Devanagari
तस्य वै देवदेवस्य हरेर्यज्ञपते: प्रभो: ।
ब्राह्मणा: प्रभवो दैवं न तेभ्यो विद्यते परम् ॥ ३९ ॥
Verse text
tasya vai deva-devasya
harer yajṣa-pateḥ prabhoḥ
brāhmaṇāḥ prabhavo daivaṁ
na tebhyo vidyate param
Synonyms
tasya
—
of Him
;
vai
—
even
;
deva
—
devasya — of the Lord of lords
;
hareḥ
—
Kṛṣṇa
;
yajṣa
—
of Vedic sacrifice
;
pateḥ
—
the controller
;
prabhoḥ
—
the supreme master
;
brāhmaṇāḥ
—
the brāhmaṇas
;
prabhavaḥ
—
masters
;
daivam
—
deity
;
na
—
not
;
tebhyaḥ
—
than them
;
vidyate
—
exists
;
param
—
greater .
Translation
Lord Hari is the God of all gods, the master of all sacrifices, and the supreme ruler. But He accepts the saintly brāhmaṇas as His masters, and so there exists no deity higher than them.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Lord Hari is the God of all gods, the master of all sacrifices, and the supreme ruler. But He accepts the saintly brāhmaṇas as His masters, and so there exists no deity higher than them.
KB 10.81.39
It is evident from Lord Kṛṣṇa’s dealings with Sudāmā Vipra that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very, very much pleased with a person who possesses brahminical qualities. A qualified brāhmaṇa like Sudāmā Vipra is naturally a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said, brāhmaṇo vaiṣṇavaḥ: a brāhmaṇa is a Vaiṣṇava. Or sometimes it is said, brāhmaṇaḥ paṇḍitaḥ. Paṇḍita means a highly learned person. A brāhmaṇa cannot be foolish or uneducated. Therefore there are two divisions of brāhmaṇas, namely Vaiṣṇavas and paṇḍitas. Those who are simply learned are paṇḍitas but not yet devotees of the Lord, or Vaiṣṇavas. Lord Kṛṣṇa is not especially pleased with them. Simply the qualification of being a learned brāhmaṇa is not sufficient to attract the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Not only must a brāhmaṇa be well qualified according to the requirements stated in scriptures such as Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but at the same time he must be a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The vivid example is Sudāmā Vipra. He was a qualified brāhmaṇa, unattached to all sorts of material sense enjoyment, and at the same time he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enjoyer of all sacrifices and penances, is very fond of a brāhmaṇa like Sudāmā Vipra, and we have seen by the actual behavior of Lord Kṛṣṇa how much He adores such a brāhmaṇa. Therefore, the ideal stage of human perfection is to become a brāhmaṇa-vaiṣṇava like Sudāmā Vipra.
Purport
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that even though Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the supreme ruler of creation, He accepts the
brāhmaṇas
as His masters; even though He is the God of all gods, the
brāhmaṇas
are His deities; and even though He is the Lord of all sacrifices, He performs sacrifices to worship them.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Though Krsna is affectionate to his devotees, he is famous among the people as being affectionate to the brahmanas. Krsna is the Lord (prabhoh) of all, but the brahmanas are the lords (prabhavah) of him. He is the deva among the devas, but the brahmanas are also deva (daivam) of him. He is the lord of sacrifice and worship (yajna pateh), but he worships the brahmanas. This is the meaning here.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
It is not surprising that Kṛṣṇa is affectionate to brāhmaṇas since he is Svayam Bhagavān. That is illustrated in this verse. Or, having spoken of the Kṛṣṇa’s great quality of having affection for brāhmaṇas, the particular qualities of Bhagavān are now detailed in this verse. He is to be worshipped by Brahmā and others (devadevasya). He gives the results to the brāhmaṇas and other executors of sacrifice (yajña-pateḥ). He is the controller of the universe (prabhoḥ). Successively these terms indicate more are more Kṛṣṇa’s suitability to serve the brāhmaṇas. That he serves them (prabhāvaḥ) is famous (vai). It is not surprising. No other deity than them exists for him. He worships them with devotion. It is impossible to worship other deities since he is attractive to all (hareḥ).