Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.5.20
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesUse Favorable Connections for Devotional Life
“I know that you are now Vidura due to the cursing of Māṇḍavya Muni and that formerly you were King Yamarāja, the great controller of living entities after their death. You were begotten by the son of Satyavatī, Vyāsadeva, in the kept wife of his brother.”
What the purport teaches
- Vidura was formerly Yamarāja, who takes charge of living entities after death. Birth, maintenance and death are conditional states within the material world.
- After receiving undue punishment from Yamarāja, Māṇḍavya Muni cursed him to become a śūdra. Thus Yamarāja took birth as Vidura.
- Despite the circumstances of his mother’s position, Vidura’s high parentage and great connections favored his becoming a great devotee. Such family connections are an advantage for attaining devotional life.
Try this today
Contact one person who encourages your devotional life and thank them for their support.
Ask yourself
Which connections in my life can help me develop devotion to the Lord?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.