Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.88.6
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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nivṛtteṣu aśva-medheṣu
—
when the horse sacrifices were completed
Contiguous (nivṛtteṣu + aśva-medheṣu). Yudhiṣṭhira asked the question only after the great yajña — not in the heat of doing, but in the stillness afterward. The Bhāgavatam stages serious inquiry after the noise has died down.
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pitāmahāḥ
—
grandfather
Yudhiṣṭhira is Parīkṣit's grandfather. The verse hands the question down a generation — paramparā in miniature, three rungs from Kṛṣṇa to Yudhiṣṭhira to Parīkṣit through Śuka's retelling.
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śṛṇvan
—
while hearing
Present participle of √śru. Even kings hear; even after Aśvamedha, the work is śravaṇa. Gauḍīya's first limb of bhakti (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam) is enacted by the emperor himself.
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dharmān
—
religious principles
Plural — many dharmas. But by the chapter's end the question collapses to one: which Lord is supreme. Pluralism of practice; supremacy of object.
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acyutam
—
of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the infallible
A-cyuta — He who never falls. Strategic name choice: the chapter will contrast Acyuta's reliability with Śiva's hasty, regrettable boon-giving (verse 12).
This is not only his nature, but the subject which should be contemplated. He recites a story concerning this. This topic was explained by the Lord in the assembly containing sages of various philosophies. Yudhiṣṭhira asked the Lord the same question which is famous (idam). This shows the weakness of contrary opinions of other scriptures. King Yudhiṣṭhira is your grandfather. Śukadeva thus encourages Parīkṣit as being very close to the Lord and indicates to him that his question is very suitable. Therefore in respect he uses the word yuṣmat (your). Yudhiṣṭhira was listening to topics of bhagavad-dharma from the Lord. He asked what you have asked to Kṛṣṇa. Thus Śukadeva glorifies both of them. He asked the Lord (acyutam), full of all good qualities like affection for his devotees, or full of all powers, or he asked the Lord who always remained in Yudhiṣṭhira’s house and did not move (acyutam).
In a previous incident, to strengthen the conclusion, the Lord himself spoke similar words Yudhiṣṭhira asked after the horse sacrifice had been completed. He was your grandfather. As his grandson Parikṣit was very humble. This question was thus quite appropriate concerning svayam bhagavān. Śukadeva shows respect to Parikṣit by using the word yuṣmat (your). He had listened to all dharmas from Kṛṣṇa (bhagavataḥ). Or he heard about bhakti from the Lord. This is described in Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa. Yudhiṣṭhra asked what you just asked (idam) to the Lord, who is full of all good qualities like being controlled by his devotee, or who is full of all powers, or who always stayed in Yudhiṣṭhira’s house (acyutam).
- Whose question in scripture has turned out to be exactly my question?
- Where could I find courage by realizing the great asked the same?
A wise grandson does not invent his own questions when an heirloom question already lies in the family chest. Parīkṣit's doubt is Yudhiṣṭhira's doubt, and Śuka opens that chest. Paramparā is not repetition; it is recognising that one's own deepest puzzle has already been answered to one's own forefathers.
After the great horse sacrifice that ended the war, Yudhiṣṭhira sat in his palace hearing Kṛṣṇa's instructions on dharma — the conversation that becomes SB 7-9's exposition. Verses across the Bhāgavatam record him asking exactly the inversion of fortunes Parīkṣit now asks again.
The Gauḍīya pattern: the same question returns generation after generation, asked of qualified śravaṇa-seekers (śuśrūṣave) by qualified hearers. The answer is heirloom-protected, not reinvented.
My note
Source: vedabase.io