Devanagari
ननु ब्रह्मन् भगवत: सखा साक्षाच्छ्रिय: पति: ।
ब्रह्मण्यश्च शरण्यश्च भगवान् सात्वतर्षभ: ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
nanu brahman bhagavataḥ
sakhā sākṣāc chriyaḥ patiḥ
brahmaṇyaś ca śaraṇyaś ca
bhagavān sātvatarṣabhaḥ
Synonyms
nanu
—
indeed
;
brahman
—
O brāhmaṇa
;
bhagavataḥ
—
of your exalted self
;
sakhā
—
the friend
;
sākṣāt
—
directly
;
śriyaḥ
—
of the supreme goddess of fortune
;
patiḥ
—
the husband
;
brahmaṇyaḥ
—
compassionate to brāhmaṇas
;
ca
—
and
;
śaraṇyaḥ
—
willing to give shelter
;
ca
—
and
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Lord
;
sātvata
—
of the Yādavas
;
ṛṣabhaḥ
—
the best .
Translation
[Sudāmā’s wife said:] O brāhmaṇa, isn’t it true that the husband of the goddess of fortune is the personal friend of your exalted self? That greatest of Yādavas, the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, is compassionate to brāhmaṇas and very willing to grant them His shelter.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
[Sudāmā's wife said:] O brāhmaṇa, isn't it true that the husband of the goddess of fortune is the personal friend of your exalted self? That greatest of Yādavas, the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, is compassionate to brāhmaṇas and very willing to grant them His shelter.
KB 10.80.9
“My dear lord, I know that Lord Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, is your personal friend. You are also a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He is always ready to help His devotee. Even if you think that you are not rendering any devotional service to the Lord, still you are surrendered to Him, and the Lord is the protector of the surrendered soul. Moreover, I know that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ideal personality of Vedic culture. He is always in favor of brahminical culture and is very kind to the qualified brāhmaṇas. You are the most fortunate person because you have as your friend the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the only shelter for personalities like you because you are fully surrendered unto Him. You are saintly, learned and fully in control of your senses. Under the circumstances, Lord Kṛṣṇa is your only shelter.
Purport
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains in his commentary how the
brāhmaṇa’s
wife anticipated every possible objection her husband might make to her request that he go to Lord Kṛṣṇa to beg charity. If the
brāhmaṇa
might say, “How could the husband of the goddess of fortune befriend a fallen soul like myself?” she replies by saying that Lord Kṛṣṇa is
brahmaṇya,
very favorably disposed toward the
brāhmaṇas.
If Sudāmā might claim to have no real devotion for the Lord, she replies by saying that he is a great and wise personality who would surely obtain the shelter and mercy of the Lord. If the
brāhmaṇa
might object that Lord Kṛṣṇa is equally disposed to all the countless unhappy conditioned souls suffering the fruits of their own
karma,
she replies that Lord Kṛṣṇa is especially the Lord of the devotees, and thus even if He Himself did not grant Sudāmā His mercy, certainly the devotees engaged in serving the Lord would mercifully give him some charity. Since the Lord protects the Sātvatas, the members of the Yadu dynasty, what difficulty would there be for Him to protect a humble
brāhmaṇa
like Sudāmā, and what fault would there be in His doing so?
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"O brahmana, the master of Laksmi is your friend."
"But how can the lord of Laksmi be a friend to me, so poor?"
"But he favors the brahmanas(brahmanyah)"
"But I don’t have the qualities of such a brahmana."
"He accepts anyone who surrenders to him."
"But since I do not have devotion, I do not have the quality of surrender even."
"But he is bhagavan, knowing everything. Seeing your suffering he will be merciful."
"But how will he give wealth to just me when he is equal to everyone among all the infinite suffering souls similar to me enjoying the fruits of their karma?"
"He is the master of the devotees (satvatarsabhah). He may not give but the devotees serving him by fanning and other actions, being most merciful, will give. And since he maintains the Yadus (satvatarsabhah), what burden or fault is it for him to maintain you?"
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The Lord whom you worship is your friend. He is the Lord of all visible wealth. “Why would he be friends with me, such a low person?” He is the benefactor of brāhmaṇas. “Why would he be kind to me?” He is affectionate to those who have surrendered (śaraṇyaḥ). Who is he? He is Bhagavān but has descended as the best of the Yadus,
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
O brahmaṇ! You are the personification of the Vedas. You know everything. Thus she speaks.
The Lord is the actual (sākṣāt) husband of Lakṣmī directly. Or that is directly perceived (sākṣāt). He is your friend. She uses the word bhagavataḥ instead of bhavataḥ out of respect. As the husband of Lakṣmī, Kṛṣṇa is able to bestow all wealth. “If he is in that position why would he be friends with poor person like me?” He is the benefactor of brāhmaṇas (brahmaṇyaḥ) and is affectionate to the surrendered (śaraṇyaḥ). “I do not have qualities of surrender.” The Lord is most merciful (bhagavān). Why? He is the king of the Yadus (sātvarṣasbhaḥ). He appeared in the Yadu dynasty by his mercy. Or he is merciful and moreover, attained excellence by appearing in the Yadu dynasty to manifest unlimited mercy.
Or “Why will he be merciful to me?” He protected the Yadus (sātvatārṣabhaḥ) who were suffering greatly because of Kaṁsa. He is affection to those who suffer. Or because he is born in the Yadu dynasty he is naturally merciful. Therefore his merciful nature is the cause of mercy. One need not seek any other reason.