Devanagari
हे भूमिदेवा: शृणुत कृष्णस्यादेशकारिण: ।
प्राप्ताञ्जानीत भद्रं वो गोपान्नो रामचोदितान् ॥ ६ ॥
Verse text
he bhūmi-devāḥ śṛṇuta
kṛṣṇasyādeśa-kāriṇaḥ
prāptāṣ jānīta bhadraṁ vo
gopān no rāma-coditān
Synonyms
he bhūmi
—
devāḥ — O earthly gods
;
śṛṇuta
—
please hear us
;
kṛṣṇasya ādeśa
—
of the order of Kṛṣṇa
;
kāriṇaḥ
—
the executors
;
prāptān
—
arrived
;
jānīta
—
please recognize
;
bhadram
—
all good
;
vaḥ
—
unto you
;
gopān
—
cowherd boys
;
naḥ
—
us
;
rāma
—
coditān — sent by Lord Rāma .
Translation
[The cowherd boys said:] O earthly gods, please hear us. We cowherd boys are executing the orders of Kṛṣṇa, and we have been sent here by Balarāma. We wish all good for you. Please acknowledge our arrival.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
[The cowherd boys said:] O earthly gods, please hear us. We cowherd boys are executing the orders of Kṛṣṇa, and we have been sent here by Balarāma. We wish all good for you. Please acknowledge our arrival.
KB 10.23.6
“O earthly gods, kindly hear us, who are ordered by Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. We hope you know Them both very well, and we wish you all good fortune.
Purport
The term
bhūmi-devāḥ,
“gods on earth,” refers here to the
brāhmaṇas,
who are supposed to closely represent the will of the Supreme Lord. The philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a primitive polytheistic doctrine holding that human beings on the earth are gods. Rather, it is a science that traces the descent of authority from the Absolute Truth Himself, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The authority and power of God naturally extend along with the extension of His creation, and on the earth the Lord’s will and authority are represented by purified, enlightened men called
brāhmaṇas.
This account will illustrate that the ritualistic
brāhmaṇas
approached by the cowherd boys were not at all properly enlightened and thus could not appreciate the position of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma or that of Their intimate associates. In fact, this pastime exposes the pretentious position of so-called
brāhmaṇas
who are not faithful devotees of the Supreme Lord.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
We are following Krsna’s order. Because he is the son of King Nanda, he has more power than Balarama. We have been sent by Baladeva. We will give him the first rice that we receive.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
They address the brāhmaṇas with devotion. They mention Kṛṣṇa first because their main attraction is for him, forgetting the order that Kṛṣṇa gave them. Balarāma was the main sender however. Covering their mistake they say, “Good fortune to you!” out of respect.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
They spoke with devotion. O gods of the earth! They mentioned Kṛṣṇa first though they had been instructed to mention Balarāma first. By nature they had special devotion to Kṛṣṇa, and identified themselves as his servants since he had given the order. Not seeing any respect given when they spoke, they thought they had committed offense and asked forgiveness. Good fortune to you! Or they said this since it was natural for any person making a request. “Why have you servants of Kṛṣṇa come?” We have been sent by Balarāma. By the order of Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma sent us. They were devoted to both but were more devoted to Kṛṣṇa. This shows that Kṛṣṇa was greater than Balarāma.
Or ordered by Kṛṣṇa we came inspired by Balarāma. So both of them sent us. They did not follow Kṛṣṇa’s order out of devotion to Kṛṣṇa and thus mentioned Kṛṣṇa first. The power of both of them is indicated by their names which are famous and glorious everywhere. Thus we, his servants, have come by his order and not on our own.