FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.17

मैत्रेय उवाच पृथोस्तत्सूक्तमाकर्ण्य सारं सुष्ठु मितं मधु । स्मयमान इव प्रीत्या कुमार: प्रत्युवाच ह ॥ १७ ॥
maitreya uvāca
[maitreya uvaacha]
pṛthos tat sūktam ākarṇya
[prithos tat sooktam aakarnya]
sāraṁ suṣṭhu mitaṁ madhu
[saaram sushthu mitam madhu]
smayamāna iva prītyā
[smayamaana iva preetyaa]
kumāraḥ pratyuvāca ha
[kumaarah pratyuvaacha ha]
maitreyaḥ uvāca — the great sage Maitreya continued to speak pṛthoḥ — of King Pṛthu tat — that sūktam — Vedic conclusion ākarṇya — hearing sāram — very substantial suṣṭhu — appropriate mitam — minimized madhu — sweet to hear smayamānaḥ — smiling iva — like prītyā — out of great satisfaction kumāraḥ — celibate pratyuvāca — replied ha — thus.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
maitreya uvāca
maitreyaḥ uvāca
the great sage Maitreya continued to speak
pṛthos tat sūktam ākarṇya
pṛthoḥ
of King Pṛthu
tat
that
sūktam
Vedic conclusion
ākarṇya
hearing
sāraṁ suṣṭhu mitaṁ madhu
sāram
very substantial
suṣṭhu
appropriate
mitam
minimized
madhu
sweet to hear
smayamāna iva prītyā
smayamānaḥ
smiling
iva
like
prītyā
out of great satisfaction
kumāraḥ pratyuvāca ha
kumāraḥ
celibate
pratyuvāca
replied
ha
thus.
The great sage Maitreya continued: Thus Sanat-kumāra, the best of the celibates, after hearing the speech of Pṛthu Mahārāja, which was meaningful, appropriate, full of precise words and very sweet to hear, smiled with full satisfaction and began to speak as follows.

Pṛthu Mahārāja’s talks before the Kumāras were very laudable because of so many qualifications. A speech should be composed of selected words, very sweet to hear, and appropriate to the situation. Such speech is called meaningful. All these good qualifications are present in Pṛthu Mahārāja’s speech because he is a perfect devotee. It is said, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: “For one who has unflinching devotional faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is engaged in His service, all good qualities become manifest in his person.” ( Bhāg. 5.18.12 ) Thus the Kumāras were very much pleased, and Sanat-kumāra began to speak as follows.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Hearing the words of Pṛthu, which were logical, deep in meaning, concise, and sweet, the Kumāras, with joyful faces, answered with affection. The words were logical (sāram), deep in meaning (suṣṭhu), concise (mitam), and sweet. They had joyful faces (svayamāna iva).
Related verses
Sanat-kumāra smiled with satisfaction at Pṛthu's meaningful, appropriate, precise, sweet speech. Even before answering, the teacher signals approval of how the question was framed.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose silent smile at my question has signaled that I had it right?
  • What about how I frame my requests could I tighten to merit such approval?
📝 My note

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