SB 5.1.4 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

संशयोऽयं महान् ब्रह्मन् दारागारसुतादिषु । सक्तस्य यत्सिद्धिरभूत्कृष्णे च मतिरच्युता ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

saṁśayo ’yaṁ mahān brahman dārāgāra-sutādiṣu saktasya yat siddhir abhūt kṛṣṇe ca matir acyutā

Synonyms

saṁśayaḥ — doubt ; ayam — this ; mahān — great ; brahman — O brāhmaṇa ; dāra — to the wife ; āgāra — home ; suta — children ; ādiṣu — and so on ; saktasya — of a person attached ; yat — because ; siddhiḥ — perfection ; abhūt — became ; kṛṣṇe — unto Kṛṣṇa ; ca — also ; matiḥ — attachment ; acyutā — infallible .

Translation

The King continued: O great brāhmaṇa, this is my great doubt. How was it possible for a person like King Priyavrata, who was so attached to wife, children and home, to achieve the topmost infallible perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Great brāhmaṇa! My doubt is that though he was attached to wife, house and children, he still attained perfection and always thought of Kṛṣṇa. How is it that though, because of some aparādha, he became attached to household life, he still attained perfection and his attention did not waver from Kṛṣṇa.

Purport

King Parīkṣit wondered how a person so attached to wife, children and home could become so perfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious. Prahlāda Mahārāja has said: matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām A gṛhavrata, one who has taken a vow to execute family duties, has no chance to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is because most gṛhavratas are guided by sense gratification and therefore gradually glide down to the darkest regions of material existence ( adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram ). How can they possibly become perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī to resolve this great doubt.