Of the same category

Expressions researched:
"of the same category"

SB Canto 2

The use of the word ca after vaiyāsakiḥ suggests, according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, that both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit were of the same category, settled long before, although one was playing the part of the master and the other the disciple.

SB 2.3.16, Purport:

As already described, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a great devotee of the Lord from his very birth, and so was Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Both of them were on the same level, although it appeared that Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a great king accustomed to royal facilities whereas Śukadeva Gosvāmī was a typical renouncer of the world, so much so that he did not even put a cloth on his body. Superficially, Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī might seem to be opposites, but basically they were both unalloyed pure devotees of the Lord. When such devotees are assembled together, there can be no topics save discussions of the glories of the Lord, or bhakti-yoga. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, when there were talks between the Lord and His devotee Arjuna, there could not be any topic other than bhakti-yoga, however the mundane scholars may speculate on it in their own ways. The use of the word ca after vaiyāsakiḥ suggests, according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, that both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit were of the same category, settled long before, although one was playing the part of the master and the other the disciple. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the center of the topics, the word vāsudeva-parāyaṇaḥ, or "devotee of Vāsudeva," suggests devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the common aim. Although there were many others who assembled at the place where Mahārāja Parīkṣit was fasting, the natural conclusion is that there was no topic other than the glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa, because the principal speaker was Śukadeva Gosvāmī and the chief audience was Mahārāja Parīkṣit. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as it was spoken and heard by two principal devotees of the Lord, is only for the glorification of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.