Shloka 3
Vidura’s Questions: How the Unchangeable Lord Relates to Māyā; Bhakti as the Remedy; Blueprint for the Coming Cosmology
क्रीडायामुद्यमोऽर्भस्य कामश्चिक्रीडिषान्यत: । स्वतस्तृप्तस्य च कथं निवृत्तस्य सदान्यत: ॥ ३ ॥
krīḍāyām udyamo ’rbhasya kāmaś cikrīḍiṣānyataḥ svatas-tṛptasya ca kathaṁ nivṛttasya sadānyataḥ
Les enfants s’élancent au jeu avec d’autres enfants ou vers mille divertissements, poussés par le désir. Mais le Seigneur, pleinement satisfait en Lui-même et toujours détaché, comment pourrait-Il avoir un tel désir ?
Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one without a second, there is no possibility that anything besides Him can exist. He expands Himself by His energies in multiforms of self-expansions and separated expansions as well, just as fire expands itself by heat and light. Since there is no other existence besides the Lord Himself, the Lord’s association with anything manifests His association with Himself. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says:
FAQs
This verse raises the philosophical question: unlike a child who plays out of lack or desire, the Lord is complete (svataḥ-tṛpta), so His līlā is not driven by need but by His divine freedom and purpose.
Vidura is seeking clarity on how an ever-detached, self-sufficient Supreme Being can still engage with creation and līlā—an essential foundation for understanding the Lord’s activities as transcendental.
It encourages distinguishing need-based action from spiritually grounded action: cultivate inner contentment, and engage in duties and devotion without the sense of lack or compulsion.