Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.41.33
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
param-śreyaḥ
—
the supreme benefit
Compound: para (highest) + śreyas (good, welfare). The Vaiṣṇava technical term for mokṣa-or-better — what is finally good for the jīva. Kṛṣṇa offers exactly this in exchange for two pieces of cloth. The rajaka cannot read the price tag.
-
samucitāni
—
suitable
Past participle of sam + ud + √ci — well-collected, fitting. Kṛṣṇa specifies: clothes that fit. Gauḍīyas note the politeness — Bhagavān asks with the courtesy of one approaching an equal, though He is the giver of all clothing in existence.
-
arhatoḥ
—
to the two who are deserving
Genitive dual of arhat — worthy. Kṛṣṇa names Himself and Balarāma as 'the two who are deserving' — a quiet, deadpan claim. The truthfulness is exact; the rajaka mistakes it for arrogance.
-
dātuḥ
—
for the giver
Genitive of dātṛ — giver. The verse's grammar offers the rajaka the title of dātṛ — the rare title given to those whose dāna reaches Bhagavān. Bali was a dātṛ; the rajaka could have been. The hinge of the verse.
This verse describes how he asked for the cloth. O dyer (aṅga)! These clothes are suitable since they have the color and form suitable for us. You cannot say that this cloth is not suitable for us. We deserve this cloth (arhatoḥ). “How can I give it without payment?” There will be the greatest benefit in this life and the next (śreyaḥ) for the donor. Otherwise there will no auspiciousness. He made this statement to reveal the washer man’s wicked nature when he responded. Even in death he would get benefit. After some time he would receive more than the price of the cloth. He would obtain the highest benefit. Even to the wicked, Kṛṣṇa spoke most gently. By this proper conduct, he also desired to remove any criticism concerning killing the washer man since such criticism is intolerable to the devotees. Another meaning of the last line is “One who does not give (adatuḥ) will not attain Vaikuṇṭha, but will merge in Brahman. For him, in this life there is only doubt or death.”
A merchant who refuses to sell a small thing to a king disguised as a beggar — and so refuses, unknowingly, the king's gold. Kṛṣṇa tells the washerman exactly the deal: 'Give us cloth, and the supreme good will be yours.' The deal is rejected.
My note
Source: vedabase.io