Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 6
Devotion in Kimpuruṣa-varṣa and the Glory of Bhārata-varṣa
Rāmacandra & Nara-Nārāyaṇa; Rivers, Varṇāśrama, and Liberation
न वै स आत्मात्मवतां सुहृत्तम: सक्तस्त्रिलोक्यां भगवान् वासुदेव: । न स्त्रीकृतं कश्मलमश्नुवीत न लक्ष्मणं चापि विहातुमर्हति ॥ ६ ॥
na vai sa ātmātmavatāṁ suhṛttamaḥ saktas tri-lokyāṁ bhagavān vāsudevaḥ na strī-kṛtaṁ kaśmalam aśnuvīta na lakṣmaṇaṁ cāpi vihātum arhati
Since Lord Śrī Rāmacandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, He is not attached to anything in this material world. He is the most beloved Supersoul of all self-realized souls, and He is their very intimate friend. He is full of all opulences. Therefore He could not possibly have suffered because of separation from His wife, nor could He have given up His wife and Lakṣmaṇa, His younger brother. To give up either would have been absolutely impossible.
In defining the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we say that He is full in all six opulences — wealth, fame, strength, influence, beauty and renunciation. He is called renounced because He is not attached to anything in this material world; He is specifically attached to the spiritual world and the living entities there. The affairs of the material world take place under the superintendence of Durgādevī ( sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā/ chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā ). Everything is going on under the strict rules and regulations of the material energy, represented by Durgā. Therefore the Lord is completely detached and need not give attention to the material world. Sītādevī belongs to the spiritual world. Similarly, Lord Lakṣmaṇa, Rāmacandra’s younger brother, is a manifestation of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Lord Rāmacandra Himself is Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
This verse declares that Bhagavān Vāsudeva is never materially attached in the three worlds and never accepts the sinful taint of being controlled by womanly attraction.
In narrations where outsiders may misread the Lord’s interactions, Śukadeva clarifies the theological point: the Supreme Lord is transcendental and cannot be contaminated by the faults that bind conditioned souls.
By remembering God’s transcendence and judging spiritual topics through śāstra, a devotee avoids cynical misinterpretations and strengthens faith (śraddhā) in the Lord’s pure, divine nature.