754 Samad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 14

tathaivanucarah saureh
Srutadevoddhavadayah

sunanda-nandoa-sirsan ya
ye canye satvatarsabhah

api svasty asate sarve
rama-krsna-bhujasrayah

api smaranti kusalam
asmakam baddha-sauhrdah

tatha eva—similarly; anucarah—constant companions; saureh—of Lord
Sti Krsna such as; srutadeva—Srutadeva; uddhava-adayah—Uddhava and
others; sunanda—Sunanda; nanda—Nanda; sirsanyah—other leaders; ye—
all of them; ca—and; anye—others; sdtvata—liberated souls; rsabhah—the
best men; api—if; svasti—doing well; asate—are; sarve—all of them; rama—
Balarama; krsna—Lord Krsna; bhujasrayah—under the protection of; api—
if also; smaranti—do remember; kusalam—welfare; asmakam—about our-
selves; baddha-sauhrdah—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 pro-
tected by Lord Balarama and Krsna, 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 Krsna, such as Uddhava, etc., are all
liberated souls, and they had descended along with Lord Krsna on this
material world to fulfill the mission of the Lord. The Pandavas are also
liberated souls who descended along with Lord Krsna to serve Him in His
transcendental pastimes on this earth. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita
(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 tatastha-sakti, or marginal potency of the Lord. That
is the difference between the Visnu-tattva and jiva-tattvas. The jiva-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
