Shloka 28
The Deliverance of King Nṛga and the Warning Against Taking Brāhmaṇa Property
देवदेव जगन्नाथ गोविन्द पुरुषोत्तम । नारायण हृषीकेश पुण्यश्लोकाच्युताव्यय ॥ २७ ॥ अनुजानीहि मां कृष्ण यान्तं देवगतिं प्रभो । यत्र क्वापि सतश्चेतो भूयान्मे त्वत्पदास्पदम् ॥ २८ ॥
deva-deva jagan-nātha govinda puruṣottama nārāyaṇa hṛṣīkeśa puṇya-ślokācyutāvyaya
O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please permit me to depart for the realm of the demigods; wherever I may dwell, may my mind always take shelter of Your lotus feet.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments as follows on this verse: His faith emboldened upon receiving the Lord’s mercy and thus attaining the status of servitude, King Nṛga properly glorifies the Lord by chanting His names and then asks the Lord’s permission to take his leave. The spirit of his prayer is as follows: “You are Devadeva, God even of the gods, and Jagannātha, the master of the universe, so please be my master. O Govinda, please make me Your property with the same merciful glance You use to enchant the cows. You can do this because You are Puruṣottama, the supreme form of Godhead. O Nārāyaṇa, since You are the foundation of the living entities, please be my support, even though I am a bad living entity. O Hṛṣīkeśa, please make my senses Your own. O Puṇyaśloka, now You have become famous as the deliverer of Nṛga. O Acyuta, please never be lost to my mind. O Avyaya, You will never diminish in my mind.” Thus the great Bhāgavatam commentator Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains the purport of these verses.
FAQs
This verse prays that wherever the mind may wander, it should remain sheltered at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet—showing that true devotion seeks constant inner refuge in the Lord.
After being honored by Kṛṣṇa, Sudāmā asks permission to depart and offers a final prayer: not for wealth or power, but for unwavering remembrance and shelter at Kṛṣṇa’s feet.
Make daily remembrance practical—through japa, hearing Kṛṣṇa-kathā, and offering your work—so that in any situation your mind repeatedly returns to the Lord as its safe resting place.