SB 10.81.1 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच स इत्थं द्विजमुख्येन सह सङ्कथयन् हरि: । सर्वभूतमनोऽभिज्ञ: स्मयमान उवाच तम् ॥ १ ॥ ब्रह्मण्यो ब्राह्मणं कृष्णो भगवान् प्रहसन् प्रियम् । प्रेम्णा निरीक्षणेनैव प्रेक्षन् खलु सतां गति: ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca sa itthaṁ dvija-mukhyena saha saṅkathayan hariḥ sarva-bhūta-mano-’bhijṣaḥ smayamāna uvāca tam brahmaṇyo brāhmaṇaṁ kṛṣṇo bhagavān prahasan priyam premṇā nirīkṣaṇenaiva prekṣan khalu satāṁ gatiḥ

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; saḥ — He ; ittham — in this manner ; dvija — of brāhmaṇas ; mukhyena — with the best ; saha — together ; saṅkathayan — conversing ; hariḥ — Lord Hari ; sarva — of all ; bhūta — living beings ; manaḥ — the minds ; abhijṣaḥ — who knows perfectly ; smayamānaḥ — smiling ; uvāca — said ; tam — to him ; brahmaṇyaḥ — devoted to the brāhmaṇas ; brāhmaṇam — to the brāhmaṇa ; kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa ; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; prahasan — laughing ; priyam — at His dear friend ; premṇā — lovingly ; nirīkṣaṇena — with a glance ; eva — indeed ; prekṣan — looking ; khalu — indeed ; satām — of the saintly devotees ; gatiḥ — the goal .

Translation

[Śukadeva Gosvāmī said:] Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa, perfectly knows the hearts of all living beings, and He is especially devoted to the brāhmaṇas. While the Supreme Lord, the goal of all saintly persons, conversed in this way with the best of the twice-born, He laughed and spoke the following words to that dear friend of His, the brāhmaṇa Sudāmā, all the while smiling and looking upon him with affection.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

[Śukadeva Gosvāmī said:] Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa, perfectly knows the hearts of all living beings, and He is especially devoted to the brāhmaṇas. While the Supreme Lord, the goal of all saintly persons, conversed in this way with the best of the twice-born, He laughed and spoke the following words to that dear friend of His, the brāhmaṇa Sudāmā, all the while smiling and looking upon him with affection. KB 10.81.1-2 Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of all living entities, knows everyone’s heart very well. He is especially inclined to the brāhmaṇa devotees. Lord Kṛṣṇa is also called brahmaṇya-deva, which means that He is worshiped by the brāhmaṇas. Therefore it is understood that a devotee who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead has already acquired the position of a brāhmaṇa. Without becoming a brāhmaṇa, one cannot approach the Supreme Brahman, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is especially concerned with vanquishing the distress of His devotees, and He is the only shelter of pure devotees. Lord Kṛṣṇa engaged for a long time in talking with Sudāmā Vipra about their past association. Then, just to enjoy the company of an old friend, Lord Kṛṣṇa began to smile and asked,

Purport

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the words sarva-bhūta-mano-’bhijṣa indicate that since Lord Kṛṣṇa knows the minds of everyone, He could tell at once that His friend Sudāmā had brought some flat rice for Him and was ashamed to present it. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s further explanation of this verse, Lord Kṛṣṇa smiled at this moment, thinking “Yes, I am going to make you show what you brought for Me.” His smile then turned to laughter as He thought, “How long are you going to keep this precious gift hidden in your cloth?” Kṛṣṇa glanced toward the bundle hidden inside His friend’s garment, telling Sudāmā by His loving glance, “The veins showing through your emaciated skin and your ragged clothes astonish everyone present, but these symptoms of poverty will last only until tomorrow morning.” Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān, the supreme, independent Lord, He is always pleased to reciprocate with those who are priya, His cherished servants. As the indulgent patron of the brāhmaṇa class, He especially enjoys favoring brāhmaṇas who are additionally qualified by unconditional devotion to Him.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the eighty first chapter Krsna takes food from Sudama and unknown to Sudama rewards him with unlimited treasure to repay his debt to him.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

He (saḥ), endowed with previously described qualities of affection for brāhmaṇas and devotees, since he was attractive to all (hariḥ), gave joy through talking (saṅkathanyan) with the best of brāhmaṇas, the best since he was a great friend. This was because he knew the minds of all beings, since he was Bhagavān and more particularly, Kṛṣṇa. He saw that Sudāmā had brought grains of rice with effort from far away for him, to add to Kṛṣṇa’s wealth. He was keeping the grains carefully, even now, not throwing them in water or elsewhere. He was shy to give the grains to Kṛṣṇa. In talking to Sudāmā the Lord understood this. He smiled and looked at Sudāmā with prema in a special way (prekṣan), with joy, pleasure and curiosity with glances at the knot in his cloth, indicating “When will he give it to me?” This was because the Lord was kind to all brāhmaṇas, what to speak of his friend. Because Sudāmā did not give the rice, he smiled. “Why do not you give what was given to you by your wife as a gift for me?” He then spoke since Sudāmā was a friend (priyam) and Kṛṣṇa was the ultimate shelter of the devotees (satāṁ gatiḥ). Khalu is ornamental.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

He who has indescribable glories, revealing his unlimited qualities as bhagavān (saḥ), who attracts all beings or Śrīdāmā, spoke with the best of brāhmaṇas, since he was the chief, being his dear friend. This suggests that both were in great joy. He smiled at the brāhmaṇa’s efforts, and spoke to him because he was the benefactor of brāhmaṇas (brahmaṇyaḥ). He laughed because Śrīdāmā was dear (priyam). He knew the minds of all beings because he was full of all powers (bhagavān). He was Kṛṣṇa. Or Śrīdāmā was dear because as a brāhmaṇa he knew the meaning of the Vedas and moreover the Lord was the benefactor of brāhmaṇas. He laughed for another reason: he attracts everyone’s heart (kṛṣṇaḥ). Moreover he was full of all qualities (bhagavān). Thus, he looked at him with glances of love, since he is the goal of the devotees (satām gatiḥ).