Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 21
Uddhava Recalls Kṛṣṇa’s Mission: Earth’s Burden, Royal Dharma, and the Prelude to Dvārakā’s Withdrawal
इमं लोकममुं चैव रमयन् सुतरां यदून् । रेमे क्षणदया दत्तक्षणस्त्रीक्षणसौहृद: ॥ २१ ॥
imaṁ lokam amuṁ caiva ramayan sutarāṁ yadūn reme kṣaṇadayā datta- kṣaṇa-strī-kṣaṇa-sauhṛdaḥ
至上主在此世与他世诸界皆行其圣妙戏乐，尤与夜度族同欢。夜间闲暇之时，祂与诸女共享夫妇爱恋之友谊甘露。
The Lord enjoyed in this world with His pure devotees. Although He is the Personality of Godhead and is transcendental to all material attachment, He nevertheless exhibited much attachment for His pure devotees on the earth, as well as for the demigods who engage in His service in the heavenly planets as powerful delegated directors in the management of all material activities. He displayed special attachment for His family members, the Yadus, as well as for His sixteen thousand wives, who had the opportunity to meet Him in the leisure hours of night. All these attachments of the Lord are manifestations of His internal potency, of which the external potency is only a shadow representation. In the Skanda Purāṇa, Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa, in the topics between Lord Śiva and Gaurī, the manifestation of His internal potencies is confirmed. There is mention of the Lord’s meeting with sixteen thousand cowherd damsels although He is the Haṁsa (transcendental) Supersoul and maintainer of all living entities. The sixteen thousand cowherd damsels are a display of sixteen varieties of internal potencies. This will be more elaborately explained in the Tenth Canto. It is said there that Lord Kṛṣṇa is just like the moon and the damsels, part of His internal potencies, are like the stars around the moon.
FAQs
This verse describes the Lord as kṣaṇa-dayā—instantly compassionate—able to grant His audience and favor in a moment, even through a simple, affectionate glance.
The verse says “sutarāṁ yadūn”—the Yadus are especially gladdened, indicating the Lord’s intimate, protective relationship with the Yadu dynasty during His earthly pastimes.
By sincere bhakti—hearing, chanting, and remembering the Lord with humility—a devotee places oneself before Him, trusting that His mercy can manifest swiftly as guidance, inner purification, and renewed devotion.