FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.71.2

శ్రీఉద్ధవ ఉవాచ యదుక్తమృషినా దేవ సాచివ్యం యక్ష్యతస్త్వయా । కార్యం పైతృష్వస్రేయస్య రక్షా చ శరణైషిణామ్ ॥ ౨ ॥
śrī-uddhava uvāca
[shree-uddhava uvaacha]
yad uktam ṛṣinā deva
[yad uktam rishinaa deva]
sācivyaṁ yakṣyatas tvayā
[saachivyam yakshyatas tvayaa]
kāryaṁ paitṛ-ṣvasreyasya
[kaaryam paitri-shvasreyasya]
rakṣā ca śaraṇaiṣiṇām
[rakshaa cha sharanaishinaam]
śrī - uddhavaḥ uvāca — Śrī Uddhava said yat — what uktam — was stated ṛṣinā — by the sage (Nārada) deva — O Lord sācivyam — assistance yakṣyataḥ — to him who intends to perform sacrifice (Yudhiṣṭhira) tvayā — by You kāryam — should be rendered paitṛ - ṣvasreyasya — to Your father’s sister’s son rakṣā — protection ca — also śaraṇa — shelter eṣiṇām — for those who desire .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-uddhava uvāca
śrī - uddhavaḥ uvāca
Śrī Uddhava said
yad uktam ṛṣinā deva
yat
what
uktam
was stated
ṛṣinā
by the sage (Nārada)
deva
O Lord
sācivyaṁ yakṣyatas tvayā
sācivyam
assistance
yakṣyataḥ
to him who intends to perform sacrifice (Yudhiṣṭhira)
tvayā
by You
kāryaṁ paitṛ-ṣvasreyasya
kāryam
should be rendered
paitṛ - ṣvasreyasya
to Your father’s sister’s son
rakṣā ca śaraṇaiṣiṇām
rakṣā
protection
ca
also
śaraṇa
shelter
eṣiṇām
for those who desire .
  • sācivyam — assistance, ministerial help
    Kṛṣṇa as sacivya to Yudhiṣṭhira anticipates His role as Arjuna's sārathi in the Gītā — Bhagavān willingly takes the subordinate post for His devotee. Gauḍīyas savour this reversal: the Lord serves His servants.
  • paitṛ - ṣvasreyasya — of His paternal aunt's son
    Yudhiṣṭhira is Kuntī's son; Kuntī is Vasudeva's sister. The kinship term places Kṛṣṇa inside a familial web — bhakti here moves through vātsalya and sakhya, not abstract sovereignty.
  • śaraṇa — shelter
    Śaraṇa is the central Gauḍīya word — the act of taking refuge. The Lord's vow at Bg 18.66 (ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi) is operative wherever this word appears: the surrendered are never abandoned.
  • eṣiṇām — of those who seek
    Present participle — those who are actively seeking shelter. The grammar emphasises the live, ongoing cry of the kings; Kṛṣṇa responds to a current plea, not a past credential.
Śrī Uddhava said: O Lord, as the sage advised, You should help Your cousin fulfill his plan for performing the Rājasūya sacrifice, and You should also protect the kings who are begging for Your shelter.

Devarṣi Nārada wanted Lord Kṛṣṇa to go to Indraprastha and help His cousin Yudhiṣṭhira perform the Rājasūya sacrifice. At the same time, the members of the royal assembly strongly desired that He defeat Jarāsandha and rescue the kings he was holding prisoner. The great-minded Uddhava could understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to do both things, and thus he intelligently advised how both these purposes could be simultaneously accomplished.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śrī Uddhava said: O Lord, as the sage advised, You should help Your cousin fulfill his plan for performing the Rājasūya sacrifice, and You should also protect the kings who are begging for Your shelter.
Commentary

You should help Yudhisthira who wants to perform a sacrifice (yaksyatah), which was stated by Narada. You should also protect those who desire your shelter by killing Jarasandha, which is the opinion of the assembly and the messenger.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

You should assist what was explained by Nārada because it is your cousin who wants to do a sacrifice, and since you act in brilliant manner (deva). Or you are engaged in pastimes. You have to follow his words since he is a sage (ṛṣiṇā).

Related values
Nyaya (Justice / Righteous Judgment)Brahmacharya (Self-discipline / Restraint)Daya (Compassion / Mercy)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Shanti (Peace / Tranquility)Kartavya (Duty / Responsibility)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva

Helping Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya while also rescuing the imprisoned kings is like a physician who, asked for one cure, finds that the same medicine heals two patients — Kṛṣṇa's single act of grace serves both the sacrifice and the śaraṇāgatas at once.

Kṛṣṇa as protector of the surrendered

The kings Jarāsandha has imprisoned have sent word to Dvārakā: rakṣa, rakṣa — protect us. Their plea echoes Gajendra in 8.2–3 and the devas in 10.1: when a soul cries śaraṇa, Kṛṣṇa's other plans bend toward that cry.

Nārada and now Uddhava simply read this principle back to Him: a Rājasūya is welcome, but the śaraṇa-eṣiṇāḥ have already booked Your hand.

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