SB 10.24.4 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एतद् ब्रूहि महान् कामो मह्यं शुश्रूषवे पित: न हि गोप्यं हि साधूनां कृत्यं सर्वात्मनामिह अस्त्यस्वपरद‍ृष्टीनाममित्रोदास्तविद्विषाम् ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

etad brūhi mahān kāmo mahyaṁ śuśrūṣave pitaḥ na hi gopyaṁ hi sadhūnāṁ kṛtyaṁ sarvātmanām iha asty asva-para-dṛṣṭīnām amitrodāsta-vidviṣām

Synonyms

etat — this ; brūhi — please speak ; mahān — great ; kāmaḥ — desire ; mahyam — to Me ; śuśrūṣave — who am ready to hear faithfully ; pitaḥ — O father ; na — not ; hi — indeed ; gopyam — to be kept secret ; hi — certainly ; sādhūnām — of saintly persons ; kṛtyam — the activities ; sarva — ātmanām — who see everyone as equal to themselves ; iha — in this world ; asti — there is ; asva — para — dṛṣṭīnām — who do not distinguish between what is their own and what is another’s ; amitra — udāsta — vidviṣām — who do not distinguish between friends, neutral parties and enemies .

Translation

Please tell Me about it, O father. I have a great desire to know and am ready to hear in good faith. Certainly, no secrets are to be kept by saintly personalities, who see all others as equal to themselves, who have no conception of “mine” or “another’s” and who do not consider who is a friend, who is an enemy and who is neutral.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Please tell Me about it, O father. I have a great desire to know and am ready to hear in good faith. Certainly, no secrets are to be kept by saintly personalities, who see all others as equal to themselves, who have no conception of "mine" or "another's" and who do not consider who is a friend, who is an enemy and who is neutral. KB 10.24.4 Kṛṣṇa, however, persisted: “My dear Father, for those who are liberal and saintly, there is no secrecy. They do not think anyone to be a friend, an enemy or a neutral party, because they are always open to everyone.

Purport

Lord Kṛṣṇa’s father might have thought that his son was a mere child and thus could not properly question the validity of a Vedic sacrifice. But the Lord’s clever statement here would certainly have convinced Nanda that Śrī Kṛṣṇa was making a serious, not a whimsical, inquiry and that a serious answer should thus be given.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

If the answer is given, "We are about to perform a sacrifice. We are busy preparing for this." Then he would ask, "What is the purpose of this sacrifice? Who is the devata to be worshipped through this sacrifice ? who will perform, and with what materials?" "What is the purpose of the questions of a boy like you?" "I have a great desire to know (mahakama)." Or the meaning can be "As you are showing great expectations, therefore please tell me because I want to hear."