Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.80.28
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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śrī - bhagavān uvāca
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the Supreme Lord said
Standard Bhāgavatam speech-marker. Gauḍīyas note: bhagavān, not just kṛṣṇa, is used — the speech that follows carries the weight of bhagavat-tattva, not mere friendship-chatter.
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dakṣiṇāt
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remuneration
Ablative of dakṣiṇā — the offering at the conclusion of study. Honoring the guru with dakṣiṇā is the prescribed completion of brahmacarya. Gauḍīyas note: Kṛṣṇa, the universal guru, asks whether His friend properly served his own guru — guru-niṣṭhā is universally checked.
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samāvṛttena
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returned
Past participle of saṁ-ā-√vṛt. The samāvartana ritual — formal end of brahmacarya. The verse's vocabulary is technically dharma-śāstric; Kṛṣṇa knows the categories precisely.
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dharma - jña
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O knower of religious principles
Compound vocative: dharma + jña. Sudāmā is honored as dharma-jña — Gauḍīyas note that Kṛṣṇa Himself addresses His bhakta this way, ratifying his standing without flattery.
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bhāryā
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a wife
Same word as v.7 — bringing Sudāmā's wife back into the conversation indirectly. The Lord is, narratively, opening the door to ask about her. Sudāmā will not mention her need; Kṛṣṇa is already prepared to answer it.
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sadṛśī
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suitable
Adjective: matching, compatible. The Lord asks not merely about marriage but about whether the wife is sadṛśī — fit. Gauḍīyas note this as the Bhāgavata standard: gṛhastha-life requires partners well-matched in dharma.
Among civilized human beings, the question of āśrama, or spiritual order, is significant. In other words, every human being must execute prescribed duties as a celibate student, a married man or woman, a retired person or a renunciant. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa could see that the brāhmaṇa was poorly dressed, He inquired if His friend had been properly married and was executing the duties of household life. Since he was not dressed as a renunciant, he would be without a suitable āśrama unless he were properly married.
Are you married or not? Seeing his appearance, but his lack of enjoyment he had a doubt. You know the religious rule that after graduating from school to prevent the fault of having no asrama one should get marriage. (dharmajna).
Api indicates a question, and applies to later verses also. If you graduated, in order to avoid the fault of having no āśrama, you must have accepted a wife since you are a knower of dharma.
- What questions in my friendships could honor both warmth and life-structure?
- Where do I keep small talk small when it could go deeper?
An old friend, having watched another walk the prescribed path, gently asks whether he completed the householder's stage. Kṛṣṇa's question is itself sevā — He is honoring Sudāmā's varṇāśrama, drawing him into self-disclosure. The Lord interviews the bhakta with affection.
My note
Source: vedabase.io