Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.2.3
తమేకదా తు దేవర్షిం వసుదేవో గృహాగతమ్ ।
అర్చితం సుఖమాసీనమభివాద్యేదమబ్రవీత్ ॥ ౩ ॥
tam ekadā tu devarṣiṁ
[tam ekadaa tu devarshim]
vasudevo gṛhāgatam
[vasudevo grihaagatam]
arcitaṁ sukham āsīnam
[architam sukham aaseenam]
abhivādyedam abravīt
[abhivaadyedam abraveet]
Word-for-word
tam
—
him
ekadā
—
once
tu
—
and
deva-ṛṣim
—
the sage among the demigods, Nārada
vasudevaḥ
—
Vasudeva, the father of Lord Kṛṣṇa
gṛha-āgatam
—
who had come to his house
arcitam
—
worshiped with paraphernalia
sukham āsīnam
—
comfortably seated
abhivādya
—
respectfully greeting him
idam
—
this
abravīt
—
said.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tam ekadā tu devarṣiṁ
tam
him
ekadā
once
tu
and
deva-ṛṣim
the sage among the demigods, Nārada
vasudevo gṛhāgatam
vasudevaḥ
Vasudeva, the father of Lord Kṛṣṇa
gṛha-āgatam
who had come to his house
arcitaṁ sukham āsīnam
arcitam
worshiped with paraphernalia
sukham āsīnam
comfortably seated
abhivādyedam abravīt
abhivādya
respectfully greeting him
idam
this
abravīt
said.
One day the sage among the demigods, Nārada, came to the house of Vasudeva. After worshiping Nārada with suitable paraphernalia, seating him comfortably and respectfully bowing down to him, Vasudeva spoke as follows.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
One day the sage among the devatās, Nārada, came to the house of Vasudeva. After worshiping Nārada, seating him comfortably and respectfully bowing down to him, Vasudeva spoke as follows.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
When a pure devotee enters your home, drop your business and worship him properly — that single act of reception opens the door to bhakti.
Practical Applications
- Prepare your home today as if Nārada Muni himself might arrive — clean a corner, set a seat, keep something to offer.
- When a devotee visits or calls, set aside your task, seat them well, and ask them sincerely what you most need to hear.
- Refuse the householder reflex of treating sādhus as social guests; receive them as carriers of Kṛṣṇa's mercy and ask real questions.
Reflection Questions
- When a saintly person last came into my life, did I worship them and inquire — or did I keep them at the edge of my routine?
- What does it say about me that Vasudeva, with all his wealth and standing, still bowed before Nārada and spoke as a student?
For Each Age Group
youth
- When a teacher, elder devotee, or visiting speaker is near you, sit in the front, take notes by hand, and bring one specific question — don't drift to the back with your phone.
- Treat your hostel room or shared flat as a place where a sādhu could walk in any day; keep it clean enough and stocked with something simple to offer.
- Refuse the peer instinct that mocks formal respect as cringe — bowing your head before someone who knows more is the first step out of adolescent self-importance.
householder
- Make your home physically and emotionally ready to receive devotees — a clean āsana, prasāda on hand, and a family agreement that visits from sādhus take priority over routine.
- When a devotee visits, bring your real householder dilemmas — money, children, marriage, work tensions — and ask plainly, rather than offering only polite small talk.
- Teach your children by example: have them watch you greet, seat, and inquire from a devotee, so they learn worship from your hands before they learn it from books.
senior
- Use this stage of life to actively seek out and host sādhus — your home, time, and means are ripe instruments for this; do not waste them on mere social visits.
- Drop the accumulated pride of decades and inquire like Vasudeva — as a student, not as a senior member explaining his views to the visiting devotee.
- Make hearing from advanced devotees, not managing the household, the central event of your remaining years, and let your family see this reordering of priorities.
Common Pitfalls
- Treating reception of a devotee as ceremonial politeness rather than the actual opening move of bhakti.
- Assuming that because one is a householder with responsibilities, deep inquiry from a sādhu can wait for a quieter season of life.
- Worshiping the devotee externally with comforts while keeping one's real questions and doubts hidden out of pride.
Discussion Prompts
- Vasudeva is Kṛṣṇa's own father, yet he bows to Nārada and inquires — what does this say about the position of the devotee versus even the closest material relation to the Lord?
- Share a time you had access to a sādhu and failed to inquire properly. What stopped you — distraction, pride, or not knowing what to ask?
- Is it possible to truly 'worship suitably' a devotee today, or are we forced to settle for token gestures? Disagree honestly.
Role Play
A senior devotee unexpectedly stops by your apartment during a busy workday. You have a deadline in two hours and dinner is uncooked. Demonstrate how you receive them, seat them, what you offer, and the first question you ask — while another student plays the devotee and a third observes whether your reception is genuine or performative.
Objections & Responses
- This is just ancient hospitality etiquette — bowing and seating guests has no spiritual content for a modern person.
The verse is not about etiquette but about recognition. Vasudeva recognizes Nārada as a carrier of transcendental knowledge and adjusts his entire posture accordingly. The external acts — worship, seating, bowing — are the body's way of admitting that something higher has entered the room. Without that recognition, no inquiry is possible; with it, even a brief meeting becomes a turning point. - Why should I treat any human being with such elaborate worship? Isn't surrender meant for Kṛṣṇa alone?
Precisely because surrender is to Kṛṣṇa, His pure devotee receives that honor on His behalf. Nārada is not worshiped as a separate authority but as one through whom Kṛṣṇa speaks. Refusing to honor the devotee while claiming to honor Kṛṣṇa is the impersonalist's mistake — Kṛṣṇa is approached through His devotees, not around them.
My note
Source: vedabase.io