Sage Durvasa attempted to harm King Ambarisha, who was an ardent devotee of Bhagavan Srihari Vishnu. Bhagavan Vishnu protects Ambarisha by unleashing his Sudarshana Chakra. Sage Durvasa surrenders before Bhagavan Vishnu to escape from the Sudarshana Chakra. Bhagavan Vishnu takes the opportunity to articulate a mystic truth that forms an important aspect of the doctrine of devotion.
He says: O Sage! I am under the control of My devotees and destitute of any freedom, as it were.
My heart is taken captive by the sadhus who are ever devoted to Me and I am the only beloved for them.
I covet not anything more than the unmotivated love of My devotees.
Giving up all – their wives, sons, home, friends, wealth, and even their very life – they (true devotees) have resorted to Me as the sole haven.
How can I desert them? Their hearts ever tied to Me, they attract Me as surely as chaste women attract their noble husbands.
Their sole delight is in rendering loving service to Me.
They disdain even the four supernal blessings of residence in My realm, living in proximity to Me, attainment of My form and complete absorption in Me, being sated through dedicated service to Me. They just want to be my devotee.
Will they, then, be enamoured of the petty delights subject to the sway of Time?
Sadhus are My very heart and I am the heart of sadhus; they know not anything else than Me, nor do I know in the least anything other than them.
These words of Bhagavan give us an inkling of the esoteric relationship that exists between Him and His devotees. In a word, He is their alpha and omega.