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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 14]
tathaivānucarāḥ śaureḥ śrutadevoddhavādayaḥ sunanda-nanda-śīrṣaṇyā ye cānye sātvatarṣabhāḥ api svasty āsate sarve rāma-kṛṣṇa-bhujāśrayāḥ api smaranti kuśalam asmākam baddha-sauhṛdāḥ
tathā eva—similarly; anucarāḥ—constant companions; śaureḥ—of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa such as; śrutadeva—Śrutadeva; uddhava-ādayaḥ—Uddhava and others; sunanda—Sunanda; nanda—Nanda; śīrṣaṇyāḥ—other leaders; ye—all of them; ca—and; anye—others; sātvata—liberated souls; ṛṣabhāḥ—the best men; api—if; svasti—doing well; āsate—are; sarve—all of them; rāma—Balarāma; kṛṣṇa—Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhujāśrayāḥ—under the protection of; api—if also; smaranti—do remember; kuśalam—welfare; asmākam—about ourselves; baddha-sauhṛdāḥ—bound by eternal friendship.
TRANSLATION
Also, are Uddhava and others, Nanda, Sunanda and other leaders of liberated souls who are constant companions of the Lord, who are protected by Lord Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, all doing well in their respective functions? Do they, who are all eternally bound in friendship with us, remember our welfare?
PURPORT
The constant companions of Lord Kṛṣṇa, such as Uddhava, etc., are all liberated souls, and they had descended along with Lord Kṛṣṇa on this material world to fulfill the mission of the Lord. The Pāṇḍavas are also liberated souls who descended along with Lord Kṛṣṇa to serve Him in His transcendental pastimes on this earth. As stated in the  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 4.5), the Lord and His eternal associates, who are also liberated souls like the Lord, come down on this earth at certain intervals. The Lord remembers them all, but His associates, although liberated souls, forget due to their being  tatasthā-śakti , or marginal potency of the Lord. That is the difference between the  Viṣṇu-tattva  and  jīva-tattvas . The  jīva-tattvas  are infinitesimal potential particles of the Lord, and therefore they require the protection of the Lord at all times. And to the eternal servitors of the Lord, the Lord is pleased to give all protection at all times. The liberated souls never, therefore, think themselves as free as the Lord or as powerful