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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.51.20

वरं वृणीष्व भद्रं ते ऋते कैवल्यमद्य न: । एक एवेश्वरस्तस्य भगवान् विष्णुरव्यय: ॥ २० ॥
varaṁ vṛṇīṣva bhadraṁ te
[varam vrineeshva bhadram te]
ṛte kaivalyam adya naḥ
[rite kaivalyam adya nah]
eka eveśvaras tasya
[eka eveshvaras tasya]
bhagavān viṣṇur avyayaḥ
[bhagavaan vishnur avyayah]
varam — a benediction vṛṇīṣva — choose bhadram — all good te — unto you ṛte — except kaivalyam — liberation adya — today naḥ — from us ekaḥ — one eva — only īśvaraḥ — capable tasya — of that bhagavān — the Supreme Lord viṣṇuḥ — Śrī Viṣṇu avyayaḥ — the inexhaustible .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
varaṁ vṛṇīṣva bhadraṁ te
varam
a benediction
vṛṇīṣva
choose
bhadram
all good
te
unto you
ṛte kaivalyam adya naḥ
ṛte
except
kaivalyam
liberation
adya
today
naḥ
from us
eka eveśvaras tasya
ekaḥ
one
eva
only
bhagavān viṣṇur avyayaḥ
īśvaraḥ
capable
tasya
of that
bhagavān
the Supreme Lord
viṣṇuḥ
Śrī Viṣṇu
avyayaḥ
the inexhaustible .
  • varam — a benediction
    From vṛ — to choose. The Bhāgavata's standard reward-vocabulary. Varas are limited to what the giver actually owns; the demigods own karma-rewards within saṁsāra, but not mukti.
  • kaivalyam — liberation
    From kevala — alone, exclusive. Kaivalya in non-Gauḍīya schools sometimes means the soul's isolation from prakṛti, even from Bhagavān. Gauḍīyas accept that only Viṣṇu can give liberation but redefine the destination as eternal sevā at His feet, not isolation.
  • bhagavān-viṣṇuḥ — the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu
    The demigods name the only One competent. Notice the doctrinal precision: not 'the gods,' not 'the absolute' — bhagavān viṣṇuḥ. Gauḍīyas read this as svayam-bhagavān surfacing through demigod speech; even Indra confesses Viṣṇu's monopoly on mukti.
  • ekaḥ-eva — one alone
    Phrase — 'only one.' Stark monotheistic point inside a polytheistic frame. The Bhāgavata's vocabulary admits many devas but insists on one liberator. Acintya-bhedābheda lives precisely here: many distinct devas, one Bhagavān to whom they all defer.
  • avyayaḥ — the inexhaustible
    From a-vi-√i — not subject to decay. The same epithet used in Gītā 7.25 and 10.3 for Bhagavān. Demigods exhaust; Viṣṇu does not. Mucukunda will hear this and, by verse 55, refuse every boon except service to the avyaya.
“All good fortune to you! Now please choose a benediction from us — anything but liberation, since only the infallible Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, can bestow that.”
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
"All good fortune to you! Now please choose a benediction from us—anything but liberation, since only the infallible Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, can bestow that."
Commentary

Only Visnu can grant that liberation (tasya).

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Good fortune to you! This is their general blessing. “Ask a boon.” This is their particular blessing. Kaivalyam means freedom from saṁsāra and attainment of the spiritual world. Viṣṇu is the only person capable of bestowing it (īśvaraḥ) since he is endowed with all powers (bhagavān), inexhaustible though giving benedictions to unlimited people. He is not like us, who have very little power. We become weak by doing austerities etc.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Good fortune! They say this because they were very pleased with him. Or everything is auspicious for you. Now ask for a boon. Or ask for some auspicious boon, except for liberation or exclusive devotion to the Lord’s feet. Only the Lord endowed with all powers can give this (īśvaraḥ) or is its master. Liberation depends on him. By giving himself he is not depleted (avyayaḥ). Since he is spread inside and outside (viśṇuḥ) he has the power to bestow such a condition of being everywhere: he can award liberation.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Choose a benediction — anything but liberation, since only Viṣṇu can bestow that. Demigods give what they can; what is beyond them they openly acknowledge.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you ask of demigod-level sources what only the Lord can give?
  • How does demigod honesty about their limits guide your own asks?

A wealthy patron telling a long-serving employee, 'Choose any gift — but not citizenship in another country; that's not mine to give.' The demigods know their jurisdiction. Liberation is not in their treasury, only in Viṣṇu's. The verse is a precise theology of what devas can and cannot do.

📝 My note

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