FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.70.40

अथाप्याश्रावये ब्रह्म नरलोकविडम्बनम् । राज्ञ: पैतृष्वस्रेयस्य भक्तस्य च चिकीर्षितम् ॥ ४० ॥
athāpy āśrāvaye brahma
[athaapy aashraavaye brahma]
nara-loka-viḍambanam
[nara-loka-vidambanam]
rājñaḥ paitṛ-ṣvasreyasya
[raajnah paitri-shvasreyasya]
bhaktasya ca cikīrṣitam
[bhaktasya cha chikeershitam]
Word-for-word
atha api — nonetheless āśrāvaye — I shall tell brahma — O Supreme Truth nara - loka — of human society viḍambanam — (to You) who imitate rājñaḥ — of the King (Yudhiṣṭhira) paitṛ — of Your father svasreyasya — of the sister’s son bhaktasya — Your devotee ca — and cikīrṣitam — the intentions .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
athāpy āśrāvaye brahma
atha api
nonetheless
āśrāvaye
I shall tell
brahma
O Supreme Truth
nara-loka-viḍambanam
nara - loka
of human society
viḍambanam
(to You) who imitate
rājñaḥ paitṛ-ṣvasreyasya
rājñaḥ
of the King (Yudhiṣṭhira)
paitṛ
of Your father
svasreyasya
of the sister’s son
bhaktasya ca cikīrṣitam
bhaktasya
Your devotee
ca
and
cikīrṣitam
the intentions .
Important Words
  • nara-loka-viḍambanam — imitator of human society
    Viḍambana — imitation, mimicry. Bhagavān's whole earthly career is viḍambana — He plays at being human, kings, son, husband. The Gauḍīya understanding: His humanity is not less than divine, it is the divine playing the human, fully.
  • brahma — O Supreme Truth
    Nārada addresses Kṛṣṇa as 'brahma' — for the Gauḍīyas, this is no concession to impersonalism; brahma is one of Bhagavān's many epithets, simply naming Him as the Absolute. Kṛṣṇa is the source of brahma (BG 14.27).
  • paitṛ-svasreyasya — of (Your) father's sister's son
    Yudhiṣṭhira is Kuntī's son; Kuntī is Vasudeva's sister; so Yudhiṣṭhira is Kṛṣṇa's father's sister's son. The exact kinship is named — bhakti is always specific, never abstract familial.
  • bhaktasya — Your devotee
    Nārada names Yudhiṣṭhira as bhakta before naming him as king. The Gauḍīya order: devotion first, royalty second. Yudhiṣṭhira is the dharma-rāja, but more deeply the bhakta-rāja.
Nonetheless, O Supreme Truth playing the part of a human being, I shall tell You what Your devotee Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, the son of Your father’s sister, intends to do.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Nonetheless, O Supreme Truth playing the part of a human being, I shall tell You what Your devotee Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, the son of Your father's sister, intends to do.
Commentary

Now he answers the second question of the Lord in five verses. "O form of Brahman, (both brahma and Brahman readings are correct as they are alternatives of the vocative case), even though you know everything, I will let you hear (asravaye), since you have the same qualities as an ordinary human being (nara loka vidambanam)." This is an example of the ornament called contrast (vyatireka):. praise of the Lord’s expertise by citing low qualities of the human being.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Though you are omniscient, I will tell you everything (ā—śrāvaye) since you are playing as a human being. Your question is suitable since Yudhiṣṭhira is the son of Kuntī who has great affectionate for you. He is also your great devotee.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

I will tell you, because by your human pastimes you make steady the earth, or all humans or all jīvas. And he is a king, your cousin and a devotee. Or I will tell you about Yudhiṣṭhira’s intentions which support human beings or resemble human actions.

Related values & verses
Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)
Related verses
BG 2.60 BG 5.7 BG 12.5 BG 5.4 BG 16.2 BG 6.1 BG 3.27 BG 10.4 BG 3.11 BG 18.1 BG 3.1 BG 2.55 BG 7.8
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Nārada agreed to tell Kṛṣṇa what His devotee Yudhiṣṭhira intended. Even when the Lord knows, devotees still bring their plans before Him; the offering of one's plans is itself devotional.
Reflection Questions
  • Do I bring my plans to Kṛṣṇa, or just my problems?
  • What might shift if I shared upcoming intentions with Him as well?
Analogy

Bhagavān 'imitating' human society (nara-loka-viḍambana) is like a king disguising as a labourer in his own field — every gesture is true labour, yet every gesture is also play. Nārada, knowing this, still reports the news, because the play wants reporting.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 70