Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.69.41
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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sat-dharmān
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spiritual principles of religion
Compound: sat (real, spiritual, true) + dharma. Sad-dharma is dharma in its eternal form — not merely social regulation but the eternal function of the soul. Gauḍīyas: sad-dharma in its fullness is bhakti, and Kṛṣṇa's gṛhastha-līlā has been a demonstration of bhakti-rooted dharma.
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gṛha-medhinām
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for householders
Compound: gṛha (household) + medhin (one engaged with). Gṛha-medhin — the householder. The chapter's audience is named: this whole sixteen-thousand-fold demonstration was for householders who needed to see what dharmic gṛhastha-life looks like when its center is Kṛṣṇa.
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santam ekam
—
the same one present
Sat (present, being) + eka (one). The verse's resolution: many palaces, one Lord. Acintya-bhedābheda summarised — He is many and one without contradiction. Gauḍīyas: this is the chapter's tattva-vākya.
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sarva-geheṣu
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in all the palaces
Compound: sarva (all) + gṛha (palace), locative plural. The aggregate of Dvārakā's residences. The poet binds tam eva + sarva-geheṣu + santam ekam — Him only, in all the palaces, present as one — three terms that together state the doctrine of yugapad-vibhuta.
In this verse Śukadeva Gosvāmī repeats what the Lord has Himself explained. As Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in Kṛṣṇa: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead was engaged in His so-called household affairs in order to teach people how one can sanctify one’s household life although one may be attached to the imprisonment of material existence. Actually, one is obliged to continue the term of material existence because of household life. But the Lord, being very kind upon householders, demonstrated the path of sanctifying ordinary household life. Because Kṛṣṇa is the center of all activities, a Kṛṣṇa conscious householder’s life is transcendental to Vedic injunctions and is automatically sanctified.” As stated in text 2 of this chapter, all the Lord’s activities in the many palaces were performed by the Lord’s single spiritual form ( ekena vapuṣā ), which manifested in many places at once. This vision was revealed to Nārada because of his desire to see it and the Lord’s desire to show it to him. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that the other residents of Dvārakā could see Kṛṣṇa only in the particular part of the city they themselves occupied, and not anywhere else, even if they would sometimes go to another precinct on some business. Thus the Lord gave a special view of His pastimes to His beloved devotee Nārada Muni.
This verse summarizes the meaning of what was stated. With one body Krsna (tam ekam) was present in each of the sixteen thousand palaces as was previously stated (verse 2). Because Narada had a desire to see this, and Krsna had a desire to show this, Narada was able to see. The residents of Dvaraka however saw Krsna only in the palace where they were residing even if they sometimes went to other houses interrupting their routine.
He saw the Lord performing actions of proper conduct (sad-dharmān) which purify householders. This is praise for householder dharma. Or he saw the Lord performing the highest dharmas, such as serving the devotees, which purify all people in general by his performing them. He saw one Lord though the Lord was in many forms in all the houses. This one form was the Lord’s supreme form since it is forbidden to see different forms in the Lord. Otherwise Nārada would not have had a doubt. He would not be astonished if they had been like Saubhari’s expanded yogic forms. Bhīṣma expressed this idea previously. amīlita-dṛg vyadhārayat: he fixed his wide-open eyes upon the Lord. (SB 1.9.30) Dṛśi-gocara eṣa āvir ātmā: the Lord has become visible to my eyes. SB 1.9.41 tam imam aham ajaṁ śarīra-bhājāṁ hṛdi hṛdi dhiṣṭhitam ātma-kalpitānām | pratidṛśam iva naikadhārkam ekaṁ samadhi-gato ’smi vidhūta-bheda-mohaḥ Freed of the illusion of difference in the Lord’s various forms, I have attained the Lord who is one though appearing to be many like the sun seen by many people, who is the charioteer, but who is also in my heart, the unborn and is situated in the hearts of all the jīvas, who create their own bodies. SB 1.9.42 Just as the sun is distributes light from far away the Lord by his acintya-śakti appears in various places. The special nature of the example is that one form appears in many places.
He saw the Lord performing actions of proper conduct (sad-dharmān) which purify householders. This is praise for householder dharma. Or he saw the Lord performing the highest dharmas, such as hearing, which purify all people in general by his performing them. He saw one Lord though the Lord was in many forms in all the houses. The one form was situated in many houses, not by expanding into many forms, but by his special śakti, since the one form was continuously present in time and space. This truth is understood only by the best devotees to the degree of their ability. This is explained in Bhāgavatāmṛta. This agrees with the statement at the beginning of the chapter, ekena vapuṣā: in one body.
A traveler who has walked through a great gallery, finding in every room the same portrait painted slightly differently — and then realizes the portrait is alive, the painter has painted Himself, and every room is the same Person seen from a new angle. Nārada has just walked through Dvārakā as such a gallery.
My note
Source: vedabase.io