Text 19
tasmān nandātmajo ’yaṁ te
nārāyaṇa-samo guṇaiḥ
śriyā kīrtyānubhāvena
gopāyasva samāhitaḥ
tasmāt — therefore; nanda — O Nanda Mahārāja; ātmajaḥ — your son; ayam — this; te — of you; nārāyaṇa-samaḥ — is as good as Nārāyaṇa (Nārāyaṇa Himself showing transcendental qualities); guṇaiḥ — by qualities; śriyā — by opulence; kīrtyā — especially by His name and fame; anubhāvena — and by His influence; gopāyasva — just raise this child; samāhitaḥ — with great attention and precaution.
In conclusion, therefore, O Nanda Mahārāja, this child of yours is as good as Nārāyaṇa. In His transcendental qualities, opulence, name, fame and influence, He is exactly like Nārāyaṇa. You should all raise this child very carefully and cautiously.
In this verse, the word nārāyaṇa-samaḥ is significant. Nārāyaṇa has no equal. He is asamordhva: no one is equal to Him, and no one is greater than He is. As stated in śāstra:
yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ
brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
samatvenaiva vīkṣeta
sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam
One who equates Nārāyaṇa even with great exalted demigods like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā is a pāṣaṇḍī, an agnostic. No one can equal Nārāyaṇa. Nonetheless, Garga Muni used the word sama, meaning “equal,” because he wanted to treat Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead who had become Nanda Mahārāja’s son. Garga Muni wanted to impress upon the mind of Nanda Mahārāja, “Your worshipable Deity, Nārāyaṇa, is so pleased with you that He has sent you a son almost equal to Him in qualifications. Therefore you may designate your son with a similar name, such as Mukunda or Madhusūdana. But you must always remember that whenever you want to do something very good, there will be many hindrances. Therefore you should raise and protect this child with great care. If you can protect this child very cautiously, as Nārāyaṇa always protects you, the child will be as good as Nārāyaṇa.” Garga Muni also indicated that although the child was exaltedly qualified like Nārāyaṇa, He would enjoy more than Nārāyaṇa as rāsa-vihārī, the central enjoyer of the rāsa dance. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam: He would be served by many gopīs, who would all be as good as the goddess of fortune.