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ŚB 10.10.25

Devanagari

देवर्षिर्मे प्रियतमो यदिमौ धनदात्मजौ ।
तत्तथा साधयिष्यामि यद् गीतं तन्महात्मना ॥ २५ ॥

Text

devarṣir me priyatamo
yad imau dhanadātmajau
tat tathā sādhayiṣyāmi
yad gītaṁ tan mahātmanā

Synonyms

devarṣiḥ — the great saint Devarṣi Nārada; me — My; priya-tamaḥ — most beloved devotee; yat — although; imau — these two persons (Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva); dhanada-ātmajau — born of a rich father and being nondevotees; tat — the words of Devarṣi; tathā — just so; sādhayiṣyāmi — I shall execute (because he wanted Me to come face to face with the yamala-arjuna, I shall do so); yat gītam — as already stated; tat — that; mahātmanā — by Nārada Muni.

Translation

“Although these two young men are the sons of the very rich Kuvera and I have nothing to do with them, Devarṣi Nārada is My very dear and affectionate devotee, and therefore because he wanted Me to come face to face with them, I must do so for their deliverance.”

Purport

Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva actually had nothing to do with devotional service or seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, for this is not an ordinary opportunity. It is not that because one is very rich or learned or was born in an aristocratic family one will be able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. This is impossible. But in this case, because Nārada Muni desired that Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva see Vāsudeva face to face, the Supreme Personality of Godhead wanted to fulfill the words of His very dear devotee Nārada Muni. If one seeks the favor of a devotee instead of directly asking favors from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is very easily successful. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore recommended: vaiṣṇava ṭhākura tomāra kukkura bhuliyā jānaha more, kṛṣṇa se tomāra kṛṣṇa dite pāra. One should desire to become like a dog in strictly following a devotee. Kṛṣṇa is in the hand of a devotee. Adurlabham ātma-bhaktau. Thus without the favor of a devotee, one cannot directly approach Kṛṣṇa, what to speak of engaging in His service. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore sings, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: unless one becomes a servant of a pure devotee, one cannot be delivered from the material condition of life. In our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava society, following in the footsteps of Rūpa Gosvāmī, our first business is to seek shelter of a bona fide spiritual master (ādau gurv-āśrayaḥ).