FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.81.15

అహో బ్రహ్మణ్యదేవస్య ద‍ృష్టా బ్రహ్మణ్యతా మయా । యద్ దరిద్రతమో లక్ష్మీమాశ్లిష్టో బిభ్రతోరసి ॥ ౧౫ ॥
aho brahmaṇya-devasya
[aho brahmanya-devasya]
dṛṣṭā brahmaṇyatā mayā
[drishtaa brahmanyataa mayaa]
yad daridratamo lakṣmīm
[yad daridratamo lakshmeem]
āśliṣṭo bibhratorasi
[aashlishto bibhratorasi]
aho — ah brahmaṇya — who is dedicated to brāhmaṇas devasya — of the Supreme Lord dṛṣṭa — seen brahmaṇyatā — the devotion to brāhmaṇas mayā — by me yat — inasmuch daridra - tamaḥ — the poorest person lakṣmīm — the goddess of fortune āśliṣṭaḥ — embraced bibhratā — by Him who carries urasi — on His chest .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
aho brahmaṇya-devasya
aho
ah
brahmaṇya
who is dedicated to brāhmaṇas
devasya
of the Supreme Lord
dṛṣṭā brahmaṇyatā mayā
dṛṣṭa
seen
brahmaṇyatā
the devotion to brāhmaṇas
mayā
by me
yad daridratamo lakṣmīm
yat
inasmuch
daridra - tamaḥ
the poorest person
lakṣmīm
the goddess of fortune
āśliṣṭo bibhratorasi
āśliṣṭaḥ
embraced
bibhratā
by Him who carries
urasi
on His chest .
  • aho — ah!
    An exclamation of wonder. The whole verse 15 onward is one long aho — the spontaneous outflow of vismaya-bhāva. Gauḍīya bhāva-śāstra lists vismaya as a vyabhicārī-bhāva amplifying prema.
  • brahmaṇya-devasya — of the Lord who is devoted to brāhmaṇas
    Compound: brahmaṇya (devoted to brāhmaṇas) + deva (Lord). A formal title. The chapter's structural doctrine — Bhagavān as brahmaṇya-deva — gets explicitly named here as the lesson Sudāmā learned by direct sight (dṛṣṭa).
  • daridra-tamaḥ — the poorest
    Superlative of daridra (poor). Not merely poor — the poorest. The bhakta names his own social rank without softening; the contrast with what follows (Lakṣmī's husband embraces him) is the point.
  • lakṣmīm āśliṣṭaḥ — embraced by Him who holds Lakṣmī
    lakṣmīm (Lakṣmī, accusative — the one being held) + āśliṣṭaḥ (embraced). The same chest that embraces the goddess of fortune embraced the poorest of brāhmaṇas. Gauḍīya: Bhagavān's chest is the meeting-place of aiśvarya (Lakṣmī) and dainya (Sudāmā).
  • urasi — by Him who carries (her) on His chest
    Locative urasi (on the chest) + present participle bibhratā (carrying) of √bhṛ. The chest is the load-bearing image of Vaikuṇṭha — Śrīvatsa mark, Kaustubha jewel, Lakṣmī Herself. Sudāmā has been pressed into all of it.
[Sudāmā thought:] Lord Kṛṣṇa is known to be devoted to the brāhmaṇas, and now I have personally seen this devotion. Indeed, He who carries the goddess of fortune on His chest has embraced the poorest beggar.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
[Sudāmā thought:] Lord Kṛṣṇa is known to be devoted to the brāhmaṇas, and now I have personally seen this devotion. Indeed, He who carries the goddess of fortune on His chest has embraced the poorest beggar.
Commentary

Sudama expresses his bliss in four verses. I have seen how Krsna is affectionate to the brahmanas, because he, who holds Laksmi on his chest, embraced me.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Eight and a half verses describe Sudāmā’s thoughts and then his transformed house. Aho expresses astonishment. The Lord carries Lakṣmī on his chest in the form of a golden line.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Śrīdhāmā, thinking of the greatness of the Lord while on the path, became blissful with great bhāva. He was not at all suffering. Six verses describe his thoughts. Aho expresses surprise. I have directly experienced (dṛṣṭaḥ) the Lord’s affection for brāhmaṇas. He was extremely poor, not even wearing two pieces of cloth, which was proper dress. It was astonishing that he was embraced the Lord who holds Lakṣmī on his chest. He was not worthy of embrace, yet the Lord embraced him.

Related values
Daya (Compassion / Mercy)Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAtma Nigraha (Self-control)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva

A pauper at a king's gate is embraced by the king's own arms — and as the king turns, the pauper sees that the queen on the king's chest is the goddess of all fortune herself. Sudāmā meditates on Kṛṣṇa's brahmaṇyatā: the chest that holds Lakṣmī held him.

Bilvamaṅgala's poverty embraced

In Gauḍīya hagiography (echoed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta), the poet Bilvamaṅgala (Līlā-śuka) lived as a wandering blind devotee. When Kṛṣṇa repeatedly came to lead him by the hand through forests and rivers, Bilvamaṅgala wept the same wonder Sudāmā utters here: aho — that He who is Lakṣmī's resting place would bother with me. The bhāva called wonder (vismaya) at brahmaṇyatā is a recurring Gauḍīya theme.

📝 My note

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