Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 34
Nārāyaṇa’s Impartiality, Absorption in Kṛṣṇa, and the Jaya–Vijaya Descent
Prelude to Prahlāda’s History
श्रीयुधिष्ठिर उवाच कीदृश: कस्य वा शापो हरिदासाभिमर्शन: । अश्रद्धेय इवाभाति हरेरेकान्तिनां भव: ॥ ३४ ॥
śrī-yudhiṣṭhira uvāca kīdṛśaḥ kasya vā śāpo hari-dāsābhimarśanaḥ aśraddheya ivābhāti harer ekāntināṁ bhavaḥ
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira fragte: Welche große Verwünschung, und von wem, könnte selbst die Diener Haris treffen? Für die ausschließlich dem Herrn ergebenen Bhaktas ist ein erneuter Fall in diese materielle Welt unmöglich; ich kann es nicht glauben.
In Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) the Lord clearly states, mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate: one who is purified of material contamination and returns home, back to Godhead, does not return to this material world. Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9) Kṛṣṇa says:
FAQs
This verse shows Yudhiṣṭhira’s amazement that any calamity could touch the Lord’s exclusive devotees, implying that such events require a deeper divine explanation within the narrative.
Hearing that a curse could disturb devotees, Yudhiṣṭhira questions how it could be possible, setting up the forthcoming explanation of the specific curse and the Lord’s hidden purpose behind it.
The verse encourages faithful inquiry: rather than losing heart, a devotee can seek the spiritual meaning behind difficulties and remain fixed in one-pointed devotion to Hari.