FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.15.2

तद् दृष्ट्वा मिथुनं जातमृषयो ब्रह्मवादिन: । ऊचु: परमसन्तुष्टा विदित्वा भगवत्कलाम् ॥ २ ॥
tad dṛṣṭvā mithunaṁ jātam
[tad drishtvaa mithunam jaatam]
ṛṣayo brahma-vādinaḥ
[rishayo brahma-vaadinah]
ūcuḥ parama-santuṣṭā
[oochuh parama-santushtaa]
viditvā bhagavat-kalām
[viditvaa bhagavat-kalaam]
tat — that dṛṣṭvā — seeing mithunam — couple jātam — born ṛṣayaḥ — the great sages brahma-vādinaḥ — very learned in Vedic knowledge ūcuḥ — said parama — very much santuṣṭāḥ — being pleased viditvā — knowing bhagavat — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead kalām — expansion.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tad dṛṣṭvā mithunaṁ jātam
tat
that
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
mithunam
couple
jātam
born
ṛṣayo brahma-vādinaḥ
ṛṣayaḥ
the great sages
brahma-vādinaḥ
very learned in Vedic knowledge
ūcuḥ parama-santuṣṭā
ūcuḥ
said
parama
very much
santuṣṭāḥ
being pleased
viditvā bhagavat-kalām
viditvā
knowing
bhagavat
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
kalām
expansion.
The great sages were highly learned in Vedic knowledge. When they saw the male and female born of the arms of Vena’s body, they were very pleased, for they could understand that the couple was an expansion of a plenary portion of Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The method adopted by the great sages and scholars, who were learned in Vedic knowledge, was perfect. They removed all the reactions of King Vena’s sinful activities by seeing that King Vena first gave birth to Bāhuka, described in the previous chapter. After King Vena’s body was thus purified, a male and female came out of it, and the great sages could understand that this was an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. This expansion, of course, was not viṣṇu-tattva but a specifically empowered expansion of Lord Viṣṇu known as āveśa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Seeing the couple appear, the sages, knowledgeable of the Vedas, were highly satisfied, and understanding that a portion [Note: Pṛthu is a śaktyā veśa avatāra.] of the Lord had appeared, they spoke.
The Veda-versed sages recognized the couple as expansions of Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī. Learned vision identifies what is divine in what appears merely human; spiritual literacy is a recognition skill.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom have I been treating as merely human who may be carrying a divine expansion?
  • Where could greater study of scripture sharpen my recognition of what's actually in front of me?
📝 My note

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