Shloka 23
Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy (Śṛṅgi) and the Moral Crisis of Kali-yuga
अहं हि पृष्टोऽर्यमणो भवद्भि- राचक्ष आत्मावगमोऽत्र यावान् । नभ: पतन्त्यात्मसमं पतत्त्रिण- स्तथा समं विष्णुगतिं विपश्चित: ॥ २३ ॥
ahaṁ hi pṛṣṭo ’ryamaṇo bhavadbhir ācakṣa ātmāvagamo ’tra yāvān nabhaḥ patanty ātma-samaṁ patattriṇas tathā samaṁ viṣṇu-gatiṁ vipaścitaḥ
O mga rishi na dalisay na gaya ng araw, dahil kayo’y nagtanong, ilalarawan ko ang mga transendental na lila ni Śrī Viṣṇu ayon sa abot ng aking kaalaman. Gaya ng mga ibong lumilipad sa langit hanggang sa kaya nila, gayon din ang marurunong na deboto na nagsasalaysay ng landas at kaluwalhatian ng Panginoon ayon sa kanilang pagsasakatuparan.
The Supreme Absolute Truth is unlimited. No living being can know about the unlimited by his limited capacity. The Lord is impersonal, personal and localized. By His impersonal feature He is all-pervading Brahman, by His localized feature He is present in everyone’s heart as the Supreme Soul, and by His ultimate personal feature He is the object of transcendental loving service by His fortunate associates the pure devotees. The pastimes of the Lord in different features can only be estimated partly by the great learned devotees. So Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī has rightly taken this position in describing the pastimes of the Lord as far as he has realized. Factually only the Lord Himself can describe Himself, and His learned devotee also can describe Him as far as the Lord gives him the power of description.
FAQs
It says that although seekers may progress according to their individual capacity—like birds flying with different strength—all wise seekers can attain the same supreme destination of Viṣṇu.
Parīkṣit, facing imminent death due to the curse, asked for the essence of spiritual duty; Śukadeva responds by outlining self-realization and the ultimate goal—attaining Viṣṇu.
Advance steadily according to your capacity without comparing paths or pace, while keeping the goal clear: sincere God-centered practice aimed at attaining the Lord’s shelter.