Shloka 33
तथैवानुचरा: शौरे: श्रुतदेवोद्धवादय: । सुनन्दनन्दशीर्षण्या ये चान्ये सात्वतर्षभा: ॥ ३२ ॥ अपि स्वस्त्यासते सर्वे रामकृष्णभुजाश्रया: । अपि स्मरन्ति कुशलमस्माकं बद्धसौहृदा: ॥ ३३ ॥
tathaivānucarāḥ śaureḥ śrutadevoddhavādayaḥ sunanda-nanda-śīrṣaṇyā ye cānye sātvatarṣabhāḥ
Likewise, the attendants of Śauri (Kṛṣṇa)—Śrutadeva, Uddhava and others—and Nanda, Sunanda and the other foremost sātvatas, liberated leaders who are sheltered by the arms of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa: are they all safe and well in their respective services? And do they, bound to us by enduring friendship, remember our welfare?
The constant companions of Lord Kṛṣṇa, such as Uddhava, are all liberated souls, and they descended along with Lord Kṛṣṇa to this material world to fulfill the mission of the Lord. The Pāṇḍavas are also liberated souls who descended along with Lord Kṛṣṇa to serve Him in His transcendental pastimes on this earth. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.8) , the Lord and His eternal associates, who are also liberated souls like the Lord, come down on this earth at certain intervals. The Lord remembers them all, but His associates, although liberated souls, forget due to their being taṭasthā-śakti, or marginal potency of the Lord. That is the difference between the viṣṇu-tattva and jīva-tattva. The jīva-tattvas are infinitesimal potential particles of the Lord, and therefore they require the protection of the Lord at all times. And to the eternal servitors of the Lord, the Lord is pleased to give all protection at all times. The liberated souls never, therefore, think themselves as free as the Lord or as powerful as the Lord, but they always seek the protection of the Lord in all circumstances, both in the material world and in the spiritual world. This dependence of the liberated soul is constitutional, for the liberated souls are like sparks of a fire that are able to exhibit the glow of fire along with the fire and not independently. Independently the glow of the sparks is extinguished, although the quality of fire or the glowing is there. Thus those who give up the protection of the Lord and become so-called lords themselves, out of spiritual ignorance, come back again to this material world, even after prolonged tapasya of the severest type. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature.
FAQs
They are prominent devotees and associates of Śrī Kṛṣṇa—Śrutadeva a devoted householder, and Uddhava Kṛṣṇa’s intimate minister and disciple—named here as part of the Lord’s circle of attendants.
Sensing ominous signs and Kṛṣṇa’s absence, Yudhiṣṭhira anxiously inquires about the welfare of Kṛṣṇa’s associates in Dvārakā, whose safety traditionally depended on the Lord’s protection.
It teaches dependence on Bhagavān’s protection through steady devotion—seeking refuge in the Lord rather than relying solely on worldly security.