Devanagari
चिरं विमृश्य मुनय ईश्वरस्येशितव्यताम् ।
जनसङ्ग्रह इत्यूचु: स्मयन्तस्तं जगद्गुरुम् ॥ १५ ॥
Verse text
ciraṁ vimṛśya munaya
īśvarasyeśitavyatām
jana-saṅgraha ity ūcuḥ
smayantas taṁ jagad-gurum
Synonyms
ciram
—
for some time
;
vimṛśya
—
thinking
;
munayaḥ
—
the sages
;
īśvarasya
—
of the supreme controller
;
īśitavyatām
—
the status of being controlled
;
jana
—
saṅgrahaḥ — the enlightenment of the people in general
;
iti
—
thus (concluding)
;
ūcuḥ
—
they said
;
smayantaḥ
—
smiling
;
tam
—
to Him
;
jagat
—
of the universe
;
gurum
—
the spiritual master .
Translation
For some time the sages pondered the Supreme Lord’s behavior, which resembled that of a subordinate living being. They concluded that He was acting this way to instruct the people in general. Thus they smiled and spoke to Him, the spiritual master of the universe.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
For some time the sages pondered the Supreme Lord's behavior, which resembled that of a subordinate living being. They concluded that He was acting this way to instruct the people in general. Thus they smiled and spoke to Him, the spiritual master of the universe.
KB 10.84.15
All those who heard considered the speech of Lord Kṛṣṇa for some time, and they concluded that Lord Kṛṣṇa was actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing the role of an ordinary human being, who is forced to take a certain type of body as a result of the reactions of his past deeds. He was assuming this pastime as an ordinary human simply to teach the people in general how they should live for perfection of the human mission.
Having concluded that Kṛṣṇa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sages addressed Him thus:
Purport
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains the word
īśitavyatā
as referring to one’s not being a controller, or in other words, to being under the law of
karma,
obliged to work and experience the results of one’s work. While addressing the sages, Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted the role of a subordinate living being to emphasize the importance of hearing and serving saintly Vaiṣṇavas. The Personality of Godhead is also the supreme teacher of spiritual surrender.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
After considering the Lord’s statement that He was subservient to them (isvarasya isitavyatam), they could not see any logic in his statements. Therefore they explained that his words and actions were for teaching the common man (jana sangraha) by the Lord who establishes dharma, because he is the teacher of the universe (jagat gurum).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
They considered for a long time why he was acting as if controlled and concluded that he must be acting with humility according to his human pastimes, as he had the best qualities, since he did not lack power , had no desire for power and did not lack knowledge. Looking at each other with astonishment, shyness and bliss, they smiled. He acted in this way in order to teach the people, or to attract the devotees (jana-saṅgraḥ) since he was the originator of all good qualities (jagad-guruḥ).
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
They considered a long time the Lord’s acting as a controlled being and smiled at his use of words, after they understood. It was for instructing the people, since he was guru of the universe. They then spoke to him. Or considering his acting as a jīva was to teach people, understanding the meaning of his words, or by his humble behavior, as the ocean of good qualities, they slightly smiled with devotion, since it would be improper to laught out loud. They then spoke to him, in the following verses.