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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

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<< VERSE 17 >>

śrī-nārada uvāca
naivādbhutaṁ tvayi vibho ’khila-loka-nāthe
maitrī janeṣu sakaleṣu damaḥ khalānām
niḥśreyasāya hi jagat-sthiti-rakṣaṇābhyāṁ
svairāvatāra urugāya vidāma suṣṭhu

WORD BY WORD

TRANSLATION

Śrī Nārada said: O almighty Lord, it is no surprise that You, the ruler of all worlds, show friendship for all people and yet subdue the envious. As we well know, You descend by Your sweet will in order to bestow the highest good on this universe by maintaining and protecting it. Thus Your glories are widely sung.

PURPORT

	As pointed out by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, all living beings are in fact servants of the Lord. The ācārya quotes the following verse from the Padma Purāṇa to elucidate:
	a-kāreṇocyate viṣṇuḥ śrīr u-kāreṇa kathyate ma-kāras tu tayor dāsaḥ pañca-viṁśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ
	“[In the mantra om] the letter a signifies Lord Viṣṇu, the letter u signifies the goddess Śrī, and the letter m refers to their servant, who is the twenty-fifth element.” The twenty-fifth element is the jīva, the living being. Every living being is a servant of the Lord, and the Lord is the true friend of every living being. Thus even when the Lord chastises envious persons like Jarāsandha, such punishment amounts to real friendship, since both the Lord’s chastisement and His blessing are for the benefit of the living being.

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