FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.23.24

तास्तथा त्यक्तसर्वाशा: प्राप्ता आत्मदिद‍ृक्षया । विज्ञायाखिलद‍ृग्द्रष्टा प्राह प्रहसितानन: ॥ २४ ॥
tās tathā tyakta-sarvāśāḥ
[taas tathaa tyakta-sarvaashaah]
prāptā ātma-didṛkṣayā
[praaptaa aatma-didrikshayaa]
vijñāyākhila-dṛg-draṣṭā
[vijnaayaakhila-drig-drashtaa]
prāha prahasitānanaḥ
[praaha prahasitaananah]
Word-for-word
tāḥ — those ladies tathā — in such a state tyakta - sarva - āśāḥ — having given up all material desires prāptāḥ — arrived ātma - didṛkṣayā — with the desire of seeing Himself vijñāya — understanding akhila - dṛk — of the vision of all creatures draṣṭā — the seer prāha — He spoke prahasita - ānanaḥ — with a smile upon His face .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tās tathā tyakta-sarvāśāḥ
tāḥ
those ladies
tathā
in such a state
tyakta - sarva - āśāḥ
having given up all material desires
prāptā ātma-didṛkṣayā
prāptāḥ
arrived
ātma - didṛkṣayā
with the desire of seeing Himself
vijñāyākhila-dṛg-draṣṭā
vijñāya
understanding
akhila - dṛk
of the vision of all creatures
draṣṭā
the seer
prāha prahasitānanaḥ
prāha
He spoke
prahasita - ānanaḥ
with a smile upon His face .
Important Words
  • tyakta-sarva-āśāḥ — having given up all material desires
    Compound: tyakta (abandoned) + sarva (all) + āśāḥ (hopes). The exact specification of niṣkāma-bhakti — Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu's anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam in narrative form. The wives' qualification is named before Kṛṣṇa speaks.
  • ātma-didṛkṣayā — with the desire of seeing Himself
    Compound: ātma (self) + didṛkṣayā (desiderative of √dṛś, 'desire to see'). Kṛṣṇa is the ātmā the wives have come to see — He is named here as the Self of all selves.
  • akhila-dṛk — of the vision of all creatures
    Compound: akhila (all) + dṛk (seer). Kṛṣṇa as the all-witnessing dṛk — He has watched their entire interior arc. Nothing they did was hidden, and nothing they did was unwitnessed.
  • prahasita-ānanaḥ — with a smile upon His face
    Compound: prahasita (smiled) + ānanaḥ (face). The smile that the wives will be looking at — and that He is now turning back on them. Bhakti returns the gaze it has been giving.
Lord Kṛṣṇa, who witnesses the thoughts of all creatures, understood how those ladies had abandoned all worldly hopes and come there simply to see Him. Thus He addressed them as follows with a smile upon His face.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Lord Kṛṣṇa, who witnesses the thoughts of all creatures, understood how those ladies had abandoned all worldly hopes and come there simply to see Him. Thus He addressed them as follows with a smile upon His face.
Commentary

Seeing them there in that state (tah tatha), standing stunned with the plates of food in their hands, the witness of all peoples’ intelligence (akhila drg drasta) began laughing and spoke.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He understood they came with a desire to see him because he is the witness of all intelligence (akhila-dṛg-draṣṭā) or he is the witness of all jīvas. His smile indicates his sweet cleverness in cheating.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Because he was the witness of all intelligence (akhila-dṛg-draṣṭā) he understood them. Or though he understood them he spoke, showing logic (pra), since he was knowledge of all types of knowledge (akhila-dṛg-draṣṭā). He thought, “It is not proper to accept these brāhmaṇas women as servants.” Or he thought, “It is not proper for me to marry while I live in Vraja.” He smiled cheerfully, considering that by rejecting them they would suffer. Or he smiled, considering how they should become peaceful by his speech. And smiling was natural to his face.

Related values & verses
Related values
Dana (Charity / Generosity)Prema (Divine Love)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)
Related verses
BG 18.11 BG 17.20 BG 10.4 BG 12.3 BG 2.21 YS 2.45BG 16.1 BG 7.1 BG 12.2 BG 9.26 BG 2.66 BG 8.2 BG 17.4
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Kṛṣṇa, who witnesses all thoughts, understands they have abandoned worldly hope and come simply to see Him; He addresses them with a smile. Real devotional motive is read straight through and answered without explanation.
Reflection Questions
  • What motive in my approach has the Lord already read that I could simply stop performing?
  • Where would I let myself be smiled at rather than insist on explaining first?
Analogy

A father who has watched his daughter pack her bag at midnight does not need her to explain why she stands at his door — Kṛṣṇa sees the wives' interior decision already complete, and meets it with the next move.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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