FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.88.6

నివృత్తేష్వశ్వమేధేషు రాజా యుష్మత్పితామహ: । శ‍ృణ్వన్ భగవతో ధర్మానపృచ్ఛదిదమచ్యుతమ్ ॥ ౬ ॥
nivṛtteṣv aśva-medheṣu
[nivritteshv ashva-medheshu]
rājā yuṣmat-pitāmahaḥ
[raajaa yushmat-pitaamahah]
śṛṇvan bhagavato dharmān
[shrinvan bhagavato dharmaan]
apṛcchad idam acyutam
[aprichchad idam achyutam]
nivṛtteṣu — when they were completed aśva - medheṣu — his performances of the horse sacrifice rājā — the King (Yudhiṣṭhira) yuṣmat — your (Parīkṣit’s) pitāmahāḥ — grandfather śṛṇvan — while hearing bhagavataḥ — from the Supreme Lord (Kṛṣṇa) dharmān — religious principles apṛcchat — he asked idam — this acyutam — of Lord Kṛṣṇa .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nivṛtteṣv aśva-medheṣu
nivṛtteṣu
when they were completed
aśva - medheṣu
his performances of the horse sacrifice
rājā yuṣmat-pitāmahaḥ
rājā
the King (Yudhiṣṭhira)
yuṣmat
your (Parīkṣit’s)
pitāmahāḥ
grandfather
śṛṇvan bhagavato dharmān
śṛṇvan
while hearing
bhagavataḥ
from the Supreme Lord (Kṛṣṇa)
dharmān
religious principles
apṛcchad idam acyutam
apṛcchat
he asked
idam
this
acyutam
of Lord Kṛṣṇa .
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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).
Your grandfather, King Yudhiṣṭhira, after completing his Aśvamedha sacrifices, asked Lord Acyuta this very same question while hearing the Lord’s explanation of religious principles.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Your grandfather, King Yudhiṣṭhira, after completing his Aśvamedha sacrifices, asked Lord Acyuta this very same question while hearing the Lord's explanation of religious principles.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

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).

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

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).

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses

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.

Yudhiṣṭhira after the Aśvamedha

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

← Read full Chapter 88