Shloka 26
Nābhāga’s Inheritance, Śiva’s Verdict, and the Rise of Ambarīṣa—Prelude to Durvāsā’s Offense
स इत्थं भक्तियोगेन तपोयुक्तेन पार्थिव: । स्वधर्मेण हरिं प्रीणन् सर्वान् कामान्शनैर्जहौ ॥ २६ ॥
sa itthaṁ bhakti-yogena tapo-yuktena pārthivaḥ sva-dharmeṇa hariṁ prīṇan sarvān kāmān śanair jahau
Thus Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, the king of this earth, practiced devotional service with austerity; by pleasing Hari through his own prescribed duties, he gradually abandoned all material desires.
Severe austerities in the practice of devotional service are of many varieties. For example, in worshiping the Deity in the temple there are certainly laborious activities. Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau. One must decorate the Deity, cleanse the temple, bring water from the Ganges and Yamunā, continue the routine work, perform ārati many times, prepare first-class food for the Deity, prepare dresses and so on. In this way, one must constantly be engaged in various activities, and the hard labor involved is certainly an austerity. Similarly, the hard labor involved in preaching, preparing literature, preaching to atheistic men and distributing literature door to door is of course an austerity ( tapo-yuktena ). Tapo divyaṁ putrakā. Such austerity is necessary. Yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet. By such austerity in devotional service, one is purified of material existence ( kāmān śanair jahau ). Indeed, such austerity leads one to the constitutional position of devotional service. In this way one can give up material desires, and as soon as one is freed from material desires, he is free from the repetition of birth and death, old age and disease.
FAQs
This verse says that by bhakti-yoga—supported by tapas and faithful performance of one’s own duty—one pleases Lord Hari and gradually abandons all material desires.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating, describing how a king advanced spiritually: by devotional service, austerity, and sva-dharma he satisfied Hari and became free from worldly cravings.
Practice steady devotion (hearing, chanting, worship), live with discipline and restraint, and perform your responsibilities honestly—over time, attachment to unnecessary desires naturally diminishes.