Text 4
śrī-vasudeva uvāca
bhagavan bhavato yātrā
svastaye sarva-dehinām
kṛpaṇānāṁ yathā pitror
uttama-śloka-vartmanām
śrī-vasudevaḥ uvāca — Śrī Vasudeva said; bhagavan — O lord; bhavataḥ — of your good self; yātrā — the coming; svastaye — for the benefit; sarva-dehinām — of all embodied beings; kṛpaṇānām — of the most wretched; yathā — as; pitroḥ — that of a father; uttama-śloka — the Supreme Lord, who is praised by excellent verses; vartmanām — of those who are fixed on the path toward.
Śrī Vasudeva said: My lord, your visit, like that of a father to his children, is for the benefit of all living beings. You especially help the most wretched among them, as well as those who are advanced on the path toward the Supreme Lord, Uttamaśloka.
Vasudeva herein describes the glories of Nārada Muni. The words kṛpaṇānāṁ yathā pitror uttama-śloka-vartmanām are significant. Kṛpaṇānām refers to the most wretched persons, whereas uttama-śloka-vartmanām refers to the most fortunate, those who are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīdhara Svāmī has stated, tathā bhagavad-rūpasya bhavato yātrā sarva-dehināṁ svastaya iti. The word bhagavad-rūpasya indicates that Nārada Muni is an expansion of the Supreme Lord and that his activities therefore bring immense benefit for all living beings. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada Muni is described as a manifestation of the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There it is stated that Nārada is especially empowered to give instructions in the art of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Nārada is especially able to advise the conditioned souls as to how they can dovetail their present activities with the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa without unnecessarily disrupting their present life.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī has defined the word kṛpaṇa by quoting from the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.8.10). Etad akṣaraṁ gārgi aviditvāsmāl lokāt praiti sa kṛpaṇaḥ: “O daughter of Gargācārya, he who leaves this world without learning about the infallible Supreme is a kṛpaṇa, or miser.” In other words, we are awarded the human form of life so that we may understand our eternal, blissful relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As indicated in verse 2 of this chapter by the word indriyavān, the human body is specifically awarded so that we may serve the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. This human form of body is the greatest fortune because the highly evolved intelligence of human life enables us to understand Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth. If we are unable to understand our eternal relationship with God, we shall derive no permanent benefit whatsoever in this present life, nor can we ultimately benefit others. One who receives a great treasure but can neither use it himself nor dedicate it to the happiness of others is called a miser. Therefore, a person who leaves this world without having understood his actual position as servant of God is called a kṛpaṇa, or miser.
This verse states that Nārada Muni is so empowered in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa that he can lift even miserly rascals out of their illusion, just as a kind father goes to his child and wakes him from a distressing nightmare. Our present materialistic life is just like a troublesome dream, from which great souls such as Nārada can wake us. Nārada Muni is so powerful that even those already advanced in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa can greatly enhance their spiritual position by hearing his instructions, as they will be given here in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore Śrī Nārada is the guru and father of all living beings, who are originally devotees of the Lord but who are now artificially attempting to enjoy the material world in the material bodies of human beings, animals, and so on.