Shloka 34
Lord Viṣṇu Instructs Pṛthu: Forgiveness, Ātmā-Deha Viveka, and the Bhakti Ideal of Kingship
मैत्रेय उवाच इति वैन्यस्य राजर्षे: प्रतिनन्द्यार्थवद्वच: । पूजितोऽनुगृहीत्वैनं गन्तुं चक्रेऽच्युतो मतिम् ॥ ३४ ॥
maitreya uvāca iti vainyasya rājarṣeḥ pratinandyārthavad vacaḥ pūjito ’nugṛhītvainaṁ gantuṁ cakre ’cyuto matim
Maitreya said: The infallible Lord (Acyuta) fully appreciated the meaningful prayers of the royal sage Pṛthu. After accepting the King’s proper worship, He blessed him with grace and resolved to depart.
Most important in this verse are the words pratinandyārthavad vacaḥ, which indicate that the Lord appreciated the very meaningful prayers of the King. When a devotee prays to the Lord, it is not to ask for material benefits but to ask the Lord for His favor; he prays that he may be engaged in the service of the Lord’s lotus feet birth after birth. Lord Caitanya therefore uses the words mama janmani janmani, which mean “birth after birth,” because a devotee is not even interested in stopping the repetition of birth. The Lord and the devotee appear in this material world birth after birth, but such births are transcendental. In the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā the Lord informed Arjuna that both He and Arjuna had undergone many, many births previously, but the Lord remembered everything about them whereas Arjuna had forgotten. The Lord and His confidential devotees appear many times to fulfill the Lord’s mission, but since such births are transcendental, they are not accompanied by the miserable conditions of material birth, and they are therefore called divya, transcendental.
FAQs
This verse shows that when the Lord is honored with devotion and hears sincere, meaningful prayers, He becomes pleased and bestows His grace (anugraha) upon the devotee.
After appreciating Pṛthu’s profound words and accepting his worship, the Lord granted him favor; having fulfilled the purpose of His appearance in that moment, He then resolved to leave.
Offer worship and prayers with sincerity and substance—not as ritual alone—trusting that genuine devotion attracts divine guidance and blessings.