Devanagari
श्री शुक उवाच
द्वारि द्युनद्या ऋषभ: कुरूणां
मैत्रेयमासीनमगाधबोधम् ।
क्षत्तोपसृत्याच्युतभावसिद्ध:
पप्रच्छ सौशील्यगुणाभितृप्त: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
dvāri dyu-nadyā ṛṣabhaḥ kurūṇāṁ
maitreyam āsīnam agādha-bodham
kṣattopasṛtyācyuta-bhāva-siddhaḥ
papraccha sauśīlya-guṇābhitṛptaḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
dvāri
—
at the source of
;
dyu
—
nadyāḥ — the celestial river Ganges
;
ṛṣabhaḥ
—
the best of the Kurus
;
kurūṇām
—
of the Kurus
;
maitreyam
—
unto Maitreya
;
āsīnam
—
sitting
;
agādha
—
bodham — of unfathomed knowledge
;
kṣattā
—
Vidura
;
upasṛtya
—
having approached nearer
;
acyuta
—
the infallible Lord
;
bhāva
—
character
;
siddhaḥ
—
perfect
;
papraccha
—
inquired
;
sauśīlya
—
gentleness
;
guṇa
—
abhitṛptaḥ — satisfied in transcendental qualities .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Vidura, the best amongst the Kuru dynasty, who was perfect in devotional service to the Lord, thus reached the source of the celestial Ganges river [Hardwar], where Maitreya, the great, fathomless learned sage of the world, was seated. Vidura, who was perfect in gentleness and satisfied in transcendence, inquired from him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva said: Vidura, best of the Kurus, completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa and satisfied with the gentle qualities of Maitreya, who had deep knowledge, approached Maitreya as he sat on the bank of the Gaṅgā at Haridvāra and asked him questions.
In the Fifth Chapter Vidura asks about the creation of the universe of happiness and suffering. Maitreya describes the primary creation with elements and praises the Lord. Having described the nature of the shelter of creation, the aṅgī, the supreme Lord, in four chapters, the creation or sarga, which is composed of his aṅgas, is now described in detail.
Maitreya was sitting on the bank of the Gaṅgā (dyu-nadyāḥ) at Haridvāra (dvāri). He was not engaged in material activities. There is another version with sauśīlya-guṇabhitṛptam. In this case the phrase means Maitreya was satisfied with Vidura’s gentle behavior.
Purport
Vidura was already perfect due to his unalloyed devotion to the infallible Lord. The Lord and the living entities are all qualitatively the same by nature, but the Lord is quantitatively much greater than any individual living entity. He is ever infallible, whereas the living entities are prone to fall under the illusory energy. Vidura had already surpassed the fallible nature of the living entity in conditional life due to his being
acyuta-bhāva,
or legitimately absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord. This stage of life is called
acyuta-bhāva-siddha,
or perfection by dint of devotional service. Anyone, therefore, who is absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord is a liberated soul and has all admirable qualities. The learned sage Maitreya was sitting in a solitary place on the bank of the Ganges at Hardwar, and Vidura, who was a perfect devotee of the Lord and possessed all good transcendental qualities, approached him for inquiry.