Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c9.s3.53

c9.s3.53

It lays down at the outset that the adoration of Kṛṣṇa's Bhakta is as indispensable as the adoration of Kṛṣṇa himself. The neglect of the Bhakta would be deemed a religious fault or demerit. A list is given from the Padma-purāṇa enumerating the chief Bhaktas famed in myth and legend, namely, Mārkaṇḍeya, Ambariṣa, Vasu, Vyāsa, Bibhīṣaṇa, Puṇḍarīka, Bali, Śambhu, Prahlāda, Vidura, Dhruva, Dālbhya, Parāśara, Bhīṣma, Nārada and others. Various Purāṇa texts are further cited to establish the worship of the Bhakta; for he alone is the greatest Bhakta who is a Bhakta of Kṛṣṇa's Bhakta; and he who worships Kṛṣṇa but does not worship his Bhakta must be deemed an arrogant and misguided person.