Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
ity Ädiá¹£á¹o bhagavatÄ
mahÄ-bhÄgavato ná¹›pa
uddhavaḥ praṇipatyÄha
tattvaá¹ jijñÄsur acyutam
Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; iti - thus; Ädiá¹£á¹aḥ - instructed; bhagavatÄ - by the Supreme Lord; mahÄ-bhÄgavataḥ - the exalted devotee of the Lord; ná¹›pa - O King; uddhavaḥ - Uddhava; praṇipatya - after bowing down to offer respects; Äha - spoke; tattvam - the scientific truth; jijñÄsuḥ - being eager to learn; acyutam - unto the infallible Personality of Godhead.
ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmi said: O King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, thus instructed His pure devotee Uddhava, who was eager to receive knowledge from the Lord. Uddhava then offered obeisances to the Lord and spoke as follows.
Uddhava is described here as tattvaá¹ jijñÄsuḥ, or desiring to know the truth. It is clear from previous verses that ÅšrÄ« Uddhava is a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa and that he considers devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa to be the perfection of life. Thus the words tattvaá¹ jijñÄsuḥ indicate that since Lord Kṛṣṇa is about to leave the earth, Uddhava is most anxious to deepen his understanding of the Lord so that he may further advance in loving service at the Lord’s lotus feet. Unlike an ordinary philosopher or scholar, a pure devotee is not eager to acquire knowledge for personal gratification.
