FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.42

राजोवाच कृतो मेऽनुग्रह: पूर्वं हरिणार्तानुकम्पिना । तमापादयितुं ब्रह्मन् भगवन् यूयमागता: ॥ ४२ ॥
rājovāca
[raajovaacha]
kṛto me ’nugrahaḥ pūrvaṁ
[krito me ’nugrahah poorvam]
hariṇārtānukampinā
[harinaartaanukampinaa]
tam āpādayituṁ brahman
[tam aapaadayitum brahman]
bhagavan yūyam āgatāḥ
[bhagavan yooyam aagataah]
rājā uvāca — the King said kṛtaḥ — done me — unto me anugrahaḥ — causeless mercy pūrvam — formerly hariṇā — by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu ārta-anukampinā — compassionate for persons in distress tam — that āpādayitum — to confirm it brahman — O brāhmaṇa bhagavan — O powerful one yūyam — all of you āgatāḥ — have arrived here.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rājovāca
rājā uvāca
the King said
kṛto me ’nugrahaḥ pūrvaṁ
kṛtaḥ
done
me
unto me
hariṇārtānukampinā
anugrahaḥ
causeless mercy
pūrvam
formerly
tam āpādayituṁ brahman
bhagavan yūyam āgatāḥ
hariṇā
by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu
ārta-anukampinā
compassionate for persons in distress
tam
that
āpādayitum
to confirm it
brahman
O brāhmaṇa
bhagavan
O powerful one
yūyam
all of you
āgatāḥ
have arrived here.
The King said: O brāhmaṇa, O powerful one, formerly Lord Viṣṇu showed me His causeless mercy, indicating that you would come to my house, and to confirm that blessing, you have all come.

When Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the great arena of sacrifice at the time when King Pṛthu was performing a great sacrifice ( aśvamedha ), He predicted that the Kumāras would very soon come and advise the King. Therefore Pṛthu Mahārāja remembered the causeless mercy of the Lord and thus welcomed the arrival of the Kumāras, who were fulfilling the Lord’s prediction. In other words, when the Lord makes a prediction, He fulfills that prediction through some of His devotees. Similarly, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu predicted that both His glorious names and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra would be broadcast in all the towns and villages of the world. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda desired to fulfill this great prediction, and we are following in their footsteps.

Regarding His devotees, Lord Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee will never perish.” ( Bg. 9.31 ) The point is that the Lord Himself could declare such things, but it was His desire to make the declaration through Arjuna and thus doubly assure that His promise would never be broken. The Lord Himself promises, and His confidential devotees execute the promise. The Lord makes so many promises for the benefit of suffering humanity. Although the Lord is very compassionate upon suffering humanity, human beings are generally not very anxious to serve Him. The relationship is something like that between the father and the son; the father is always anxious for the welfare of the son, even though the son forgets or neglects the father. The word anukampinā is significant; the Lord is so compassionate upon the living entities that He comes Himself into this world in order to benefit fallen souls:

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.” ( Bg. 4.7 )

Thus it is out of compassion that the Lord appears in His different forms. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet out of compassion for fallen souls; Lord Buddha appeared out of compassion for the poor animals who were being killed by the demons; Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared out of compassion for Prahlāda Mahārāja. The conclusion is that the Lord is so compassionate upon the fallen souls within this material world that He comes Himself or sends His devotees and His servants to fulfill His desire to have all the fallen souls come back home, back to Godhead. Thus Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructed Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna for the benefit of the entire human society. Intelligent men should therefore seriously consider this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and fully utilize the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā as preached without adulteration by His pure devotees.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The King said: Previously the Lord, compassionate to the distressed, was merciful to me. O brāhmana! O Lord Sanatkumāra! You have come to fulfill that mercy. Pṛthu addresses Sanatkumāra since he is the head of the four Kumāras. He addresses them all with yūyam (you in the plural.)
Related verses
Lord Viṣṇu earlier showed me mercy by indicating you would visit; you've confirmed His blessing. Sometimes meetings later confirm earlier promises; pay attention to which promises are quietly being kept.
Reflection Questions
  • Which old promise is being quietly fulfilled in my life right now?
  • Where do I miss the confirmation because I forgot the original word?
📝 My note

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