FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.4.9

इत्थं ब्रुवत्यभयदे नरदेव देवा: सव्रीडनम्रशिरस: सघृणं तमूचु: । नैतद् विभो त्वयि परेऽविकृते विचित्रं स्वारामधीरनिकरानतपादपद्मे ॥ ९ ॥
itthaṁ bruvaty abhaya-de nara-deva devāḥ
[ittham bruvaty abhaya-de nara-deva devaah]
sa-vrīḍa-namra-śirasaḥ sa-ghṛṇaṁ tam ūcuḥ
[sa-vreeda-namra-shirasah sa-ghrinam tam oochuh]
naitad vibho tvayi pare ’vikṛte vicitraṁ
[naitad vibho tvayi pare ’vikrite vichitram]
svārāma-dhīra-nikarānata-pāda-padme
[svaaraama-dheera-nikaraanata-paada-padme]
Word-for-word
ittham — in this way bruvati — when He had spoken abhaya-de — the giver of fearlessness nara-deva — O King (Nimi) devāḥ — the demigods (Cupid and his associates) sa-vrīḍa — out of shame namra — bowed śirasaḥ — with their heads sa-ghṛṇam — begging for compassion tam — to Him ūcuḥ — they said na — is not etat — this vibho — O almighty Lord tvayi — for You pare — the Supreme avikṛte — unchanging vicitram — anything surprising sva-ārāma — of those who are self-satisfied dhīra — and those who are sober-minded nikara — by great numbers ānata — bowed down to pāda-padme — whose lotus feet.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
itthaṁ bruvaty abhaya-de nara-deva devāḥ
ittham
in this way
bruvati
when He had spoken
abhaya-de
the giver of fearlessness
nara-deva
O King (Nimi)
devāḥ
the demigods (Cupid and his associates)
sa-vrīḍa-namra-śirasaḥ sa-ghṛṇaṁ tam ūcuḥ
sa-vrīḍa
out of shame
namra
bowed
śirasaḥ
with their heads
sa-ghṛṇam
begging for compassion
tam
to Him
ūcuḥ
they said
naitad vibho tvayi pare ’vikṛte vicitraṁ
na
is not
etat
this
vibho
O almighty Lord
tvayi
for You
pare
the Supreme
avikṛte
unchanging
vicitram
anything surprising
svārāma-dhīra-nikarānata-pāda-padme
sva-ārāma
of those who are self-satisfied
dhīra
and those who are sober-minded
nikara
by great numbers
ānata
bowed down to
pāda-padme
whose lotus feet.
My dear King Nimi, when Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi thus spoke, eradicating the fear of the demigods, they bowed their heads with shame and addressed the Lord as follows, to invoke His compassion: Our dear Lord, You are always transcendental, beyond the reach of illusion, and therefore You are forever changeless. Your causeless compassion toward us, despite our great offense, is not at all unusual in You, since innumerable great sages who are self-satisfied and free from anger and false pride bow down humbly at Your lotus feet.
Purport

The demigods said, “Our dear Lord, although ordinary living entities such as the demigods and ordinary men are always disturbed by material pride and anger, You are always transcendental. Therefore it is not surprising that we fallible demigods could not appreciate Your glories.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
My dear King Nimi, when Nara-Nārāyaṇa thus spoke, eradicating the fear of the devatās, the devatās bowed their heads with shame and addressed the Lord as follows, to invoke his compassion: O Lord! Nothing is surprising for you, the supreme, unchanging person, at whose lotus feet a multitude of sages who enjoy within themselves and have control of their senses bow down. O King! When Nārāyaṇa, giver of fearlessness, spoke in this way, Cupid and the others spoke. Nothing is surprising for you, the supreme person without change. Svārāmāḥ means ātmārāmas.
Personal Guidance
Krishna remains forever changeless and causelessly compassionate; the self-satisfied dhīra sages bow at His lotus feet — so can we, despite our offenses.
Practical Applications
  • Bow your head — literally — before Krishna's image today and name one specific offense you carry, trusting His changeless compassion.
  • Notice the next moment material pride or anger rises in you, and contrast it with the avikṛta (unchanging) nature of the Lord you are trying to serve.
  • Refuse the impulse to hide your fault from your guru, deity, or sādhu-saṅga; approach with bowed head, as the demigods did, rather than performing composure.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I, like the demigods, only turning to Krishna for compassion after I have already failed — and what would it look like to approach Him before the failure?
  • Which self-satisfied, anger-free quality of the dhīra sages most exposes the noise still operating in me?
For Each Age Group
youth
  • After your next argument with a parent, friend, or roommate, be the first to bow your head and name your part — without waiting for them to admit theirs.
  • Before posting anything on social media this week, pause and ask whether you are speaking from material pride or from the steadiness of one who knows Krishna is watching.
  • Pick one professor, senior, or coach you have quietly resented, and offer respect to them today as practice for offering it at Krishna's lotus feet.
householder
  • When you next snap at your spouse or child, return within the hour, bow your head, and apologize concretely — model the demigods' sequence for your family.
  • In a money or career decision this week, notice where you are acting from anger or pride at being undervalued, and route that decision through japa or counsel instead.
  • Tell your child one story of a time you were wrong and had to apologize — let them see sa-vrīḍa-namra-śirasaḥ practiced, not just preached.
senior
  • Identify one person you offended decades ago and have never directly approached; write or call them this week, bowed-head, with no defense attached.
  • In conversations with younger devotees, refuse the senior's temptation to pose as already-arrived; speak as one still bowing at the lotus feet of the dhīras.
  • Each evening, review the day for residues of pride and anger — not to brood, but to lay them at Krishna's feet before sleep, trusting His causeless compassion.
Common Pitfalls
  • Reading "causeless compassion" as a license to keep offending, instead of as the very ground that makes genuine repentance possible.
  • Mistaking Krishna's changelessness for impersonal stillness rather than the steady personal presence to whom svārāma sages bow.
  • Imitating the demigods' shame as a performance of humility while inwardly still defending the offense.
Discussion Prompts
  • Share a time you, like the demigods, only recognized your offense after the fact — what made approaching with a bowed head harder or easier than staying away?
  • The verse contrasts fallible demigods with self-satisfied dhīra sages — where in your life are you living as a demigod, and where as a sādhu, this week?
  • If Krishna's compassion is truly causeless, what does that change — or refuse to change — about how you ask forgiveness from Him versus from people you have wronged?
Role Play

Two students pair up. One plays a sincere devotee who has just spoken harshly to a junior in the temple and is now standing before the deity; the other plays a senior Vaiṣṇava who happens to walk in. The devotee must approach both the deity and the senior with sa-vrīḍa-namra-śirasaḥ — shame-bowed head — without slipping into self-flagellation or defensive explanation. After three minutes, swap roles and debrief what felt like real humility versus performance.

Objections & Responses
  • If Krishna is truly avikṛta — unchanging — then He cannot actually be moved by my repentance, so this whole prayer is theater.
    Changelessness here means He is never compromised by māyā, pride, or anger — not that He is inert. He is eternally compassionate; what changes is our position. The demigods are not informing Krishna of something new; they are entering, by bowed head, the relationship His nature already offers.
  • Bowing in shame sounds like religious shaming — the kind of guilt-based piety modern people have rightly outgrown.
    Sa-vrīḍa here is not toxic shame but the natural response of a soul who sees both his offense and the Lord's causeless compassion in the same glance. It is not self-hatred; it is the doorway out of ahaṅkāra. The demigods bow and then speak — they do not collapse.
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 4