Shloka 31
सुषेणश्चारुदेष्णश्च साम्बो जाम्बवतीसुत: । अन्ये च कार्ष्णिप्रवरा: सपुत्रा ऋषभादय: ॥ ३१ ॥
suṣeṇaś cārudeṣṇaś ca sāmbo jāmbavatī-sutaḥ anye ca kārṣṇi-pravarāḥ saputrā ṛṣabhādayaḥ
Are Suṣeṇa, Cārudeṣṇa, Sāmba the son of Jāmbavatī, and Ṛṣabha and the other foremost sons of Śrī Kṛṣṇa—together with their own sons—all faring well?
As already mentioned, Lord Kṛṣṇa married 16,108 wives, and each of them had ten sons. Therefore 16,108 × 10 = 161,080 sons. They all grew up, and each of them had as many sons as their father, and the whole aggregate was something near 1,610,800 family members of the Lord. The Lord is the father of all living beings, who are countless in number; therefore only a few of them are called to associate with the Lord in His transcendental pastimes as the Lord of Dvārakā on this earth. It is not astonishing that the Lord maintained a visible family consisting of so many members. It is better to refrain from comparing the Lord’s position to ours, and it becomes a simple truth as soon as we understand at least a partial calculation of the Lord’s transcendental position. King Yudhiṣṭhira, while inquiring about the Lord’s sons and grandsons at Dvārakā, mentioned only the chieftains amongst them, for it was impossible for him to remember all the names of the Lord’s family members.
FAQs
They are prominent members of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Vṛṣṇi (Kārṣṇi) dynasty; Sāmba is specifically named as the son of Jāmbavatī.
He is describing the prominent Yadu-Vṛṣṇi leaders and their sons present in the events surrounding the ominous changes in Dvārakā connected with Lord Kṛṣṇa’s departure from this world.
Even the greatest dynasties and celebrated personalities are temporary; the Bhagavatam redirects the listener from worldly lineage and power toward lasting shelter in devotion to Kṛṣṇa.