SB 10.23.48 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

देश: काल: पृथग्द्रव्यं मन्त्रतन्त्रर्त्विजोऽग्नय: । देवता यजमानश्च क्रतुर्धर्मश्च यन्मय: ॥ ४८ ॥ स एव भगवान् साक्षाद् विष्णुर्योगेश्वरेश्वर: । जातो यदुष्वित्याश‍ृण्म ह्यपि मूढा न विद्महे ॥ ४९ ॥

Verse text

deśaḥ kālaḥ pṛthag dravyaṁ mantra-tantrartvijo ’gnayaḥ devatā yajamānaś ca kratur dharmaś ca yan-mayaḥ sa eva bhagavān sākṣād viṣṇur yogeśvareśvaraḥ jāto yaduṣv ity āśṛṇma hy api mūḍhā na vidmahe

Synonyms

deśaḥ — the place ; kālaḥ — time ; pṛthak dravyam — particular items of paraphernalia ; mantra — Vedic hymns ; tantra — prescribed rituals ; ṛtvijaḥ — priests ; agnayaḥ — and the sacrificial fires ; devatā — the presiding demigods ; yajamānaḥ — the performer ; ca — and ; kratuḥ — the offering ; dharmaḥ — the pious reaction ; ca — and ; yat — whom ; mayaḥ — constituting ; saḥ — He ; eva — indeed ; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; sākṣāt — directly ; viṣṇuḥ — Lord Viṣṇu ; yoga — īśvara — īśvaraḥ — the Lord of all mystic controllers ; jātaḥ — taken birth ; yaduṣu — among the Yadu dynasty ; iti — thus ; āśṛṇma — we have heard ; hi — certainly ; api — nevertheless ; mūḍhāḥ — foolish ; na vidmahe — we could not understand .

Translation

All the aspects of sacrifice — the auspicious place and time, the various items of paraphernalia, the Vedic hymns, the prescribed rituals, the priests and sacrificial fires, the demigods, the patron of the sacrifice, the sacrificial offering and the pious results obtained — all are simply manifestations of His opulences. Yet even though we had heard that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, the Lord of all mystic controllers, had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, we were so foolish that we could not recognize Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be none other than Him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

All the aspects of sacrifice—the auspicious place and time, the various items of paraphernalia, the Vedic hymns, the prescribed rituals, the priests and sacrificial fires, the demigods, the patron of the sacrifice, the sacrificial offering and the pious results obtained—all are simply manifestations of His opulences. Yet even though we had heard that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, the Lord of all mystic controllers, had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, we were so foolish that we could not recognize Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be none other than Him. KB 10.23.48-49 The Vedic ceremonial paraphernalia, the suitable place, the suitable time, the different grades of articles for performing the ritualistic ceremonies, the Vedic hymns, the process of sacrifice, the priest who is able to perform the sacrifice, the fire, the demigods, the performer of the sacrifice and the religious principles—all are meant for understanding Kṛṣṇa, for Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu and the Lord of all mystic yogīs. “Because He has appeared as a child in the dynasty of the Yadus, we were so foolish that we could not understand that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,” the brāhmaṇas said.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The bewilderment is further explained in this verse. They pay their respects to Krsna feeling pained by the offense they committed towards him.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

They show how the mistake takes place. He is directly Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. Everything is part of his body because he pervades everything (viṣṇuḥ). He is to be worshipped by all: he is the lord of liberated souls (yogeśvareśvaraḥ). Thus he is to be worshipped by our sacrifices. Or, he has directly manifested (sa eva). Therefore he is full of all powers (bhagavān). He spreads everywhere with the manifestation of unlimited powers as Viṣṇu. Thus he should be worshipped by all (yogeśvareśvaraḥ). Or, for what purpose did he appear? He appeared to give joy to his devotees (yogeśvareṣvaraḥ—lord of the devotees). The word hi indicates that this conclusion is supported by scripture. That is famous with statements like mad bhaktānāṁ vinodārtham: I perform various pastimes to please my devotees. (Padma Purāṇa). We were ignorant of the meaning of the scriptures. They now concluded what Śukadeva stated in verses 10-11.