Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 31
Nārāyaṇa’s Impartiality, Absorption in Kṛṣṇa, and the Jaya–Vijaya Descent
Prelude to Prahlāda’s History
गोप्य: कामाद्भयात्कंसो द्वेषाच्चैद्यादयो नृपा: । सम्बन्धाद् वृष्णय: स्नेहाद्यूयं भक्त्या वयं विभो ॥ ३१ ॥
gopyaḥ kāmād bhayāt kaṁso dveṣāc caidyādayo nṛpāḥ sambandhād vṛṣṇayaḥ snehād yūyaṁ bhaktyā vayaṁ vibho
ข้าแต่พระราชายูธิษฐิระ ผู้เป็นที่รัก โคปีทั้งหลายได้ด้วยความใคร่รัก คังสะได้ด้วยความกลัว ศิศุปาละ (เจทิยะ) และกษัตริย์อื่นๆ ได้ด้วยความเกลียดชัง วฤษณีได้ด้วยสายสัมพันธ์วงศ์ญาติ พวกท่านปาณฑพได้ด้วยความรักใคร่ และพวกเราผู้เป็นภักตะได้ด้วยภักติ—ดังนี้ทุกฝ่ายล้วนได้รับพระกรุณาของศรีกฤษณะ
Different persons achieve different types of mukti — sāyujya, sālokya, sārūpya, sāmīpya and sārṣṭi — according to their own intense desire, which is called bhāva. Thus it is described here that the gopīs, by their lusty desires, which were based upon their intense love for Kṛṣṇa, became the most beloved devotees of the Lord. Although the gopīs at Vṛndāvana expressed their lusty desires in relationship with a paramour ( parakīya-rasa ), they actually had no lusty desires. This is significant of spiritual advancement. Their desires appeared lusty, but actually they were not the lusty desires of the material world. Caitanya-caritāmṛta compares the desires of the spiritual and material world to gold and iron. Both gold and iron are metal, but there is a vast difference in their value. The lusty desires of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa are compared to gold, and material lusty desires are compared to iron.
FAQs
This verse explains that intense absorption in the Lord—whether through fear (Kaṁsa) or hatred (Śiśupāla and other kings)—fixes the mind on Him, and such concentrated remembrance can grant liberation, though it is not considered the pure, desirable path compared to bhakti.
Prahlāda is teaching that the Lord is attainable through many kinds of intense relationship, but he highlights that devotees like himself seek the Lord specifically through bhakti—loving devotional service—rather than through fear, envy, or mere worldly ties.
Channel your attention toward the Divine through positive devotion—hearing, chanting, and serving—rather than letting intense emotions like fear or hatred dominate; the verse encourages purposeful, loving absorption in God as the highest approach.