SB 10.84.30 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीनारद उवाच नातिचित्रमिदं विप्रा वसुदेवो बुभुत्सया । कृष्णं मत्वार्भकं यन्न: पृच्छति श्रेय आत्मन: ॥ ३० ॥

Verse text

śrī-nārada uvāca nāti-citram idaṁ viprā vasudevo bubhutsayā kṛṣṇam matvārbhakaṁ yan naḥ pṛcchati śreya ātmanaḥ

Synonyms

śrī — nāradaḥ uvāca — Śrī Nārada said ; na — not ; ati — very ; citram — wonderful ; idam — this ; viprāḥ — O brāhmaṇas ; vasudevaḥ — Vasudeva ; bubhutsayā — with the desire of learning ; kṛṣṇam — Lord Kṛṣṇa ; matvā — thinking ; arbhakam — a boy ; yat — the fact that ; naḥ — from us ; pṛcchati — he asks ; śreyaḥ — about the highest good ; ātmanaḥ — for himself .

Translation

Śrī Nārada Muni said: O brāhmaṇas, it is not so amazing that in his eagerness to know, Vasudeva has asked us about his ultimate benefit, for he considers Kṛṣṇa a mere boy.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śrī Nārada Muni said: O brāhmaṇas, it is not so amazing that in his eagerness to know, Vasudeva has asked us about his ultimate benefit, for he considers Kṛṣṇa a mere boy. KB 10.84.30 The great sage Nārada was the leader of all the sages present. Therefore he began to speak. “My dear sages,” he said, “it is not very difficult to understand that because of his great goodness and simplicity, Vasudeva, who has become the father of the Personality of Godhead by accepting Kṛṣṇa as his son, is inclined to ask us about his welfare.

Purport

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī relates Nārada’s thoughts: Śrī Nārada understood how Vasudeva, in line with his mood of pretending to be an ordinary householder, asked the sages about karma-yoga, although he had already attained spiritual goals even great yogīs and ṛṣis cannot achieve. But Nārada was still concerned that Vasudeva might create an awkward mood by treating Lord Kṛṣṇa as a mere child in the presence of all the sages. Nārada and the other sages felt obliged to maintain their attitude of reverence toward Lord Kṛṣṇa, so how could they ignore Him and presume to answer Vasudeva themselves? To avoid this embarrassment, Nārada took this opportunity to remind everyone present of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s absolute supremacy.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The sages were astonished "Oh, he is the father of the Lord, and thinks himself fallen in the material world. Of, if he is asking for the benefit of others, why does he give up Krsna and ask us?" To answer them, Narada spoke this verse. "It is not surprising that Vasudeva, thinking of Krsna as his son (arbakam), not the Lord, asks what is beneficial for himself (atmanah) from us."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

“Why does Kṛṣṇa’s father, who has attained good fortune desired by us, but hard to attain, ask about something other than Kṛṣṇa? If he asks, how can he give up Kṛṣṇa and ask someone else?” Astonished the sages were silent. Though knowing Vasudeva’s intention which was previously explained, Nārada spoke as if intolerant of Vasudeva’s question. Since as Vasudeva was well versed in Kṛṣṇa’s powers, and knew the path of the highest good, unlike Nanda who was absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness, asking this question was part of his human pastimes in order to spread his son’s sattvika glories. That question was very insignificant for the Lord who possessed the highest glories. Or, Svayam Bhagavān reveals his pastimes to hide his power to some degree. This may however produce some misunderstanding. If we attend to this, people will become bewildered. Therefore it is suitable that I show the Lord’s powers, on the pretext of criticizing Vasudeva. He speaks in four verses. In the first two verses he criticizes Vasudeva for bewildering people. In the second two verses he praises Kṛṣṇa as the height of human goals and knowledge. Vasudeva considered Kṛṣṇa to be a material son (arbhakam) and asked about another means of attain the highest goal. Giving up Kṛṣṇa who is beside him, Vasudeva asked us.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

The sages were astonished because Vasudeva in the presence of the supreme Lord, forgetting the Lord’s powers because of great affection, asked them a question. Knowing the greatness of bhakti, Nārada speaks to them with affection. This is not even surprising (na api citram). Citsukha has a version with na ati-citram. Vasudeve thinks that Kṛṣna, though the supreme Lord, is a boy, out of affection.