Shloka 7
Vidura’s Questions on Devotion and Sarga; Maitreya Begins the Account of Creation
क्रीडन् विधत्ते द्विजगोसुराणां क्षेमाय कर्माण्यवतारभेदै: । मनो न तृप्यत्यपि शृण्वतां न: सुश्लोकमौलेश्चरितामृतानि ॥ ७ ॥
krīḍan vidhatte dvija-go-surāṇāṁ kṣemāya karmāṇy avatāra-bhedaiḥ mano na tṛpyaty api śṛṇvatāṁ naḥ suśloka-mauleś caritāmṛtāni
Đức Thế Tôn, qua muôn hình thái hóa thân, thực hiện các lila vì an lạc cho hàng Bà-la-môn, bò thiêng và chư thiên. Dẫu chúng con nghe mãi, tâm vẫn không bao giờ no đủ trước cam lộ của thánh hạnh Ngài.
The Lord appears in this universe in different incarnations like Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha and Nṛsiṁha, and He manifests His different transcendental activities for the welfare of the twice-born, the cows and the demigods. The Lord is directly concerned with the twice-born or civilized men. A civilized man is one who has taken his birth twice. A living entity takes birth in this mundane world due to the union of male and female. A human being is born due to union of the father and mother, but a civilized human being has another birth by contact with a spiritual master, who becomes the actual father. The father and mother of the material body are so only in one birth, and in the next birth the father and mother may be a different couple. But the bona fide spiritual master, as the representative of the Lord, is the eternal father because the spiritual master has the responsibility to lead the disciple to spiritual salvation, or the ultimate goal of life. Therefore, a civilized man must be twice-born; otherwise he is no more than the lower animals.
FAQs
This verse says the Lord manifests in diverse avatāras and performs many deeds for the welfare and protection of the righteous—especially brāhmaṇas, cows, and the devatās—thereby sustaining dharma.
Approaching Maitreya for spiritual instruction, Vidura expresses his intense relish for hearing the Lord’s pastimes, admitting that even repeated hearing never satiates the mind, and thus he seeks more Hari-kathā.
Regularly hear and study the Lord’s līlās and teachings; instead of seeking satisfaction in temporary entertainment, cultivate a steady taste for sacred narration that deepens devotion and clarity.