FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.28.17

अपीच्यदर्शनं शश्वत्सर्वलोकनमस्कृतम् । सन्तं वयसि कैशोरे भृत्यानुग्रहकातरम् ॥ १७ ॥
apīcya-darśanaṁ śaśvat
[apeechya-darshanam shashvat]
sarva-loka-namaskṛtam
[sarva-loka-namaskritam]
santaṁ vayasi kaiśore
[santam vayasi kaishore]
bhṛtyānugraha-kātaram
[bhrityaanugraha-kaataram]
apīcya-darśanam — very beautiful to see śaśvat — eternal sarva-loka — by all the inhabitants of every planet namaḥ-kṛtam — worshipable santam — situated vayasi — in youth kaiśore — in boyhood bhṛtya — upon His devotee anugraha — to bestow blessings kātaram — eager.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
apīcya-darśanaṁ śaśvat
apīcya-darśanam
very beautiful to see
śaśvat
eternal
sarva-loka
by all the inhabitants of every planet
sarva-loka-namaskṛtam
namaḥ-kṛtam
worshipable
santaṁ vayasi kaiśore
santam
situated
vayasi
in youth
kaiśore
in boyhood
bhṛtyānugraha-kātaram
bhṛtya
upon His devotee
anugraha
to bestow blessings
kātaram
eager.
The Lord is eternally very beautiful, and He is worshipable by all the inhabitants of every planet. He is ever youthful and always eager to bestow His blessing upon His devotees.

The word sarva-loka-namaskṛtam means that He is worshipable by everyone on every planet. There are innumerable planets in the material world and innumerable planets in the spiritual world as well. On each planet there are innumerable inhabitants who worship the Lord, for the Lord is worshipable by all but the impersonalists. The Supreme Lord is very beautiful. The word śaśvat is significant. It is not that He appears beautiful to the devotees but is ultimately impersonal. Śaśvat means “ever existing.” That beauty is not temporary. It is ever existing — He is always youthful. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) it is also stated: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca. He is one without a second, yet although He is the original person, He never appears old: He always appears as an ever-fresh, blooming youth.

The Lord’s facial expression always indicates that He is ready to show favor and benediction to the devotees; for the nondevotees, however, He is silent. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, although He acts equally to everyone because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and because all living entities are His sons, He is especially inclined to those engaged in devotional service. The same fact is confirmed here: He is always anxious to show favor to the devotees. Just as the devotees are always eager to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord is also very eager to bestow benediction upon the pure devotees.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
He is beautiful, and worshipped by all people. He is eternally fifteen years old and eager to bless his servants. He is beautiful to see. He is eternally situated at fifteen years (kaiśore).
Devotional service is named here as the central fact of spiritual life, not a hobby alongside it. The verse asks us to make the Lord the actual recipient of our daily activity rather than a polite afterthought. The verse keeps returning to Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is your devotional life mostly verbal, and where is it actually costing you something?
  • What would steady, unglamorous service look like for you this month?
📝 My note

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