FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.69.44

ఏవం మనుష్యపదవీమనువర్తమానో నారాయణోఽఖిలభవాయ గృహీతశక్తి: । రేమేఽఙ్గ షోడశసహస్రవరాఙ్గనానాం సవ్రీడసౌహృదనిరీక్షణహాసజుష్ట: ॥ ౪౪ ॥
evaṁ manuṣya-padavīm anuvartamāno
[evam manushya-padaveem anuvartamaano]
nārāyaṇo ’khila-bhavāya gṛhīta-śaktiḥ
[naaraayano ’khila-bhavaaya griheeta-shaktih]
reme ’ṇga ṣoḍaśa-sahasra-varāṅganānāṁ
[reme ’nga shodasha-sahasra-varaanganaanaam]
sa-vrīḍa-sauhṛda-nirīkṣaṇa-hāsa-juṣṭaḥ
[sa-vreeda-sauhrida-nireekshana-haasa-jushtah]
evam — thus manuṣya — of human beings padavīm — the path anuvartamānaḥ — following nārāyaṇaḥ — the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa akhila — of everyone bhavāya — for the welfare gṛhīta — having manifested śaktiḥ — His potencies reme — He enjoyed aṅga — my dear (King Parīkṣit) ṣoḍaśa — sixteen sahasra — thousand vara — most excellent aṅganānām — of women sa - vrīḍa — shy sauhṛda — and affectionate nirīkṣaṇa — by the glances hāsa — and laughter juṣṭaḥ — satisfied .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
evaṁ manuṣya-padavīm anuvartamāno
evam
thus
manuṣya
of human beings
padavīm
the path
anuvartamānaḥ
following
nārāyaṇo ’khila-bhavāya gṛhīta-śaktiḥ
nārāyaṇaḥ
the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa
akhila
of everyone
bhavāya
for the welfare
gṛhīta
having manifested
reme ’ṇga ṣoḍaśa-sahasra-varāṅganānāṁ
śaktiḥ
His potencies
reme
He enjoyed
aṅga
my dear (King Parīkṣit)
ṣoḍaśa
sixteen
sa-vrīḍa-sauhṛda-nirīkṣaṇa-hāsa-juṣṭaḥ
sahasra
thousand
vara
most excellent
aṅganānām
of women
sa - vrīḍa
shy
sauhṛda
and affectionate
nirīkṣaṇa
by the glances
hāsa
and laughter
juṣṭaḥ
satisfied .
  • manuṣya-padavīm anuvartamānaḥ — following the path of human beings
    Compound: manuṣya (human) + padavī (path, course) + present participle of anu + √vṛt. Bhagavān follows the human path — He doesn't merely visit, He walks the road. The verse echoes BG 4.11: ye yathā māṁ prapadyante — He responds in the register His devotees can receive.
  • akhila-bhavāya — for the welfare of all
    Compound: akhila (without remainder, all) + bhava (welfare, existence). The avatāra's purpose. Nothing in the līlā is for Bhagavān's own need; everything is for akhila-bhava — universal welfare. Gauḍīyas: even His pleasure is paropakāra.
  • sa-vrīḍa-sauhṛda-nirīkṣaṇa-hāsa — shy and affectionate glances and laughter
    Compound: sa-vrīḍa (with shyness) + sauhṛda (affection) + nirīkṣaṇa (glances) + hāsa (laughter). The full grammar of dāmpatya-bhāva in one compound. Gauḍīyas read this as the Dvārakā-form of mādhurya — shyness, affection, glance, laughter, the same alphabet that defines Vraja-rasa.
  • gṛhīta-śaktiḥ — having manifested His potencies
    Compound: gṛhīta (taken up, manifested) + śakti (potency). The Lord 'takes up' His own śakti as one takes up a tool — but the śakti is svarūpa-bhūtā, eternally His. The chapter's whole pageant is gṛhīta-śakti made visible.
In this way Lord Nārāyaṇa imitated the ways of ordinary humans, manifesting His divine potencies for the benefit of all beings. Thus He enjoyed, dear King, in the company of His sixteen thousand exalted consorts, who served the Lord with their shy, affectionate glances and laughter.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
In this way Lord Nārāyaṇa imitated the ways of ordinary humans, manifesting His divine potencies for the benefit of all beings. Thus He enjoyed, dear King, in the company of His sixteen thousand exalted consorts, who served the Lord with their shy, affectionate glances and laughter.
Commentary

Why should the Lord have faith in artha and kama? This verse answers. Why does Krsna follow the path of men? For welfare of all people (akhila bhavaya) . Humans easily remember human actions. By remembering of such pastimes of the Lord, he makes them free from the material world. Why should he stop their material existence? Because Krsna is endowed with krpa sakti, mercy (grhita saktih). But this is not the only purpose for permanently engaging in human actions. He does it for his own beloved women with human form, expanded from himself, who are more attractive than even Laksmi and others, in that human like form which is the source of all the Vaikuntha Visnu forms. And he does it for eternal pleasure. He enjoys (reme) eternally with them.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

This verse describes the mutual love between the Lord and his consorts. He followed the conduct of a human being. He was the form who expands into all Nārāyaṇa forms. He was the chief Nārāyaṇa, Svayam Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, for the benefit of all his expansions since they were all within him. Accepting his śakti, he enjoyed, attaining pleasure by the smiles and glances filled with friendship and shyness of sixteen thousand women.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

He manifested his powers for the benefit of all beings. For this purpose he appeared as avatāra, since he was directly bhagavān (nārāyaṇaḥ) and acting as a human being in the way described, he enjoyed. Or though performing human pastimes, he manifested powers for the benefit of all peopḷe--showing household dharma, by manifesting many forms capable of household dharma in the houses of many queens. Or he manifested powers for benefiting all the houses (akhila-bhavāya), by having one form appear separately in all houses, since he is the shelter of all jīvas (nārāyaṇaḥ). The reason for his enjoyment is given: he was served by the shy, affectionate glances and laughter of the queens whose limbs were beautiful or most pleasing like the Lord’s (aṅga). Or O king (aṅga)! Or he was served by or pleased with the shy glances and laughter in prema (sauhṛda).

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses
Concepts
DharmaAvatara

A river flowing for the sake of every village along its banks — that is Nārāyaṇa moving through the human path: His pleasure is real, His consorts' love is real, but the whole motion is for the welfare of beings. He enjoys, and the enjoyment is itself a gift to the world.

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