FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.23.30

इत्थम्भूतानुभावोऽसौ पृथु: स भगवत्तम: । कीर्तितं तस्य चरितमुद्दामचरितस्य ते ॥ ३० ॥
ittham-bhūtānubhāvo ’sau
[ittham-bhootaanubhaavo ’sau]
pṛthuḥ sa bhagavattamaḥ
[prithuh sa bhagavattamah]
kīrtitaṁ tasya caritam
[keertitam tasya charitam]
uddāma-caritasya te
[uddaama-charitasya te]
ittham-bhūta — thus anubhāvaḥ — very great, powerful asau — that pṛthuḥ — King Pṛthu saḥ — he bhagavat-tamaḥ — the best among the lords kīrtitam — described tasya — his caritam — character uddāma — very great caritasya — one who possesses such qualities te — to you.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ittham-bhūtānubhāvo ’sau
ittham-bhūta
thus
anubhāvaḥ
very great, powerful
pṛthuḥ sa bhagavattamaḥ
kīrtitaṁ tasya caritam
asau
that
pṛthuḥ
King Pṛthu
saḥ
he
bhagavat-tamaḥ
the best among the lords
kīrtitam
described
tasya
his
uddāma-caritasya te
caritam
character
uddāma
very great
caritasya
one who possesses such qualities
te
to you.
Maitreya continued: The greatest of all devotees, Mahārāja Pṛthu, was very powerful, and his character was liberal, magnificent and magnanimous. Thus I have described him to you as far as possible.

In this verse the word bhagavattamaḥ is very significant, for the word bhagavat is used especially to refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the word bhagavān, “the Supreme Personality of Godhead,” is derived from the word bhagavat. Sometimes, however, we see that the word bhagavān is used for great personalities like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Nārada Muni. This is the case with Pṛthu Mahārāja, who is described here as the best of the bhagavāns, or the best of the lords. A person can be so addressed only if he is a great personality who exhibits extraordinary and uncommon features or who attains the greatest goal after his disappearance or who knows the difference between knowledge and ignorance. In other words, the word bhagavān should not be used for ordinary persons.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Pṛthu was the best of devotees and great authority as described. I have described to you the story of Pṛthu, of splendid character.
Maitreya: I've described the greatest of devotees, powerful, liberal, magnificent, magnanimous, as best I can. The teacher always frames his account as partial; even the best telling can't exhaust the truth.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I overrate my own complete account of someone's greatness?
  • What humility about 'as best I can' would I want from the next person who narrates my life?
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 23