Shloka 25
Vyāsa’s Vision, the Power of Bhāgavatam, and the Arrest of Aśvatthāmā
तथायं चावतारस्ते भुवो भारजिहीर्षया । स्वानां चानन्यभावानामनुध्यानाय चासकृत् ॥ २५ ॥
tathāyaṁ cāvatāras te bhuvo bhāra-jihīrṣayā svānāṁ cānanya-bhāvānām anudhyānāya cāsakṛt
Demikianlah Engkau turun sebagai avatāra untuk mengangkat beban bumi, dan juga demi kebajikan para milik-Mu—terutama para bhakta yang berbakti eksklusif—agar sentiasa merenung dan mengingati-Mu.
It appears that the Lord is partial to His devotees. Everyone is related with the Lord. He is equal to everyone, and yet He is more inclined to His own men and devotees. The Lord is everyone’s father. No one can be His father, and yet no one can be His son. His devotees are His kinsmen, and His devotees are His relations. This is His transcendental pastime. It has nothing to do with mundane ideas of relations, fatherhood or anything like that. As mentioned above, the Lord is above the modes of material nature, and thus there is nothing mundane about His kinsmen and relations in devotional service.
FAQs
This verse says the Lord’s descent serves two aims: relieving the earth’s burden and giving His exclusive devotees a constant object of remembrance and meditation.
Śukadeva emphasizes that divine incarnations are not merely historical events; they are spiritually purposeful—meant to protect the world and nourish devotees’ uninterrupted bhakti through continual remembrance.
Keep one primary spiritual shelter—Bhagavān—and build daily habits of remembrance (japa, reading, kīrtana, mindful work-offering) so devotion becomes steady rather than occasional.