sa vasudevanucaram prasantam
brhaspateh prak tanayam pratitam
alingya gadham pranayena bhadram
svanam aprcchad bhagavat-prajanam
sah -- he, Vidura; vasudeva -- Lord Krsna; anucaram -- constant companion; prasantam -- very sober and gentle; brhaspateh -- of Brhaspati, the learned spiritual master of the demigods; prak -- formerly; tanayam -- son or disciple; pratitam -- acknowledged; alingya -- embracing; gadham -- very feelingly; pranayena -- in love; bhadram -- auspicious; svanam -- his own; aprcchat -- asked; bhagavat -- of the Personality of Godhead; prajanam -- family.
Vidura was older than Uddhava, like a father, and therefore when the two met, Uddhava bowed down before Vidura, and Vidura embraced him because Uddhava was younger, like a son. Vidura's brother Pandu was Lord Krsna's uncle, and Uddhava was a cousin to Lord Krsna. According to social custom, therefore, Vidura was to be respected by Uddhava on the level of his father. Uddhava was a great scholar in logic, and he was known to be a son or disciple of Brhaspati, the greatly learned priest and spiritual master of the demigods. Vidura asked Uddhava about the welfare of his relatives, although he already knew that they were no longer in the world. This inquiry appears to be very queer, but Srila Jiva Gosvami states that the news was shocking to Vidura, who therefore inquired again due to great curiosity. Thus his inquiry was psychological and not practical.
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