Shloka 3
Vidura’s Questions on Devotion and Sarga; Maitreya Begins the Account of Creation
जनस्य कृष्णाद्विमुखस्य दैवा- दधर्मशीलस्य सुदु:खितस्य । अनुग्रहायेह चरन्ति नूनं भूतानि भव्यानि जनार्दनस्य ॥ ३ ॥
janasya kṛṣṇād vimukhasya daivād adharma-śīlasya suduḥkhitasya anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṁ bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya
O my Lord, to bestow mercy upon those who have turned away from Krishna, who by fate fall into adharma and suffer greatly, the noble souls—the devotees of Janardana—surely wander upon this earth.
To be obedient to the wishes of the Supreme Lord is the natural position of every living entity. But due only to past misdeeds, a living being becomes averse to the sense of subordination to the Lord and suffers all the miseries of material existence. No one has anything to do but render devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore any activity other than transcendental loving service to the Lord is more or less a rebellious action against the supreme will. All fruitive activity, empirical philosophy and mysticism are more or less against the sense of subordination to the Lord, and any living entity engaged in such rebellious activity is more or less condemned by the laws of material nature, which work under the subordination of the Lord. Great unalloyed devotees of the Lord are compassionate towards the fallen, and therefore they travel all over the world with the mission of bringing souls back to Godhead, back to home. Such pure devotees of the Lord carry the message of Godhead in order to deliver the fallen souls, and therefore the common man who is bewildered by the influence of the external energy of the Lord should avail himself of their association.
FAQs
This verse says that one who becomes kṛṣṇa-vimukha (turned away from Kṛṣṇa) tends toward adharma and thus suffers greatly; yet the Lord’s auspicious devotees move in the world to extend mercy and bring such souls back toward bhakti.
Maitreya explains to Vidura that saintly, beneficent devotees—agents of Janārdana—travel and teach not for personal gain but to uplift distressed, irreligious people who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa.
Seek sadhu-saṅga (association of sincere devotees), hear and study Bhagavatam, and begin bhakti practices (especially hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names), which is the channel through which Janārdana’s compassion reaches the suffering soul.