Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
इत्यादिष्टो भगवता महाभागवतो नृप ।
उद्धव: प्रणिपत्याह तत्त्वंजिज्ञासुरच्युतम् ॥ १३ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
ity ādiṣṭo bhagavatā
mahā-bhāgavato nṛpa
uddhavaḥ praṇipatyāha
tattvaṁ jijṣāsur acyutam
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
iti
—
thus
;
ādiṣṭaḥ
—
instructed
;
bhagavatā
—
by the Supreme Lord
;
mahā
—
bhāgavataḥ — the exalted devotee of the Lord
;
nṛpa
—
O King
;
uddhavaḥ
—
Uddhava
;
praṇipatya
—
after bowing down to offer respects
;
āha
—
spoke
;
tattvam
—
the scientific truth
;
jijṣāsuḥ
—
being eager to learn
;
acyutam
—
unto the infallible Personality of Godhead .
Translation
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmi said: O King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, thus instructed His pure devotee Uddhava, who was eager to receive knowledge from the Lord. Uddhava then offered obeisances to the Lord and spoke as follows.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvāmi said: O King! The Supreme Lord thus instructed his pure devotee Uddhava, who was eager to receive knowledge from the Lord. Uddhava then offered obeisances to the Lord and spoke as follows.
Purport
Uddhava is described here as
tattvaṁ jijṣāsuḥ,
or desiring to know the truth. It is clear from previous verses that Śrī Uddhava is a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa and that he considers devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa to be the perfection of life. Thus the words
tattvaṁ jijṣāsuḥ
indicate that since Lord Kṛṣṇa is about to leave the earth, Uddhava is most anxious to deepen his understanding of the Lord so that he may further advance in loving service at the Lord’s lotus feet. Unlike an ordinary philosopher or scholar, a pure devotee is not eager to acquire knowledge for personal gratification.