Devanagari
अर्हति ह्यच्युत: श्रैष्ठ्यं भगवान् सात्वतां पति: ।
एष वै देवता: सर्वा देशकालधनादय: ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
arhati hy acyutaḥ śraiṣṭhyaṁ
bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ
eṣa vai devatāḥ sarvā
deśa-kāla-dhanādayaḥ
Synonyms
arhati
—
deserves
;
hi
—
indeed
;
acyutaḥ
—
infallible Kṛṣṇa
;
śraiṣṭhyam
—
the supreme position
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Lord
;
sātvatām
—
of the Yādavas
;
patiḥ
—
the chief
;
eṣaḥ
—
He
;
vai
—
certainly
;
devatāḥ
—
demigods
;
sarvāḥ
—
all
;
deśa
—
the place (for the sacrifice)
;
kāla
—
the time
;
dhana
—
the material paraphernalia
;
ādayaḥ
—
and so on .
Translation
[Sahadeva said:] Certainly it is Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and chief of the Yādavas, who deserves the highest position. In truth, He Himself comprises all the demigods worshiped in sacrifice, along with such aspects of the worship as the sacred place, the time and the paraphernalia.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
[Sahadeva said:] Certainly it is Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and chief of the Yādavas, who deserves the highest position. In truth, He Himself comprises all the demigods worshiped in sacrifice, along with such aspects of the worship as the sacred place, the time and the paraphernalia.
KB 10.74.19
He said, “Lord Kṛṣṇa, the best amongst the members of the Yadu dynasty and the protector of His devotees, is the most exalted personality in this assembly. Therefore I think that He should without any objection be offered the honor of being worshiped first. Although demigods such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Indra and many other exalted personalities are present in this assembly, no one can be equal to or greater than Kṛṣṇa in terms of time, space, riches, strength, reputation, wisdom, renunciation or any other consideration. Anything considered an opulence is fully present in Kṛṣṇa.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Acyuta is most excellent, absolutely. However even relatively speaking then it goes without saying that he is supreme among all devatas, place, time and wealth.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Kṛṣṇa alone (eva) deserves the highest position, since he is always full of all qualities (acyutaḥ). He then shows why. He is full of all powers innately and moreover is the master of the devotees who also most worthy of worship. Or, he is the Lord of the Yādavas, Svayam Bhagavān. He who is most famous (eṣaḥ) is the total of all devatās, place, time and articles in sacrifices by his śakti. Bhīṣma and others also designated Kṛṣṇa as the first to be worshipped. This is mentioned in Sabhā-parva of Mahābhārata.
ācāryam ṛtvijaṁ caiva saṁyuktaṁ ca yudhiṣṭhira
snātakaṁ ca priyaṁ cāhuḥ ṣaḍ arghyārhān nṛpaṁ tathā
Listen, O Yudhiṣṭhra, the preceptor, the sacrificial priest, the relative, the snataka, the friend, and the king, are the six that deserve arghya.
Bhīṣma here quotes the procedure in other circumstances. When Svayam Bhagavān is personally present, these considerations are not taken first. (Later Bhīṣma says that Kṛṣṇa is most worthy of worship.)
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Kṛṣṇa alone (eva) deserves the highest position, since he is always full of all qualities (acyutaḥ). He then shows why. He is the supreme Lord (bhagavān), and protects the devotees (sātvatṁa patiḥ). Or he achieved excellence by appearing in the Yadu dynasty to reveal his unlimited powers. Vai means certainly. Ādayah indicates priests and others.