After seeing Śaṅkara anxious, Vyāsadeva asked Śaṅkarajī, “Why are you so upset? Why are you running around?”
Śaṅkarajī replied, “I am searching for a parrot; I want to kill him.”
Vyāsadeva asked, “Why do you want to kill him?”
Śaṅkarajī replied, “He is not qualified to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but yet he has heard. So I want to kill him.”
Vyāsadeva asked, “If anyone hears the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with faith and patience, what becomes of him? What is the fruit of listening to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?”
Śaṅkara replied, “He becomes immortal.”
Vyāsadeva said, “If he has heard and has thus become immortal, how can you kill him?”
Then Vyāsadeva began to laugh, and as Śaṅkarajī realized this fact, he also began to laugh, so he retreated. [Laughter from audience] Vyāsadeva continued speaking hari-kathā to his wife for 16 years; he explained the essence of all Vedas, Upaniṣads, śāstras, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and all purāṇas. Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī was the parrot of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and he was always listening to hari-kathā from Śrīla Vyāsadeva.
After 16 years, Vyāsadeva asked the parrot in his wife’s womb, “I don’t know who you are, but you should come out of your mother’s womb. You should not give her any suffering.”
The parrot replied, “I cannot come to this world of māyā. māyā is everywhere in this world, so I will not emerge out.”
Vyāsadeva replied, “I will nullify māyā’s influence for a moment, so you should come out of your mother’s womb.”
The parrot said, “I don’t believe your words. Only if Kṛṣṇa Himself comes and withdraws His potency of māyā; only then will I emerge.”
So Vyāsadeva prayed to Kṛṣṇa, Who then manifested Himself and told the parrot, “Oh devotee, at once emerge from your mother’s womb. I am Kṛṣṇa coming from Dvārakā, and you should come out.”
Kṛṣṇa withdrew His māyā potency for a moment as Vyāsadeva had promised, and the parrot emerged as a sixteen year old boy. The boy then immediately departed to the forest.
yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ
“Apeta-kṛtyaṁ,” the ceremony of cutting the umbilical cord wasn’t even performed. Neither was he bathed. None of the formal ceremonies were observed. Rather, he emerged from his mother’s womb and headed straight to the forest.
Vyāsadeva followed his dear son, and called out, “O son, O son!” but Śukadeva did not reply to his father. The trees around him as a pratidhvany echoed, “Who is son? Who is father? Who is mother? Who is husband? Who is wife? Kṛṣṇa is only father, He is everything, and all other relationships are enactments of His illusory māyā. Such relations are not true.” From this event we can understand that Kṛṣṇa should be worshiped exclusively. These other familial relationships will end very soon. We see in this world, that if relationships are not broken during the time of a person’s life, then they will end at the time of his death. The relationships will cease to exist at the time of a person’s death. Śukadeva did not return to his parents., but went ahead, while Vyāsadeva anxiously pursued his son. When Śukadeva came near the precincts of Mānasa-sarovara, many ladies were taking bath; naked, but undisturbed by his sudden presence as he proceeded forward. Śukadeva Gosvāmī was naked and he was 16 years of age, but the ladies somehow did not react, and continued to bathe naked. Shortly thereafter, when Vyāsadeva arrived in pursuit of his son, they at once emerged from the water and covering themselves with their clothes, bowed to Vyāsadeva.
[CC-by-NDNC Bhakta Bandhav]