Devanagari
ज्ञानं तदेतदमलं दुरवापमाह
नारायणो नरसख: किल नारदाय ।
एकान्तिनां भगवतस्तदकिञ्चनानां
पादारविन्दरजसाप्लुतदेहिनां स्यात् ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
jṣānaṁ tad etad amalaṁ duravāpam āha
nārāyaṇo nara-sakhaḥ kila nāradāya
ekāntināṁ bhagavatas tad akiṣcanānāṁ
pādāravinda-rajasāpluta-dehināṁ syāt
Synonyms
jṣānam
—
knowledge
;
tat
—
that
;
etat
—
this
;
amalam
—
without material contamination
;
duravāpam
—
very difficult to understand (without the mercy of a devotee)
;
āha
—
explained
;
nārāyaṇaḥ
—
Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
nara
—
sakhaḥ — the friend of all living entities (especially human beings)
;
kila
—
certainly
;
nāradāya
—
unto the great sage Nārada
;
ekāntinām
—
of those who have surrendered exclusively to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
bhagavataḥ
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
tat
—
that (knowledge)
;
akiṣcanānām
—
who do not claim any material possessions
;
pāda
—
aravinda — of the lotus feet of the Lord
;
rajasā
—
by the dust
;
āpluta
—
bathed
;
dehinām
—
whose bodies
;
syāt
—
is possible .
Translation
Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the well-wisher and friend of all living entities, formerly explained this transcendental knowledge to the great saint Nārada. Such knowledge is extremely difficult to understand without the mercy of a saintly person like Nārada, but everyone who has taken shelter of Nārada’s disciplic succession can understand this confidential knowledge.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Nārāyaṇa, the well-wisher and friend of all living entities, formerly explained this pure knowledge, difficult to understand, to Nārada. This knowledge can be understood by fully dedicated devotees with no material desire, who bathe their bodies in the dust from the Lord’s lotus feet.
To give the boys faith, Prahlāda explains the guru sampradāya. “If Nārada is the hearer, what hopes do low persons like us have to understand this?” All those who bathe in the dust of the Lord’s lotus feet, who are dedicated devotees, can understand this, not just the most exalted devotees.
Purport
It is stated here that this confidential knowledge is extremely difficult to understand, yet it is very easy to understand if one takes shelter of a pure devotee. This confidential knowledge is also mentioned at the end of
Bhagavad-gītā,
where the Lord says,
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja:
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” This knowledge is an extremely confidential secret, but it can be understood if one approaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the bona fide agent, the spiritual master in the disciplic succession from Nārada. Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to impress upon the sons of the demons that although such knowledge can be understood only by a saintly person like Nārada, they should not be disappointed, for if one takes shelter of Nārada instead of material teachers, this knowledge is possible to understand. Understanding does not depend upon high parentage. The living entity is certainly pure on the spiritual platform, and therefore anyone who attains the spiritual platform by the grace of the spiritual master can also understand this confidential knowledge.