Devanagari
श्रीबहुलाश्व उवाच
भवान् हि सर्वभूतानामात्मा साक्षी स्वदृग् विभो ।
अथ नस्त्वत्पदाम्भोजं स्मरतां दर्शनं गत: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bahulāśva uvāca
bhavān hi sarva-bhūtānām
ātmā sākṣī sva-dṛg vibho
atha nas tvat-padāmbhojaṁ
smaratāṁ darśanaṁ gataḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
bahulāśvaḥ uvāca — Śrī Bahulāśva said
;
bhavān
—
You
;
hi
—
indeed
;
sarva
—
of all
;
bhūtānām
—
created beings
;
ātmā
—
the Supreme Soul
;
sākṣī
—
the witness
;
sva
—
dṛk — self-illumined
;
vibho
—
O almighty one
;
atha
—
thus
;
naḥ
—
to us
;
tvat
—
Your
;
pada
—
ambhojam — lotus feet
;
smaratām
—
who are remembering
;
darśanam gataḥ
—
have become visible .
Translation
Śrī Bahulāśva said: O almighty Lord, You are the Soul of all created beings, their self-illumined witness, and now You are giving Your audience to us, who constantly meditate on Your lotus feet.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śrī Bahulāśva said: O almighty Lord, You are the Soul of all created beings, their self-illumined witness, and now You are giving Your audience to us, who constantly meditate on Your lotus feet.
KB 10.86.31
“My dear Lord, You are the Supersoul of all living entities, and as the witness within the heart You are cognizant of everyone’s activities. Thus we are duty-bound to always think of Your lotus feet so that we can remain in a secure position and not deviate from Your eternal service. As a result of our continuous remembrance of Your lotus feet, You have kindly visited my place personally to favor me with Your causeless mercy.
Purport
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains Bahulāśva’s inner thoughts as follows: Bahulāśva glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa as the inspiring Soul of all life and consciousness, thinking that even an inert dullard like himself could be awakened to devotional awareness by His mercy. He glorifies the Lord as the witness of all pious and impious actions, confident that the Lord remembers whatever little devotional service he has ever done. And he glorifies Him as self-illumined, never needing to be enlightened or informed by any external source, with the knowledge that the Lord has always been aware of Bahulāśva’s long-cherished secret desire to see Him.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O Supreme atma, you are the producer of all consciousness. Therefore by mercy, make me, an unconscious object, conscious, and make me your devotee. O witness (saksi)! As you see all good and bad activities, you see the devotional actions I have performed for you daily. You see all (svadrk), so there is no need to inform you of anything. Therefore (atha), I can get your audience only if you yourself come by your free will. I am not fortunate to be able to come and see you, since it is impossible for me to give up even for a second serving your deity form in my house. Always thinking of you (smaratam) in this way, you have come here.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
He praises Kṛṣṇa by describing his unconditional mercy in coming personally to his house though he is unqualified. Hi means because. You are self-manifesting (sva-dṛk): others depend on your mercy. You give consciousness (ātmā) to the jīvas who are your vibhinnāṁśas by their nature: you are the shelter of spiritual form, just as the sun is the shelter of light for its rays. You are also the maker of their upādhis. You are the witness (sākṣī) of the material worlds. Just as a person who is unattached reveals an object to others, you reveal yourself to the jīvas. I have been able to see you because you have the ability to show yourself to jīvas like me and because you have natural mercy. This is because of your mercy, through a show of your prakāśakā-śakti. I have remembered your lotus feet to some degree, but not with the bliss of prema. Or, I remember by making great effort. Those feet are like lotuses, by their nature destroying all suffering of the person who attains them by a power unknown to me. Instead of jīvānām sometimes bhūtānām is seen.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
He praises Kṛṣṇa by describing his unconditional mercy in coming personally to his house though he was unqualified. Hi means “because.” Because you are the witness of all beings from Brahmā to grass, revealing all their senses, since you are spread everywhere, or are the supreme Lord (vibho) we have been able to see you by mercy, though jīvas do not have the power to see you. The plural is used to indicate his family as well, or to show respect for himself on seeing the Lord.
“Why am I not visible to all others?” We remember your lotus feet. Others do not have bhakti. Though remembering his feet is a cause of seeing him, the Lord is also self-manifesting. Only by his mercy can he be seen and he is the promoter of remembrance by his mercy. Thus his mercy is unconditional. Or because you are our soul and witness, we can remember your feet. Thus we can see you. We see you, but seeing you does not take place by the power of our remembrance but by your merciful nature because you are self-manifesting (sva-dṛk). You show yourself by yourself. Or you mercifully glance at your devotees (sva). Seeing you depends not on our qualities but on your affection for your devotees. That is suitable. O Lord, you are full of all good qualities (vibho).