FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.28

एवं जनं निपतितं प्रभवाहिकूपे कामाभिकाममनु य: प्रपतन्प्रसङ्गात् । कृत्वात्मसात् सुरर्षिणा भगवन्गृहीत: सोऽहं कथं नु विसृजे तव भृत्यसेवाम् ॥ २८ ॥
evaṁ janaṁ nipatitaṁ prabhavāhi-kūpe
[evam janam nipatitam prabhavaahi-koope]
kāmābhikāmam anu yaḥ prapatan prasaṅgāt
[kaamaabhikaamam anu yah prapatan prasangaat]
kṛtvātmasāt surarṣiṇā bhagavan gṛhītaḥ
[kritvaatmasaat surarshinaa bhagavan griheetah]
so ’haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām
[so ’ham katham nu visrije tava bhritya-sevaam]
Word-for-word
evam — thus janam — people in general nipatitam — fallen prabhava — of material existence ahi-kūpe — in a blind well full of snakes kāma-abhikāmam — desiring the sense objects anu — following yaḥ — the person who prapatan — falling down (in this condition) prasaṅgāt — because of bad association or increased association with material desires kṛtvā ātmasāt — causing me (to acquire spiritual qualities like himself, Śrī Nārada) sura-ṛṣiṇā — by the great saintly person (Nārada) bhagavan — O my Lord gṛhītaḥ — accepted saḥ — that person aham — I katham — how nu — indeed visṛje — can give up tava — Your bhṛtya-sevām — the service of Your pure devotee.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
evaṁ janaṁ nipatitaṁ prabhavāhi-kūpe
evam
thus
janam
people in general
nipatitam
fallen
prabhava
of material existence
ahi-kūpe
in a blind well full of snakes
kāmābhikāmam anu yaḥ prapatan prasaṅgāt
kāma-abhikāmam
desiring the sense objects
anu
following
yaḥ
the person who
prapatan
falling down (in this condition)
prasaṅgāt
because of bad association or increased association with material desires
kṛtvātmasāt surarṣiṇā bhagavan gṛhītaḥ
kṛtvā ātmasāt
causing me (to acquire spiritual qualities like himself, Śrī Nārada)
sura-ṛṣiṇā
by the great saintly person (Nārada)
bhagavan
O my Lord
gṛhītaḥ
accepted
saḥ
that person
aham
I
so ’haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām
katham
how
nu
indeed
visṛje
can give up
tava
Your
bhṛtya-sevām
the service of Your pure devotee.
My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Nārada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?
Purport

As will be seen in later verses, even though Prahlāda Mahārāja was directly offered all the benedictions he might have desired, he refused to accept such offerings from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, he asked the Lord to engage him in the service of His servant Nārada Muni. This is the symptom of a pure devotee. One should serve the spiritual master first. It is not that one should bypass the spiritual master and desire to serve the Supreme Lord. This is not the principle for a Vaiṣṇava. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says:

tāṅdera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vāsa janame janame haya, ei abhilāṣa

One should not be anxious to offer direct service to the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised that one become a servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord ( gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ ). This is the process for approaching the Supreme Lord. The first service should be rendered to the spiritual master so that by his mercy one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead to render service. While teaching Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja: one can achieve the seed of devotional service by the mercy of the guru, the spiritual master, and then by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. This is the secret of success. First one should try to please the spiritual master, and then one should attempt to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also says, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo. One should not attempt to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by concoction. One must first be prepared to serve the spiritual master, and when one is qualified he is automatically offered the platform of direct service to the Lord. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja proposed that he engage in the service of Nārada Muni. He never proposed that he engage directly in the service of the Lord. This is the right conclusion. Therefore he said, so ’haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām: “How can I give up the service of my spiritual master, who has favored me in such a way that I am now able to see You face to face?” Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed to the Lord that he might continue to engage in the service of his spiritual master, Nārada Muni.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Lord! Following people with all material desires who have fallen in the material snake hole, I have also fallen into the hole because of their association. But I have been accepted by Nārada, who has made me part of himself. How can I give up service to your servant? “You have said that service to me is the cause of my mercy to you. You have excluded favoritism by the example of the desire tree. But what is the cause of this service?” Following persons with concepts of high and low, filled with all desires, who have fallen into the material snake hole, I have also fallen by their association. I have been accepted by Nārada who has made me his own possession. “Let this jīva be mine!” By force he has taken me by the hand, brought me near to him, taught me the king of mantras, and had me serve him. Having fallen in the hole of saṁsāra, I have now become your devotee. Without his mercy this was not possible. How can I give up service to my guru, your servant? The karmīs and jñānīs, on attaining their goal, give up the sādhana. I cannot be like that. On the path of bhakti, when the sādhana gives result, devotees who attained the Lord such as Dhruva still had a desire for sādhana of associating with devotees and other processes. bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaṅgo bhūyād ananta mahatām amalāśayānām yenāñjasolbaṇam uru-vyasanaṁ bhavābdhiṁ neṣye bhavad-guṇa-kathāmṛta-pāna-mattaḥ O unlimited Lord! May I always have the association of great devotees with pure hearts who perform bhakti to you! By this association, intoxicated from drinking the nectar of your pastimes and qualities, I shall easily combat the ocean of material existence full of terrible suffering. SB 4.9.11 dṛṣṭaṁ tavāṅghri-yugalaṁ janatāpavargaṁ brahmādibhir hṛdi vicintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambaṁ dhyāyaṁś carāmy anugṛhāṇa yathā smṛtiḥ syāt Now I have seen your feet, which grant liberation to your devotees, which even Lord Brahmā and other great personalities of unfathomable intelligence can only meditate upon within their hearts, and which those who have fallen into the well of material existence resort to for deliverance. Please favor me so that I may constantly think of you as I travel about. Please grant me the power to remember you. SB 10.69.18 Considering this, I pray that you take me to the side of your servant (stated in verse 24).
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
I was falling into a blind well of snakes when Your servant Nārada took me on as disciple and instructed me. My first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service? The right response to the Lord's mercy is fidelity to the one He sent.
Reflection Questions
  • Who is the 'Nārada' the Lord sent to you — and how steadfast is your service to them?
  • Where do you bypass the messenger to address the Sender, when fidelity to the messenger is the real test?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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