Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.71.12
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhagavān
—
the all-opulent Lord
The verse pairs bhagavān with anujñāpya — the Lord asks permission. Gauḍīyas savour this paradox: opulence is most beautiful where it bows.
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devakī - sutaḥ
—
son of Devakī
The matronymic foregrounds Kṛṣṇa's filial identity as He prepares to travel. He leaves as a son, not as Bhagavān unmarked.
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gurūn
—
elders, superiors
Gurū in the plural — the elders collectively. Vasudeva, Ugrasena, Devakī, the brāhmaṇas. The Lord models guru-niṣṭhā in front of His entire court.
The superiors mentioned here are personalities such as Vasudeva, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s father.
Taking permission from the elders such as Vasudeva, Krsna ordered his servants to prepare for departure.
Immediately (atah) he took permission. Out of eagerness to meet the Pāṇḍavas he did not even wait for an auspicious muhūrta for departure. He was not lacking a particle of his full powers (bhagavān) but he was outstanding as the son of Devakī. He was Svayam Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. Svayam means that he was astonishing on consideration of his unrestricted powers. He was completely independent (vibhuḥ). The word ādīn refers to others like Prabala and Arhaṇa.
Immediately (atah) he took permission. He was directly the supreme Lord (bhagavān), and the son of Devakī, born to her to manifest his unlimited powers. He gave orders for his departure, with his associates, and all powers, for his various pastimes, showing his powers in the Pāṇḍava’s house. Other servants were Prablā and Arhaṇa. First he took permission from the elders because he was capable of acting properly (prabhuḥ instead of vibhuḥ). Or though he was independent (prabhuḥ), he took permission.
- From whom do I take permission, and from whom do I avoid asking?
- What changes when I treat asking permission as honoring rather than constraint?
Kṛṣṇa, though Bhagavān, asking permission from His superiors before leaving is like the sun touching the horizon before setting — sovereign light still bowing to the form of the day.
Throughout Canto 10, Kṛṣṇa makes a point of asking leave — of Nanda and Yaśodā in Vraja, of Vasudeva and Devakī in Mathurā, of Ugrasena and Balarāma here in Dvārakā. The Supreme Person plays the role of obedient son and younger brother flawlessly.
Gauḍīya ācāryas read this as the highest teaching for the bhakta: even when one has the spiritual stature to act independently, the form of submission to one's gurus and elders is never abandoned. Bhakti is etiquette wearing the body of love.
My note
Source: vedabase.io