Text 21
śrī-śuka uvāca
ākarṇyetthaṁ pitur vākyaṁ
bhagavān sātvatarṣabhaḥ
pratyāha praśrayānamraḥ
prahasan ślakṣṇayā girā
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ākarṇya — hearing; ittham — in this manner; pituḥ — of His father; vākyam — the statements; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord; sātvata-ṛṣabhaḥ — best of the Yadus; pratyāha — replied; praśraya — with humility; ānamraḥ — bowing (His head); prahasan — smiling broadly; ślakṣṇayā — gentle; girā — with a voice.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Having heard His father’s words, the Supreme Lord, leader of the Sātvatas, replied in a gentle voice as He bowed His head in humility and smiled.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī describes what Lord Kṛṣṇa thought after hearing His father glorify Him: “Vasudeva has been honored with the eternal role of My father, something even demigods like Brahma cannot aspire for. Therefore he shouldn’t be absorbed in thinking of My godly aspects. Moreover, his reverence greatly embarrasses Me. It was to avoid this very situation that, after killing Kaṁsa, I made a special effort to reinforce their pure parental love for Me and Balarāma. But now, unfortunately, the statements of these sages threaten to revive some of Vasudeva’s and Devakī’s previous awareness of My majesty.”