Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 19.190
Devotees in Friendship and Parental Love
“In Vṛndāvana, examples of devotees in fraternity are Śrīdāmā and Sudāmā; in Dvārakā the Lord’s friends are Bhīma and Arjuna; in Vṛndāvana the devotees in parental love are mother Yaśodā and father Nanda Mahārāja, and in Dvārakā the Lord’s parents are Vasudeva and Devakī. There are also other superior persons who are devotees in parental love.
What the purport teaches
- Śrīdāmā and Sudāmā are examples of devotees in fraternity in Vṛndāvana. Bhīma and Arjuna are the Lord’s friends in Dvārakā.
- Mother Yaśodā and father Nanda Mahārāja are devotees in parental love in Vṛndāvana.
- Vasudeva and Devakī are the Lord’s parents in Dvārakā. Other superior persons are also devotees in parental love.
Try this today
Choose one pair of friends and one pair of parents from the verse, and recall where each belongs.
Ask yourself
What do these examples help you notice about friendship and parental love as devotional relationships?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.