Devanagari
शुश्रूषतामव्यलीकमस्माकं नरपुङ्गव ।
स्वजन्म कर्म गोत्रं वा कथ्यतां यदि रोचते ॥ ३० ॥
Verse text
śuśrūṣatām avyalīkam
asmākaṁ nara-puṅgava
sva-janma karma gotraṁ vā
kathyatāṁ yadi rocate
Synonyms
śuśrūṣatām
—
who are eager to hear
;
avyalīkam
—
truthfully
;
asmākam
—
to us
;
nara
—
among men
;
pum
—
gava — O most eminent
;
sva
—
Your
;
janma
—
birth
;
karma
—
activity
;
gotram
—
lineage
;
vā
—
and
;
kathyatām
—
may it be told
;
yadi
—
if
;
rocate
—
it pleases .
Translation
O best among men, if You like, please truly describe Your birth, activities and lineage to us, who are eager to hear.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O best among men, if You like, please truly describe Your birth, activities and lineage to us, who are eager to hear.
KB 10.51.30
King Mucukunda was eager to know the identity of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and therefore he said, “O best of human beings, if You think I am fit to know Your identity, kindly tell me who You are. What is Your parentage? What is Your occupational duty, and what is Your family tradition?”
Purport
When the Supreme Lord descends to this world, He certainly becomes
nara-puṅgava,
the most eminent member of human society. Of course, the Lord is not actually a human being, and Mucukunda’s questions will lead to a clarification of this point. Thus the term
śuśrūṣatām,
“to us, who are sincerely eager to hear,” indicates that Mucukunda is inquiring in a noble way for his own and others’ benefit.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Please tell us who want to hear. Mucukunda speaks in the plural to indicate his own high position, in order to get an answer from Krsna. If Krsna thought he was a low class person he would be unworthy of an answer.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
O best of men! He addresses him in this way since Kṛṣṇa is acting like a human, touching the earth. Please tell me, eager to hear about your pleasing (avyalīkam) birth, activities and name (gotram). The passive is used to indicate respect for his birth, activities and name. Avyalīkam also mean truthfully. The word vā indicates all the items, or alternatives. Though secret, one of these can be revealed. He says “If it pleases you” out of humility.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Though he sees the four armed form directly, he also remembers that devas should not touch the earth. Unable to determine that he is Viṣṇu, he calls to him, considering him to be a remarkable human. O best among men! Because you are the best of humans please describe at your discretion (avyalīkam) your birth. Vyalīka means disagreeable. Or describe truthfully. He speaks in the plural to show great respect on seeing him. Vā means everything, or suggests alternatives. What can I do if you do not describe the birth because it is secret? Or tell what you want to do (karma). If you cannot do that, tell your family lineage and name at least. That is, if you want to. This is uttered out of great politeness.