Shloka 11
Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Renunciation, Austerities, Departure, and the Glory of Hearing His History
तस्यानया भगवत: परिकर्मशुद्ध सत्त्वात्मनस्तदनुसंस्मरणानुपूर्त्या । ज्ञानं विरक्तिमदभून्निशितेन येन चिच्छेद संशयपदं निजजीवकोशम् ॥ ११ ॥
tasyānayā bhagavataḥ parikarma-śuddha- sattvātmanas tad-anusaṁsmaraṇānupūrtyā jñānaṁ viraktimad abhūn niśitena yena ciccheda saṁśaya-padaṁ nija-jīva-kośam
By steadily performing devotional service, Mahārāja Pṛthu’s mind became purified in sattva, and he could constantly remember the Lord’s lotus feet. From this arose perfect knowledge and detachment; with that keen wisdom he cut away the root of doubt and was freed from false ego and the material conception of life.
In the Nārada-pañcarātra, devotional service to the Lord is likened unto a queen. When a queen gives an audience, many maidservants follow her. The maidservants of devotional service are material opulence, liberation and mystic powers. The karmīs are very much attached to material enjoyment, the jñānīs are very anxious to become freed from material clutches, and the yogīs are very fond of attaining the eight kinds of mystic perfection. From the Nārada-pañcarātra we understand that if one attains the stage of pure devotional service, he also attains all the opulences derived from fruitive activities, empiric philosophical speculation and mystic yogic practice. Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura therefore prayed in his Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: “My dear Lord, if I have unflinching devotion to You, You become manifest before me personally, and the results of fruitive activity and empiric philosophical speculation — namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation — become like personal attendants and remain standing before me as if awaiting my order.” The idea here is that the jñānīs, by culture of brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, struggle very hard to get out of the clutches of material nature, but a devotee, by dint of his advancement in devotional service, automatically becomes detached from his material body. When the devotee’s spiritual body begins to manifest, he actually enters into his activities in transcendental life.
FAQs
This verse explains that steady remembrance of Bhagavan—arising from purified devotional practice—naturally gives birth to sharp spiritual knowledge and detachment.
Prithu Maharaja is described as becoming purified through the Lord’s service; his increasing remembrance yields knowledge and detachment that destroy doubt and false identification.
By regularly engaging in devotion—hearing, chanting, and mindful remembrance—you cultivate clarity and detachment, reducing anxiety and doubt rooted in bodily identity.