Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 18
Ṛṣabhadeva’s Indifference to Siddhis, Vigilance Toward the Mind, and the Kali-yuga Rise of Anti-Vedic धर्म
राजन् पतिर्गुरुरलं भवतां यदूनां दैवं प्रिय: कुलपति: क्व च किङ्करो व: । अस्त्वेवमङ्ग भगवान् भजतां मुकुन्दो मुक्तिं ददाति कर्हिचित्स्म न भक्तियोगम् ॥ १८ ॥
rājan patir gurur alaṁ bhavatāṁ yadūnāṁ daivaṁ priyaḥ kula-patiḥ kva ca kiṅkaro vaḥ astv evam aṅga bhagavān bhajatāṁ mukundo muktiṁ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam
大王啊，对你们雅度族（以及般度族）而言，至上之主穆昆达确是护持者、灵性导师、应受崇拜的神明、挚友与家族之主；更何况，祂有时还以使者或仆人的身份服侍你们家族。求得主恩而敬拜者，很容易从主得解脱；但直接侍奉主的机会——奉爱瑜伽——主却不轻易赐予。
While instructing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī thought it wise to encourage the King because the King might be thinking of the glorious position of various royal dynasties. Especially glorious is the dynasty of Priyavrata, in which the Supreme Lord Ṛṣabhadeva incarnated. Similarly, the family of Uttānapāda Mahārāja, the father of Mahārāja Dhruva, is also glorious due to King Pṛthu’s taking birth in it. The dynasty of Mahārāja Raghu is glorified because Lord Rāmacandra appeared in that family. As far as the Yadu and Kuru dynasties are concerned, they existed simultaneously, but of the two, the Yadu dynasty was more glorious due to the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Mahārāja Parīkṣit might have been thinking that the Kuru dynasty was not as fortunate as the others because the Supreme Lord did not appear in that family, neither as Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva or Mahārāja Pṛthu. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja was encouraged by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in this particular verse.
FAQs
This verse states that Mukunda may grant liberation to worshipers, but bhakti-yoga is not something He gives cheaply—pure devotion is rarer and higher than mere liberation.
Śukadeva emphasizes Kṛṣṇa’s supreme position: He is their lord, guru, beloved, and dynasty-head. Any appearance of Him acting as a servant is His affectionate līlā, not a reduction of His divinity.
Seek devotion as the goal—not just relief, success, or even “liberation.” Practice worship and remembrance with the intention to deepen loving service (bhakti-yoga), not merely to escape suffering.