Shloka 6
Prahlāda Rejects Material Boons; Forgives His Father; Tripura and the Power of Remembrance
अहं त्वकामस्त्वद्भक्तस्त्वं च स्वाम्यनपाश्रय: । नान्यथेहावयोरर्थो राजसेवकयोरिव ॥ ६ ॥
ahaṁ tv akāmas tvad-bhaktas tvaṁ ca svāmy anapāśrayaḥ nānyathehāvayor artho rāja-sevakayor iva
Ô Seigneur, je suis Ton serviteur et dévot sans désir, et Tu es mon Maître éternel. Entre nous, nul autre lien n’est requis que celui de maître et serviteur, comme le roi et son serviteur.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: every living being is eternally a servant of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) , bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: “I am the proprietor of all planets, and I am the supreme enjoyer.” This is the natural position of the Lord, and the natural position of the living being is to surrender unto Him ( sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ). If this relationship continues, then real happiness exists eternally between the master and servant. Unfortunately, when this eternal relationship is disturbed, the living entity wants to become separately happy and thinks that the master is his order supplier. In this way there cannot be happiness. Nor should the master cater to the desires of the servant. If he does, he is not the real master. The real master commands, “You must do this,” and the real servant immediately obeys the order. Unless this relationship between the Supreme Lord and the subordinate living entity is established, there can be no real happiness. The living entity is āśraya, always subordinate, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is viṣaya, the supreme objective, the goal of life. Unfortunate persons trapped in this material world do not know this. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: illusioned by the material energy, everyone in this material world is unaware that the only aim of life is to approach Lord Viṣṇu.
FAQs
This verse defines the pure devotee as akāma—free from personal material desires—whose only identity is being the Lord’s bhakta, relating to Him solely as servant to master.
After the Lord offered benedictions, Prahlāda clarified he was not a merchant of devotion; he wanted no reward—only the natural relationship of service to his self-sufficient Lord.
Serve God without bargaining—do devotional practice and duty as an offering, reducing entitlement and expectation of results, and cultivating steady service-mindedness.