Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 26
Prahlāda Instructs the Sons of Demons: Begin Bhakti from Childhood; Household Attachment as Bondage; Nārāyaṇa as the All-Pervading Supersoul
धर्मार्थकाम इति योऽभिहितस्त्रिवर्ग ईक्षा त्रयी नयदमौ विविधा च वार्ता । मन्ये तदेतदखिलं निगमस्य सत्यं स्वात्मार्पणं स्वसुहृद: परमस्य पुंस: ॥ २६ ॥
dharmārtha-kāma iti yo ’bhihitas tri-varga īkṣā trayī naya-damau vividhā ca vārtā manye tad etad akhilaṁ nigamasya satyaṁ svātmārpaṇaṁ sva-suhṛdaḥ paramasya puṁsaḥ
ಧರ್ಮ-ಅರ್ಥ-ಕಾಮವೆಂದು ವೇದಗಳು ಹೇಳುವ ತ್ರಿವರ್ಗ, ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ವಿದ್ಯೆ, ವೈದಿಕ ಕರ್ಮಗಳು, ತರ್ಕ, ನೀತಿ-ದಂಡ, ಜೀವನೋಪಾಯದ ವಿಧಗಳು—ಇವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ವೇದದ ಬಾಹ್ಯ ವಿಷಯಗಳೆಂದು ನಾನು ಎಣಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಆದರೆ ಪರಮಪುರುಷ ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿನ ಪದ್ಮಪಾದಗಳಿಗೆ ಆತ್ಮಾರ್ಪಣೆಯೇ ಪರಮ ಸಾರ।
These instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja stress the transcendental position of devotional service. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) :
FAQs
This verse states that the essential truth of all scripture culminates in offering oneself fully to the Supreme Person, the true well-wisher of all beings.
Prahlāda teaches that worldly goals and even formal Vedic pursuits are incomplete unless they lead to bhakti—complete self-surrender to the Supreme Lord.
By aligning daily choices with devotion—remembering God, offering one’s work and results, cultivating self-control, and acting with the intention to please the Supreme rather than the ego.