Devanagari
वयं धन्यतमा लोके गुरोऽपि क्षत्रबन्धव: ।
वयं पिबामो मुहुस्त्वत्त: पुण्यं कृष्णकथामृतम् ॥ ४३ ॥
Verse text
vayaṁ dhanyatamā loke
guro ’pi kṣatra-bandhavaḥ
vayaṁ pibāmo muhus tvattaḥ
puṇyaṁ kṛṣṇa-kathāmṛtam
Synonyms
vayam
—
we are
;
dhanya
—
tamāḥ — most glorified
;
loke
—
in this world
;
guro
—
O my lord, my spiritual master
;
api
—
although
;
kṣatra
—
bandhavaḥ — the lowest of the kṣatriyas (because we did not act like kṣatriyas )
;
vayam
—
we are
;
pibāmaḥ
—
drinking
;
muhuḥ
—
always
;
tvattaḥ
—
from you
;
puṇyam
—
pious
;
kṛṣṇa
—
kathā — amṛtam — the nectar of kṛṣṇa-kathā. .
Translation
O my lord, my spiritual master, although we are the lowest of kṣatriyas, we are glorified and benefited because we have the opportunity of always hearing from you the nectar of the pious activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O my lord, my spiritual master, although we are the lowest of kṣatriyas, we are glorified and benefited because we have the opportunity of always hearing from you the nectar of the pious activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
KB 10.12.43
Generally, the kṣatriyas or the administrative class are always busy with their political affairs, and they have very little chance to hear about the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But while Parīkṣit Mahārāja was hearing these transcendental pastimes, he considered himself to be very fortunate because not only was he hearing Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes but he was doing so from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the greatest authority on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Purport
The pious activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are very confidential. It is not ordinarily possible to hear such activities unless one is very, very fortunate. Parīkṣit Mahārāja placed himself as
kṣatra-bandhavaḥ,
which means “the lowest of the
kṣatriyas.
” The qualities of the
kṣatriya
are described in
Bhagavad-gītā,
and although the general quality of the
kṣatriya
is
īśvara-bhāva,
the tendency to rule, a
kṣatriya
is not supposed to rule over a
brāhmaṇa.
Thus Mahārāja Parīkṣit regretted that he had wanted to rule over the
brāhmaṇas
and had therefore been cursed. He considered himself the lowest of the
kṣatriyas.
Dānam īśvara-bhāvaś ca kṣātraṁ karma svabhāvajam
(
Bg. 18.43
). There was no doubt that Mahārāja Parīkṣit had the good qualities of a
kṣatriya,
but as a devotee he presented himself, with submissiveness and humility, as the lowest of the
kṣatriyas,
remembering his act of wrapping a dead serpent around the neck of a
brāhmaṇa.
A student and disciple has the right to ask the
guru
about any confidential service, and it is the duty of the
guru
to explain these confidential matters to his disciple.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Pariksit speaks. "O guru" This implies, "I am your student, and because of the rule ‘the guru will teach esoteric topics to the devoted student’ please tell me what should be told." His devotion is indicated by his own efforts, through the words "I drink the nectar."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Out of eagerness to hear, Parīkṣit encourages Śukadeva to speak. The plural is used because Parīkṣit’s friends were also included, but he also uses the plural to indicate great respect as a disciple to his guru. He calls himself the lowest of kṣatriyas out of humility. I drink constantly the topics of Kṛṣṇa made very attractive (puṇyam) since they come from you. O guru! As your disciple, I am fortunate and successful. I am even more fortunate to hear from you the sweet topics of Kṛṣṇa. I am most fortunate to hear these topics constantly.