Shloka 5
Manu Offers Devahūti to Kardama; The Sage Accepts with a Devotional Vow
तव सन्दर्शनादेवच्छिन्ना मे सर्वसंशया: । यत्स्वयं भगवान् प्रीत्या धर्ममाह रिरक्षिषो: ॥ ५ ॥
tava sandarśanād eva cchinnā me sarva-saṁśayāḥ yat svayaṁ bhagavān prītyā dharmam āha rirakṣiṣoḥ
Rien qu’en te rencontrant, tous mes doutes se sont dissipés, car tu as, avec bonté, exposé clairement le dharma d’un roi désireux de protéger ses sujets.
Manu described herewith the result of seeing a great saintly person. Lord Caitanya says that one should always try to associate with saintly persons because if one establishes a proper association with a saintly person, even for a moment, one attains all perfection. Somehow or other, if one meets a saintly person and achieves his favor, then the entire mission of one’s human life is fulfilled. In our personal experience we have actual proof of this statement of Manu. Once we had the opportunity to meet Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and on first sight he requested this humble self to preach his message in the Western countries. There was no preparation for this, but somehow or other he desired it, and by his grace we are now engaged in executing his order, which has given us a transcendental occupation and has saved and liberated us from the occupation of material activities. Thus it is actually a fact that if one meets a saintly person completely engaged in transcendental duties and achieves his favor, then one’s life mission becomes complete. What is not possible to achieve in thousands of lives can be achieved in one moment if there is an opportunity to meet a saintly person. It is therefore enjoined in Vedic literature that one should always try to associate with saintly persons and try to disassociate oneself from the common man, because by one word of a saintly person one can be liberated from material entanglement. A saintly person has the power, because of his spiritual advancement, to give immediate liberation to the conditioned soul. Here Manu admits that all his doubts are now over because Kardama has very kindly described the different duties of individual souls.
FAQs
This verse says that simply by seeing the saintly person, one’s doubts are cut away, because such association connects one to the Lord’s own guidance on dharma.
In the context of their meeting and the unfolding of their marriage narrative, Devahuti expresses faith that Kardama’s presence and instruction dispel her uncertainties, since the Lord works through His devotees to protect dharma.
Seek regular association with genuine sādhus and teachers, and let their guidance grounded in dharma resolve confusion in life decisions and spiritual practice.