विदुरोऽपि परित्यज्य प्रभासे देहमात्मनः ।
कृष्णावेशेन तच्चित्तः पितृभिः स्वक्षयं ययौ ॥४९॥

viduro 'pi parityajya
prabhÄse deham Ätmanaḥ
kṛṣṇÄveÅ›ena tac-cittaḥ
pitṛbhiḥ sva-kṣayaṠyayau

1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LSB(1)

 viduraḥ - Vidura (the uncle of MahÄrÄja Yudhiṣṭhira); api - also; parityajya - after quitting the body; prabhÄse - in the place of pilgrimage at PrabhÄsa; deham Ätmanaḥ - his body; kṛṣṇa - the Personality of Godhead; ÄveÅ›ena - being absorbed in that thought; tat - his; cittaḥ - thoughts and actions; pitá¹›bhiḥ - along with the residents of Pitá¹›loka; sva-ká¹£ayam - his own abode; yayau - departed.


Text

Vidura, while on pilgrimage, left his body at PrabhÄsa. Because he was absorbed in thought of Kṛṣṇa, he was received by the denizens of the Pitá¹›loka planet, where he returned to his original post.

Purport

The difference between the PÄṇá¸avas and Vidura is that the PÄṇá¸avas are eternal associates of the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, whereas Vidura is one of the administrative demigods in charge of the Pitá¹›loka planet and is known as YamarÄja. Men are afraid of YamarÄja because it is he only who awards punishment to the miscreants of the material world, but those who are devotees of the Lord have nothing to fear from him. To the devotees he is a cordial friend, but to the nondevotees he is fear personified. As we have already discussed, it is understood that YamarÄja was cursed by Maṇá¸Å«ka Muni to be degraded as a śūdra, and therefore Vidura was an incarnation of YamarÄja. As an eternal servitor of the Lord, he displayed his devotional activities very ardently and lived a life of a pious man, so much so that a materialistic man like Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra also got salvation by his instruction. So by his pious activities in the devotional service of the Lord he was able to always remember the lotus feet of the Lord, and thus he became washed of all contamination of a śūdra-born life. At the end he was again received by the denizens of Pitá¹›loka and posted in his original position. The demigods are also associates of the Lord without personal touch, whereas the direct associates of the Lord are in constant personal touch with Him. The Lord and His personal associates incarnate in many universes without cessation. The Lord remembers them all, whereas the associates forget due to their being very minute parts and parcels of the Lord; they are apt to forget such incidents due to being infinitesimal. This is corroborated in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (4.5).