Devanagari
तस्यावनिज्य चरणौ तदप: स्वमूर्ध्ना
बिभ्रज्जगद्गुरुतमोऽपि सतां पतिर्हि ।
ब्रह्मण्यदेव इति यद्गुणनाम युक्तं
तस्यैव यच्चरणशौचमशेषतीर्थम् ॥ १५ ॥
Verse text
tasyāvanijya caraṇau tad-apaḥ sva-mūrdhnā
bibhraj jagad-gurutamo ’pi satāṁ patir hi
brahmaṇya-deva iti yad guṇa-nāma yuktaṁ
tasyaiva yac-caraṇa-śaucam aśeṣa-tīrtham
Synonyms
tasya
—
his
;
avanijya
—
washing
;
caraṇau
—
the feet
;
tat
—
that
;
apaḥ
—
water
;
sva
—
His own
;
mūrdhnā
—
on the head
;
bibhrat
—
carrying
;
jagat
—
of the entire universe
;
guru
—
tamaḥ — the supreme spiritual master
;
api
—
even though
;
satām
—
of the saintly devotees
;
patiḥ
—
the master
;
hi
—
indeed
;
brahmaṇya
—
who favors the brāhmaṇas
;
devaḥ
—
the Lord
;
iti
—
thus called
;
yat
—
since
;
guṇa
—
based on His quality
;
nāma
—
the name
;
yuktam
—
fitting
;
tasya
—
His
;
eva
—
indeed
;
yat
—
whose
;
caraṇa
—
of the feet
;
śaucam
—
the bathing
;
aśeṣa
—
complete
;
tīrtham
—
holy shrine .
Translation
The Lord bathed Nārada’s feet and then put the water on His own head. Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spiritual authority of the universe and the master of His devotees, it was proper for Him to behave in this way, for His name is Brahmaṇya-deva, “the Lord who favors the bṛāhmaṇas.” Thus Śrī Kṛṣṇa honored the sage Nārada by bathing his feet, even though the water that bathes the Lord’s own feet becomes the Ganges, the ultimate holy shrine.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord bathed Nārada's feet and then put the water on His own head. Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spiritual authority of the universe and the master of His devotees, it was proper for Him to behave in this way, for His name is Brahmaṇya-deva, "the Lord who favors the bṛāhmaṇas." Thus Śrī Kṛṣṇa honored the sage Nārada by bathing his feet, even though the water that bathes the Lord's own feet becomes the Ganges, the ultimate holy shrine.
KB 10.69.15
Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality, worshiped by all devotees. He is the most worshipable spiritual master of everyone. The Ganges water, which emanates from His feet, sanctifies the three worlds. All qualified brāhmaṇas worship Him, and therefore He is called brahmaṇya-deva.
Brahmaṇya means one who fully possesses the brahminical qualifications, which are said to be as follows: truthfulness, self-control, purity, mastery of the senses, simplicity, full knowledge by practical application, and engagement in devotional service. Lord Kṛṣṇa possesses all these qualities, and He is worshiped by persons who themselves possess such qualities. There are thousands and millions of names of Lord Kṛṣṇa—Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma—and all of them are given to Him because of His transcendental qualities.
Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā enjoyed the pastimes of a perfect human being. Therefore, when He washed the feet of the sage Nārada and took the water on His head, Nārada did not object, knowing well that the Lord did so to teach everyone how to respect saintly persons.
Purport
Since Lord Kṛṣṇa’s own lotus feet are the source of the most holy Ganges, the Lord did not have to purify Himself by bathing Nārada Muni’s feet. Rather, as Śrīla Prabhupāda explains: “Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā enjoyed the pastimes of a perfect human being. When, therefore, He washed the feet of the sage Nārada and took the water on His head, Nārada did not object, knowing well that the Lord did so to teach everyone how to respect saintly persons.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The lord of the devotees (sat patih), after bathing Narada’s feet, spoke to him. The main verb "spoke" is in verse sixteen. Someone may protest that it is not proper for the Lord to wash the feet of his servant. But he is called brahmanya deva, indicating his quality of being respectful to the brahmanas. Because Narada was a brahmana, and Krsna was respectful to brahmanas, his action of washing Narada’s feet was proper. But one should not think he did this to purify himself, because (yat) the water from his feet , the Ganga river, is purifying for all (asesa tirtha). It should be understood that Narada though he is a servant, did not reveal the Lord’s superiority in order not to obstruct the desire of the Lord.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Because (hi) he favored the brāhmaṇas, he put the water on his head. His foot water was the embodiment of all tīrthas or had within it all tīrthas.