
who were bound .
  • pitāmahasya — of the grandfather
    Parīkṣit's grandfather is Yudhiṣṭhira. Śuka names the relation to honor Parīkṣit's lineage — the Pāṇḍava blood is itself a bhakta-saṁskāra he carries.
  • rājasūye — at the Rājasūya
    Locative — within the sacrifice itself. Gauḍīyas note that everything from royal kitchen to royal feet-washing happens inside the yajña; the whole household labor becomes oblation.
  • bāndhavāḥ — family members
    From √bandh (to bind). Kin are 'the bound ones' — bound by birth. But in this verse the very next word reframes the binding.
  • paricaryāyām — in humble service
    Paricaryā is one of the classical limbs of devotional life — bodily service. That the imperial brothers do it, not servants, is the Gauḍīya signature: dāsya posture is not beneath nobility, it is its ornament.
  • prema-bandhanāḥ — bound by love
    Compound: prema (love) + bandhana (binding). The Gauḍīya keyword. Bāndhavas are bound by blood; bhaktas are bound by prema. Yudhiṣṭhira's kin happen to be both, and the verse celebrates the second binding, not the first.
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: At the Rājasūya sacrifice of your saintly grandfather, his family members, bound by their love for him, engaged themselves in humble services on his behalf.

King Yudhiṣṭhira did not force his relatives to accept different tasks at the sacrifice. Rather, out of their love for him they volunteered for such duties.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: At the Rājasūya sacrifice of your saintly grandfather, his family members, bound by their love for him, engaged themselves in humble services on his behalf.
Commentary

Friends bound by ropes of affection to the king engaged in services at the sacrifice, by their own free will. According to their liking they did activities, not under instruction by Yudhisthira.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Śukadeva calls Yudhiṣṭhira “grandfather” in order to give Parīkṣit joy. Friends who were bound to Yudhiṣṭhira by affection were there to perform various services at the sacrifice of Yudhiṣṭhira, who had an excellent nature (mahātmanaḥ).

Related values
Daya (Compassion / Mercy)Nishkama Karma (Selfless Action)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomKartavya (Duty / Responsibility)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
At Yudhiṣṭhira's sacrifice, family members offered humble service out of love — not because they were assigned to. Real festivals are staffed by love, not labor lists.
Reflection Questions
  • Where could love motivate me to take up a humble task I'd normally avoid?
  • What family event needs my voluntary, unassigned service?

Watch a family at a wedding: nobody is hired, everyone serves. The bonds are not contractual but affectionate — and the work flows. Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya is not staffed; it is loved into being by his kin, each tied to him by prema-bandha.

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