Shloka 17
Kardama Muni’s Penance, Viṣṇu’s Darśana, and the Arrangement of Devahūti’s Marriage
लोकांश्च लोकानुगतान् पशूंश्च हित्वा श्रितास्ते चरणातपत्रम् । परस्परं त्वद्गुणवादसीधु- पीयूषनिर्यापितदेहधर्मा: ॥ १७ ॥
lokāṁś ca lokānugatān paśūṁś ca hitvā śritās te caraṇātapatram parasparaṁ tvad-guṇa-vāda-sīdhu- pīyūṣa-niryāpita-deha-dharmāḥ
Entretanto, aqueles que abandonam os afazeres mundanos estereotipados e seus seguidores bestiais, e se abrigam sob o guarda‑sol de Teus pés de lótus, bebendo entre si o néctar inebriante—mel e ambrosia—das conversas sobre Tuas qualidades e Tuas līlās, libertam-se da servidão das necessidades primárias do corpo material.
After describing the necessity of married life, Kardama Muni asserts that marriage and other social affairs are stereotyped regulations for persons who are addicted to material sense enjoyment. The principles of animal life — eating, sleeping, mating and defending — are actually necessities of the body, but those who engage in transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness, giving up all the stereotyped activities of this material world, are freed from social conventions. Conditioned souls are under the spell of material energy, or eternal time — past, present and future — but as soon as one engages in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he transcends the limits of past and present and becomes situated in the eternal activities of the soul. One has to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions in order to enjoy material life, but those who have taken to the devotional service of the Lord are not afraid of the regulations of this material world. Such devotees do not care for the conventions of material activities; they boldly take to that shelter which is like an umbrella against the sun of repeated birth and death.
FAQs
This verse highlights devotees who give up worldly-minded association, take shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet, and mutually relish speaking His glories—by which material, body-centered habits are diminished.
In his prayer to Lord Viṣṇu, Manu emphasizes that devotees strengthen one another through shared glorification of the Lord, and that this devotional “nectar” naturally overcomes attachment to bodily demands.
Seek uplifting association, regularly hear and speak the Lord’s qualities (kīrtana and śravaṇa), and reduce influences that intensify sense-driven habits—letting devotion gradually replace unhealthy patterns.