Devanagari
भ्रात्रेयो भगवान् कृष्ण: शरण्यो भक्तवत्सल:
पैतृष्वस्रेयान् स्मरति रामश्चाम्बुरुहेक्षण: ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
bhrātreyo bhagavān kṛṣṇaḥ
śaraṇyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ
paitṛ-ṣvasreyān smarati
rāmaś cāmburuhekṣaṇaḥ
Synonyms
bhrātreyaḥ
—
brother’s son
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Lord
;
kṛṣṇaḥ
—
Kṛṣṇa
;
śaraṇyaḥ
—
the giver of shelter
;
bhakta
—
to His devotees
;
vatsalaḥ
—
compassionate
;
paitṛ
—
svasreyān — the sons of His father’s sister
;
smarati
—
remembers
;
rāmaḥ
—
Lord Balarāma
;
ca
—
and
;
amburuha
—
like lotus petals
;
īkṣaṇaḥ
—
whose eyes .
Translation
Does my nephew Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality and the compassionate shelter of His devotees, still remember His aunt’s sons? And does lotus-eyed Rāma remember them also?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Does my nephew Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality and the compassionate shelter of His devotees, still remember His aunt's sons? And does lotus-eyed Rāma remember them also?
KB 10.49.9
She especially inquired about Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, her glorious nephews. She asked, “Does Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is very affectionate to His devotees, remember my sons? Does Balarāma remember us?”
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
She then asks more particularly. She identifies Kṛṣṇa as her nephew, so show that her question is appropriate. He is not an ordinary nephew, but is the Lord (bhagavān). His nature is therefore to protect. Thus he is worthy of surrender. That is proper.
devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam
O King! One who has given up all varṇāśrama duties and has taken full shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who offers shelter to all, is not a debtor to or servant of the devatās, great sages, ordinary living beings, relatives or Pitṛs. SB 11.5.41
The reason he protects us is that he is affectionate to the devotees (bhakta-vatsalaḥ). Therefore I wonder, does he remember his aunts’ sons? They should be remembered because they are special objects of affection, being his aunt’s sons. Mentioning his lotus eyes suggests his great beauty. Her desire to see him arises from her natural affection. Her later request for protection is his pastime and is not a material desire for she also says:
vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat tatra tatra jagad-guro |
bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād apunar bhava-darśanam ||
O guru of the universe! May we have dangers in such situations continually, because in those dangers we will see you, and by that we will gain release from this material world. SB 1.8.25
The adjectives describing Kṛṣṇa are also applicable to Balarāma. Balarāma is mentioned at the end since he is obedient to Kṛṣṇa.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
She then asks more particularly. The Lord is endowed with unlimited qualities like mercy (bhagavān), protects those who are surrendered (śaraṇyaḥ) and particularly is affection to the devotees because he has appeared in this word to manifest his unlimited powers as svayam bhagavān (kṛṣṇaḥ). The descriptive terms are in order of increasing excellence for remembering him. His aunt’s sons are particularly to be remembers because of great affection for them. With his lotus eyes he is most beautiful, destroying all suffering just by seeing him. She desires to see him directly. The descriptive terms apply to Balarāma as well. Balarāma is mentioned after since he plays a secondary role.