Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 4
Ṛṣabhadeva’s Enthronement, Exemplary Household Life, and the Birth of Bharata and the Nine Yogendras
नाभिस्तु यथाभिलषितं सुप्रजस्त्वमवरुध्यातिप्रमोदभरविह्वलो गद्गदाक्षरया गिरा स्वैरं गृहीत नरलोकसधर्मं भगवन्तं पुराणपुरुषं मायाविलसितमतिर्वत्स तातेति सानुरागमुपलालयन् परां निर्वृतिमुपगत: ॥ ४ ॥
nābhis tu yathābhilaṣitaṁ suprajastvam avarudhyāti-pramoda-bhara-vihvalo gadgadākṣarayā girā svairaṁ gṛhīta-naraloka-sadharmaṁ bhagavantaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ māyā-vilasita-matir vatsa tāteti sānurāgam upalālayan parāṁ nirvṛtim upagataḥ.
मनासारखा उत्तम पुत्र मिळाल्याने राजा नाभी आनंदाने विह्वळ झाला. गद्गद वाणीने तो ‘वत्सा! ताता!’ असे म्हणत, योगमायेच्या प्रभावाने पुराणपुरुष भगवंतालाच आपला पुत्र मानून अत्यंत प्रेमाने त्याचे पालनपोषण करू लागला. भगवंतही कृपावशात नरलोकाच्या धर्माप्रमाणे सामान्य पुत्रासारखे वागले. अशा रीतीने नाभी राजा प्रेम, भक्ती व परमानंदात मग्न झाला.
The word māyā is used in the sense of illusion. Considering the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be his own son, Mahārāja Nābhi was certainly in illusion, but this was transcendental illusion. This illusion is required; otherwise how can one accept the supreme father as his own son? The Supreme Lord appears as the son of one of His devotees, just as Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja. These devotees could never think of their son as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for such appreciation would hamper their relationship of parental love.
FAQs
This verse says the primeval Supreme Lord freely accepts the customs of human society by His own divine potency, allowing devotees to relate to Him intimately.
Because the Lord appeared in Nābhi’s dynasty as his child (Ṛṣabhadeva), enabling Nābhi to express vātsalya-bhakti—devotion in the mood of a loving parent.
It teaches that sincere devotion can transform worship into a living relationship with God, bringing deep inner peace (nirvṛti) through affectionate remembrance and service.