Text 24
tataś ca vaḥ pṛcchyam imaṁ vipṛcche
viśrabhya viprā iti kṛtyatāyām
sarvātmanā mriyamāṇaiś ca kṛtyaṁ
śuddhaṁ ca tatrāmṛśatābhiyuktāḥ
tataḥ — as such; ca — and; vaḥ — unto you; pṛcchyam — that which is to be asked; imam — this; vipṛcche — beg to ask you; viśrabhya — trustworthy; viprāḥ — brāhmaṇas; iti — thus; kṛtyatāyām — out of all different duties; sarva-ātmanā — by everyone; mriyamāṇaiḥ — especially those who are just about to die; ca — and; kṛtyam — dutiful; śuddham — perfectly correct; ca — and; tatra — therein; āmṛśata — by complete deliberation; abhiyuktāḥ — just befitting.
O trustworthy brāhmaṇas, I now ask you about my immediate duty. Please, after proper deliberation, tell me of the unalloyed duty of everyone in all circumstances, and specifically of those who are just about to die.
In this verse the King has placed two questions before the learned sages. The first question is what is the duty of everyone in all circumstances, and the second question is what is the specific duty of one who is to die very shortly. Out of the two, the question relating to the dying man is most important because everyone is a dying man, either very shortly or after one hundred years. The duration of life is immaterial, but the duty of a dying man is very important. Mahārāja Parīkṣit placed these two questions before Śukadeva Gosvāmī also on his arrival, and practically the whole of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, beginning from the Second Canto up to the last, the Twelfth Canto, deals with these two questions. The conclusion arrived at thereof is that devotional service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as it is confirmed by the Lord Himself in the last phases of the Bhagavad-gītā, is the last word in relation to everyone’s permanent duty in life. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was already aware of this fact, but he wanted the great sages assembled there to unanimously give their verdict on his conviction so that he might be able to go on with his confirmed duty without controversy. He has especially mentioned the word śuddha, or perfectly correct. For transcendental realization or self-realization, many processes are recommended by various classes of philosophers. Some of them are first-class methods, and some of them are second- or third-class methods. The first-class method demands that one give up all other methods and surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord and thus be saved from all sins and their reactions.