Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 26
The Deliverance of King Nṛga and the Warning Against Taking Brāhmaṇa Property
स त्वं कथं मम विभोऽक्षिपथ: परात्मा योगेश्वरै: श्रुतिदृशामलहृद्विभाव्य: । साक्षादधोक्षज उरुव्यसनान्धबुद्धे: स्यान्मेऽनुदृश्य इह यस्य भवापवर्ग: ॥ २६ ॥
sa tvaṁ kathaṁ mama vibho ’kṣi-pathaḥ parātmā yogeśvaraḥ śruti-dṛśāmala-hṛd-vibhāvyaḥ sākṣād adhokṣaja uru-vyasanāndha-buddheḥ syān me ’nudṛśya iha yasya bhavāpavargaḥ
O almighty one, how is it that my eyes see You here before me? You are the Supreme Soul, whom the greatest masters of mystic yoga can meditate upon within their pure hearts only by employing the spiritual eye of the Vedas. Then how, O transcendental Lord, are You directly visible to me, since my intelligence has been blinded by the severe tribulations of material life? Only one who has finished his material entanglement in this world should be able to see You.
Even in the body of a lizard, King Nṛga could remember his previous life. And now that he had the opportunity to see the Lord, he could understand that he had received special mercy from the Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
This verse states that simply by beholding the Lord (darśana) one gains the possibility of bhavāpavarga—release from material existence—because the Lord is directly the liberator even beyond the reach of the senses (Adhokṣaja).
Akrūra contrasts Krishna’s transcendence—realized by perfected yogīs and Vedic seers in purified hearts—with his own distressed condition, emphasizing that Krishna’s appearance before him is due to the Lord’s mercy, not the speaker’s qualification.
By steady bhakti—hearing and chanting about Krishna, sincere prayer, and ethical living—one’s heart becomes purified, making spiritual perception clearer and turning distress into dependence on the Lord.