iti vyavacchidya sa pāṇḍaveyaḥ prāyopaveśaṁ prati viṣṇu-padyām dadhau mukundāṅghrim ananya-bhāvo muni-vrato mukta-samasta-saṅgaḥ
Synonyms
iti—thus; vyavacchidya—having made it decided; saḥ—the king; pāṇḍaveyaḥ—worthy descedant of the Pandavas; prāya-upaveśam—for the matter of fasting till death; prati—towards; viṣṇu-padyām—on the bank of the Ganges (emanated from the Lotus feet of Lord Vishnu); dadhau—gave up himself; mukunda-aṅghrim—unto the Lotus feet of Lord Krishna; ananya—without any deviation; bhāvaḥ—spirit; muni-vrataḥ—with vow of a sage; mukta—liberated from; samasta—all kinds of; saṅgaḥ—association.
Translation
Thus the king having made it decided once for all, the descendant of the Pandavas, went towards the bank of the Ganges to observe fasting untill death and gave up himself unto the Lotus feet of Lord Krishna who is only able to award liberation; thus being freed from all kinds of association and attachment accepting the vow of a sage.
Purport
The water of the Ganges sanctifies all the three worlds including the gods and the demigods on account of her emanating from the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead Vishnu. Lord Krishna is the fountainhead of the principle of Vishnu Tattwa and therefore shelter of His Lotus feet can deliver one from all sins including an offence which was commited by the king unto a Brahmin. Maharaj Parikshit, therefore, decided to meditate upon the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna Who is Mukunda or the giver of liberations of all description. The bank of the Ganges or the Yamuna gives one chance of remembering the Lord in a continued mood. Maharaj Parikshit freed himself from all sorts of material association and meditated upon the Lotus feet of Lord Krishna and that is the way of liberation. To be free from all material association means to cease completely in the act of committing any further sins and to meditate upon the lotus feet of the Lord means to become free from the effects of all previous sins which might have been committed by any one. The conditions of the material world are so made that one has to commit sins willingly or unwillingly and the best example is Maharaj Parikshit himself who was a recognised sinless pious king. But he also became a victim of the offence upon a Brahmin even though he was ever unwilling to commit such mistake. And he was cursed also but because he was a great devotee of the Lord, therefore, even such reverses of life became favourable circumstances for the devotee of the Lord. The principle is that one should not willingly commit any sin in his life and should constantly remember the Lotus feet of the Lord without any deviation. In such a mood only the Lord will help the devotee for making regular progress towards the path of liberation and thus attaining the lotus feet of the Lord. Even there is accidental sins committed by the devotee the Lord saves the surrendered soul from all sins as it is confirmed in all scriptures. Swapadamulam bhaijatah priyasya tyaktanyabhavasya hari pareshah, Vikarma yatcha utpatitam kathanchit dhunoti sarvam hridi sannivistah (Bhag: 11/5/38). The devotee of the Lord never commits sins willingly but the material world is such a place that one has to commit sins even unwillingly. The finest way to save one from such accidental sins of life is to remember constantly the Lotus feet of the Lord. But one who commits sins deliberate willingly on the strength of the Lord's assurances for saving, do commit the maximum amount of sins and there is no deliverance even by constantly remembering the Lotus feet of the Lord. Such willful offender has no chance of being freed from the clutches of fruitive action.