Devanagari
तस्मान्नन्दात्मजोऽयं ते नारायणसमो गुणै: ।
श्रिया कीर्त्यानुभावेन गोपायस्व समाहित: ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
tasmān nandātmajo ’yaṁ te
nārāyaṇa-samo guṇaiḥ
śriyā kīrtyānubhāvena
gopāyasva samāhitaḥ
Synonyms
tasmāt
—
therefore
;
nanda
—
O Nanda Mahārāja
;
ātmajaḥ
—
your son
;
ayam
—
this
;
te
—
of you
;
nārāyaṇa
—
samaḥ — is as good as Nārāyaṇa (Nārāyaṇa Himself showing transcendental qualities)
;
guṇaiḥ
—
by qualities
;
śriyā
—
by opulence
;
kīrtyā
—
especially by His name and fame
;
anubhāvena
—
and by His influence
;
gopāyasva
—
just raise this child
;
samāhitaḥ
—
with great attention and precaution .
Translation
In conclusion, therefore, O Nanda Mahārāja, this child of yours is as good as Nārāyaṇa. In His transcendental qualities, opulence, name, fame and influence, He is exactly like Nārāyaṇa. You should all raise this child very carefully and cautiously.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In conclusion, therefore, O Nanda Mahārāja, this child of yours is as good as Nārāyaṇa. In His transcendental qualities, opulence, name, fame and influence, He is exactly like Nārāyaṇa. You should all raise this child very carefully and cautiously.
KB 10.8.19
This child will grow in power, beauty, opulence—in everything—on the level of Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore I would advise that you protect Him very carefully so that He may grow without disturbance.” In other words, Garga Muni informed Nanda Mahārāja that because Nanda was a great devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Lord had given Nanda a son equal to Himself. At the same time, Garga Muni indicated that this son would be disturbed by so many demons and that Nanda should therefore be careful and protect Him. In this way, Garga Muni convinced Nanda Mahārāja that Nārāyaṇa Himself had become his son. In various ways he described the transcendental qualities of his son.
Purport
In this verse, the word
nārāyaṇa-samaḥ
is significant. Nārāyaṇa has no equal. He is
asamordhva:
no one is equal to Him, and no one is greater than He is. As stated in
śāstra:
yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ
brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
samatvenaiva vīkṣeta
sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam
One who equates Nārāyaṇa even with great exalted demigods like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā is a
pāṣaṇḍī,
an agnostic. No one can equal Nārāyaṇa. Nonetheless, Garga Muni used the word
sama,
meaning “equal,” because he wanted to treat Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead who had become Nanda Mahārāja’s son. Garga Muni wanted to impress upon the mind of Nanda Mahārāja, “Your worshipable Deity, Nārāyaṇa, is so pleased with you that He has sent you a son almost equal to Him in qualifications. Therefore you may designate your son with a similar name, such as Mukunda or Madhusūdana. But you must always remember that whenever you want to do something very good, there will be many hindrances. Therefore you should raise and protect this child with great care. If you can protect this child very cautiously, as Nārāyaṇa always protects you, the child will be as good as Nārāyaṇa.” Garga Muni also indicated that although the child was exaltedly qualified like Nārāyaṇa, He would enjoy more than Nārāyaṇa as
rāsa-vihārī,
the central enjoyer of the
rāsa
dance. As stated in the
Brahma-saṁhitā, lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam:
He would be served by many
gopīs,
who would all be as good as the goddess of fortune.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
He is similar or equal to the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha by qualities, fame, wealth and influence. The hidden meaning samaḥ is “he to whom Nārāyaṇa is similar.” He has more qualities than Nārāyaṇa. By showing similarity of an object of comparison with the main object, lesser status of the object of comparison is indicated. Kṛṣṇa is superior in qualities such as being fixed in dharma and mercy and is superior in his form. External manifestations are mentioned; his wealth, his fame because of his good qualities and his influence. But he is born as your son: he hides his powers and is obedient to you. Very carefully protect him during his infancy. Actually, he said this so that Nanda’s affection for Kṛṣṇa would increase. Also protect him with all your might during his infancy and after as well. His fame (kīrtyā) refers to Kṛṣṇa’s inherent fame and his fame for being Nanda’s son, which will be attractive to all people. Instead of gopāya susamāhitaḥ sometimes gopayasva samāhitaḥ is seen. The ātmanepada form is poetic license. The meaning can also be “Hide him (gopa), so that he is not visible to all, like a great treasure that you have obtained, with great attention (susamāhitaḥ), using methods for creating auspiciousness (aya), with increased affection because he is rare.” Or, be very careful with this attainment (aya) of the cowherd people. Or in another version there is gopa ayasva-samāhitāḥ: hide him and be careful since he will bring (aya) and preserve (sva) prosperity of the cowherd.
The ordinary meaning of the verse is as follows. Because Kṛṣṇa is like Nārāyaṇa, he will have Nārāyaṇa’s names and he will have other characteristics like Nārāyaṇa. Thus the gopīs and others call Kṛṣṇa by names like Mukunda, which were made known by Nanda. Nandātmajaḥ (O Nanda, your son) also means “your son who produces bliss.”
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
He is similar or equal to the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha by qualities, fame, wealth and influence. Since Yaśodā and others heard this, later in the twenty-first chapter, the gopīs praise krsna with names like Mukunda. He is like Nārāyaṇa in qualities etc. but greater than Nārāyāṇa. By using an analogy with Nārāyaṇa, the object under discussion (upameya) is greater than the object it is compared to (upamāna). Qualities are mercy etc. Śrī refers to wealth or beauty. Kīrti means fame. Anubhāva means knowledge or power.
Or qualities refers to the six qualities of bhagavān. These are then described with the other words like śrī, kīrti (yaśaḥ) and anubhāva. Vairāgya is unsuitable, so is not mentioned. Anubhāva (aiśvarya and vīyra) also includes knowledge and dharma (as well as power). Or you should protect him with all his qualities, beauty etc.
The devotees (such as Vallabha) say that Nārāyaṇa ḥas three forms: akṣara, puruṣa and antaryāmī. As akṣara he favors the jīvas. As puruṣa he causes similarity to himself. As antaryāmī he produces devotion. By these qualities Kṛsṇa is similar. They are situated eternally in the universe in these three forms: as akṣara is with Lakṣmī in Vaikuṇṭha (in the universe). As the puruṣa he is with the sun god in the sun planet. As antaryāmī he is the presiding deity of sacrifice on earth. Kṛṣṇa has similar qualities to these forms.
Protect him with great attention or with devotion. With attention protect him during his childhood to increase affection or out of fear of Kaṁsa. Or hide him. Do not reveal him everywhere. By good fortune you have attained a great treasure.
The meaning can also be “Hide him (gopa), so that he is not visible to all, like a great treasure that you have obtained, with great attention (susamāhitaḥ), using methods for creating auspiciousness (aya), with increased affection because he is rare.” Or, be very careful with this attainment (aya) of the cowherd people. Or in another version there is gopa ayasva-samāhitāḥ: hide him and be careful since he will bring (aya) and preserve (sva) prosperity of the cowherd. Or be attentiie to the goal of Vaikuṇtḥa (aya) and the wealth of prema (sva).
The ordinary meaning of the verse is as follows. Because Kṛṣṇa is like Nārāyaṇa, he will have Nārāyaṇa’s names and he will have other characteristics like Nārāyaṇa. O Nanda! Nanda can also be a verb: be happy!