Text 4
yudhiṣṭhirasya bhīmasya
kṛtvā pādābhivandanam
phālgunaṁ parirabhyātha
yamābhyāṁ cābhivanditaḥ
yudhiṣṭhirasya bhīmasya — to Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīma; kṛtvā — after offering; pāda — at their feet; abhivandanam — obeisances; phālgunam — Arjuna; parirabhya — firmly embracing; atha — then; yamābhyām — by the twin brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva; ca — and; abhivanditaḥ — greeted respectfully.
After the Lord bowed down at the feet of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīma and firmly embraced Arjuna, He accepted obeisances from the twin brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva.
Externally Kṛṣṇa was the Pāṇḍavas’ cousin, and their relationship was just like that between cousin-brothers. Because Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīma were externally senior to Kṛṣṇa, the Lord bowed down at their feet, whereas He embraced His peer Arjuna and accepted obeisances from the younger brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva. Sometimes inexperienced devotees think it is sinful to honor or bow down to an elder brother in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But from Lord Kṛṣṇa’s example here we may conclude that offering all respects to a senior brother in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not sinful.