FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.8.1

రాజోవాచ బ్రహ్మణా చోదితో బ్రహ్మన్ గుణాఖ్యానేఽగుణస్య చ । యస్మై యస్మై యథా ప్రాహ నారదో దేవదర్శన: ॥ ౧ ॥
rājovāca
[raajovaacha]
brahmaṇā codito brahman
[brahmanaa chodito brahman]
guṇākhyāne ’guṇasya ca
[gunaakhyaane ’gunasya cha]
yasmai yasmai yathā prāha
[yasmai yasmai yathaa praaha]
nārado deva-darśanaḥ
[naarado deva-darshanah]
rājā — the King uvāca — inquired brahmaṇā — by Lord Brahmā coditaḥ — being instructed brahman — O learned brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) guṇa-ākhyāne — in narrating the transcendental qualities aguṇasya — of the Lord, who is without material qualities ca — and yasmai yasmai — and whom yathā — as much as prāha — explained nāradaḥ — Nārada Muni deva-darśanaḥ — one whose audience is as good as that of any demigod.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rājovāca
rājā
the King
uvāca
inquired
brahmaṇā codito brahman
brahmaṇā
by Lord Brahmā
coditaḥ
being instructed
brahman
O learned brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva Gosvāmī)
guṇākhyāne ’guṇasya ca
guṇa-ākhyāne
in narrating the transcendental qualities
aguṇasya
of the Lord, who is without material qualities
ca
and
yasmai yasmai yathā prāha
yasmai yasmai
and whom
yathā
as much as
prāha
explained
nārado deva-darśanaḥ
nāradaḥ
Nārada Muni
deva-darśanaḥ
one whose audience is as good as that of any demigod.
King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: How did Nārada Muni, whose hearers are as fortunate as those instructed by Lord Brahmā, explain the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is without material qualities, and before whom did he speak?

Devarṣi Nārada was directly instructed by Brahmājī, who was also directly instructed by the Supreme Lord; therefore the instructions imparted by Nārada to his various disciples are as good as those of the Supreme Lord. That is the way of understanding Vedic knowledge. It comes down from the Lord by disciplic succession, and this transcendental knowledge is distributed to the world by this descending process. There is no chance, however, to receive the Vedic knowledge from mental speculators. Therefore, wherever Nārada Muni goes, he represents himself as authorized by the Lord, and his appearance is as good as that of the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the disciplic succession which strictly follows the transcendental instruction is the bona fide chain of disciplic succession, and the test for such bona fide spiritual masters is that there should be no difference between the instruction of the Lord originally imparted to His devotee and that which is imparted by the authority in the line of disciplic succession. How Nārada Muni distributed the transcendental knowledge of the Lord will be explained in later cantos.

It will appear also that the Lord existed prior to the material creation, and therefore His transcendental name, quality, etc., do not represent any material quality. Whenever, therefore, the Lord is described as aguṇa, or without any quality, it does not mean that He has no quality, but that He has no material quality, such as the modes of goodness, passion or ignorance, as the conditioned souls have. He is transcendental to all material conceptions, and thus He is described as aguṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The King said: O brāhmaṇa! O best of knowers of truth! I desire to know exactly the truth that Nārada -- seer of Kṛṣṇa and taught by Brahmā -- spoke to others while explaining the qualities of the Lord who is without material qualities. Topics of the Lord who has astonishing powers are all-auspicious for the world.
Commentary

In the eighth chapter, Parīkṣit, revealing clearly his enthusiasm for topics about Kṛṣṇa, asks Śukadeva, who destroys all doubts, about various topics.

Aguṇasya means “devoid of material guṇas.” Deva refers to Kṛṣṇa.

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