Devanagari
निम्नगानां यथा गङ्गा देवानामच्युतो यथा ।
वैष्णवानां यथा शम्भु: पुराणानामिदं तथा ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
nimna-gānāṁ yathā gaṅgā
devānām acyuto yathā
vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ
purāṇānām idam tathā
Synonyms
nimna
—
gānām — of rivers flowing down to the sea
;
yathā
—
as
;
gaṅgā
—
the Ganges
;
devānām
—
of all deities
;
acyutaḥ
—
the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
yathā
—
as
;
vaiṣṇavānām
—
of devotees of Lord Viṣṇu
;
yathā
—
as
;
śambhuḥ
—
Śiva
;
purāṇānām
—
of Purāṇas
;
idam
—
this
;
tathā
—
similarly .
Translation
Just as the Gaṅgā is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord Śambhu [Śiva] the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, so Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the greatest of all Purāṇas.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as the Gaṅgā is the greatest of all rivers, Acyuta is the supreme among deities and Śiva is the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, so Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the greatest of all Purāṇas.