SB 3.13.7 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

त्वमेक: सर्वभूतानां जन्मकृद् वृत्तिद: पिता । तथापि न: प्रजानां ते शुश्रूषा केन वा भवेत् ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

tvam ekaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ janma-kṛd vṛttidaḥ pitā tathāpi naḥ prajānāṁ te śuśrūṣā kena vā bhavet

Synonyms

tvam — you ; ekaḥ — one ; sarva — all ; bhūtānām — living entities ; janma — kṛt — progenitor ; vṛtti — daḥ — source of subsistence ; pitā — the father ; tathā api — yet ; naḥ — ourselves ; prajānām — of all who are born ; te — of you ; śuśrūṣā — service ; kena — how ; vā — either ; bhavet — may be possible .

Translation

You are the father of all living entities and the source of their subsistence because they are all born of you. Please order us how we may be able to render service unto you.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

You, the one father of all beings, are their source and the giver of their subsistence. Please tell us, your offspring, how we can serve you.

Purport

A son’s duty is not only to make the father the source of supply for all his needs, but also, when he is grown up, to render service unto him. That is the law of creation beginning from the time of Brahmā. A father’s duty is to bring up the son until he is grown, and when the son is grown up, it is his duty to render service unto the father.