Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 45
Bhakti as the Easy and Supreme Yoga: Seeing Kṛṣṇa in All and Uddhava’s Departure to Badarikāśrama
श्रीशुक उवाच स एवमुक्तो हरिमेधसोद्धव: प्रदक्षिणं तं परिसृत्य पादयो: । शिरो निधायाश्रुकलाभिरार्द्रधी- र्न्यषिञ्चदद्वन्द्वपरोऽप्यपक्रमे ॥ ४५ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca sa evam ukto hari-medhasoddhavaḥ pradakṣiṇaṁ taṁ parisṛtya pādayoḥ śiro nidhāyāśru-kalābhir ārdra-dhīr nyaṣiñcad advandva-paro ’py apakrame
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus addressed by Śrī Hari, whose wisdom destroys the suffering of material life, Uddhava circumambulated the Lord and then fell down, placing his head upon His feet. Though Uddhava was beyond all material dualities, at the moment of departure his heart broke, and with a mind drenched in tears he soaked the Lord’s lotus feet with his weeping.
FAQs
It shows bhakti expressed through humility and surrender—circumambulating the Lord, bowing at His feet, and offering one’s heart in tears, even while remaining spiritually steady.
Because Krishna had concluded His intimate instructions to Uddhava; Uddhava responded with traditional devotional honor (pradakṣiṇa and praṇāma) and heartfelt surrender at the moment of separation.
Advandva means freedom from material dualities like selfish joy and sorrow, not the absence of devotional feeling; tears here arise from pure love and reverence, not worldly attachment.