FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.18.23

అహం హి పృష్టోఽర్యమణో భవద్భ‍ి- రాచక్ష ఆత్మావగమోఽత్ర యావాన్ । నభ: పతన్త్యాత్మసమం పతత్‍త్రిణ- స్తథా సమం విష్ణుగతిం విపశ్చిత: ॥ ౨౩ ॥
ahaṁ hi pṛṣṭo ’ryamaṇo bhavadbhir
[aham hi prishto ’ryamano bhavadbhir]
ācakṣa ātmāvagamo ’tra yāvān
[aachaksha aatmaavagamo ’tra yaavaan]
nabhaḥ patanty ātma-samaṁ patattriṇas
[nabhah patanty aatma-samam patattrinas]
tathā samaṁ viṣṇu-gatiṁ vipaścitaḥ
[tathaa samam vishnu-gatim vipashchitah]
Word-for-word
aham — my humble self hi — certainly pṛṣṭaḥ — asked by you aryamaṇaḥ — as powerful as the sun bhavadbhiḥ — by you ācakṣe — may describe ātma-avagamaḥ — as far as my knowledge is concerned atra — herein yāvān — so far nabhaḥ — sky patanti — fly ātma-samam — as far as it can patattriṇaḥ — the birds tathā — thus samam — similarly viṣṇu-gatim — knowledge of Viṣṇu vipaścitaḥ — even though learned.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ahaṁ hi pṛṣṭo ’ryamaṇo bhavadbhir
aham
my humble self
hi
certainly
pṛṣṭaḥ
asked by you
aryamaṇaḥ
as powerful as the sun
bhavadbhiḥ
by you
ācakṣa ātmāvagamo ’tra yāvān
ācakṣe
may describe
ātma-avagamaḥ
as far as my knowledge is concerned
nabhaḥ patanty ātma-samaṁ patattriṇas
atra
herein
yāvān
so far
nabhaḥ
sky
tathā samaṁ viṣṇu-gatiṁ vipaścitaḥ
patanti
fly
ātma-samam
as far as it can
patattriṇaḥ
the birds
tathā
thus
samam
similarly
viṣṇu-gatim
knowledge of Viṣṇu
vipaścitaḥ
even though learned.
O ṛṣis, who are as powerfully pure as the sun, I shall try to describe to you the transcendental pastimes of Viṣṇu as far as my knowledge is concerned. As the birds fly in the sky as far as their capacity allows, so do the learned devotees describe the Lord as far as their realization allows.
Purport

The Supreme Absolute Truth is unlimited. No living being can know about the unlimited by his limited capacity. The Lord is impersonal, personal and localized. By His impersonal feature He is all-pervading Brahman, by His localized feature He is present in everyone’s heart as the Supreme Soul, and by His ultimate personal feature He is the object of transcendental loving service by His fortunate associates the pure devotees. The pastimes of the Lord in different features can only be estimated partly by the great learned devotees. So Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī has rightly taken this position in describing the pastimes of the Lord as far as he has realized. Factually only the Lord Himself can describe Himself, and His learned devotee also can describe Him as far as the Lord gives him the power of description.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
You are like many suns! I will speak the knowledge requested by you according to what I have understood. Just as birds fly high in the sky only according to their ability, so the wise understand the pastimes of the Lord only according to their limited ability.
Commentary

Rejoicing at his good fortune, Sūta begins to speak about Parīkṣit again. You are like suns (aryamaṇah)! I will speak knowledge according to how much I have understood. Just as birds fly in the sky according to their ability and not to the topmost height of the sky, even those who are wise can know the Lord’s pastimes (gatim) according to their intelligence (samam).

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