Devanagari
श्रीनारद उवाच
नैवाद्भुतं त्वयि विभोऽखिललोकनाथे
मैत्री जनेषु सकलेषु दम: खलानाम् ।
नि:श्रेयसाय हि जगत्स्थितिरक्षणाभ्यां
स्वैरावतार उरुगाय विदाम सुष्ठु ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
śrī-nārada uvāca
naivādbhutaṁ tvayi vibho ’khila-loka-nāthe
maitrī janeṣu sakaleṣu damaḥ khalānām
niḥśreyasāya hi jagat-sthiti-rakṣaṇābhyāṁ
svairāvatāra urugāya vidāma suṣṭhu
Synonyms
śrī
—
nāradaḥ uvāca — Śrī Nārada said
;
na
—
not
;
eva
—
at all
;
adbhutam
—
surprising
;
tvayi
—
for You
;
vibho
—
O almighty one
;
akhila
—
of all
;
loka
—
worlds
;
nāthe
—
for the ruler
;
maitrī
—
friendship
;
janeṣu
—
toward people
;
sakaleṣu
—
all
;
damaḥ
—
the subduing
;
khalānām
—
of the envious
;
niḥśreyasāya
—
for the highest benefit
;
hi
—
indeed
;
jagat
—
of the universe
;
sthiti
—
by maintenance
;
rakṣaṇābhyām
—
and protection
;
svaira
—
freely chosen
;
avatāraḥ
—
descent
;
uru
—
gāya — O You who are praised universally
;
vidāma
—
we know
;
suṣṭhu
—
well .
Translation
Śrī Nārada said: O almighty Lord, it is no surprise that You, the ruler of all worlds, show friendship for all people and yet subdue the envious. As we well know, You descend by Your sweet will in order to bestow the highest good on this universe by maintaining and protecting it. Thus Your glories are widely sung.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śrī Nārada said: O almighty Lord, it is no surprise that You, the ruler of all worlds, show friendship for all people and yet subdue the envious. As we well know, You descend by Your sweet will in order to bestow the highest good on this universe by maintaining and protecting it. Thus Your glories are widely sung.
KB 10.69.17
Nārada replied, “My dear Lord, this kind of behavior by Your Lordship is not at all astonishing, for You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and master of all species of living entities. You are the supreme friend of all living entities, but at the same time You are the supreme chastiser of the miscreants and the envious. I know that Your Lordship has descended to this earth for the proper maintenance of the whole universe. Your appearance, therefore, is not forced by any other agency. By Your sweet will only, You agree to appear and disappear.
Purport
As pointed out by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, all living beings are in fact servants of the Lord. The
ācārya
quotes the following verse from the
Padma Purāṇa
to elucidate:
a-kāreṇocyate viṣṇuḥ
śrīr u-kāreṇa kathyate
ma-kāras tu tayor dāsaḥ
paṣca-viṁśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ
“[In the
mantra
om
] the letter
a
signifies Lord Viṣṇu, the letter
u
signifies the goddess Śrī, and the letter
m
refers to their servant, who is the twenty-fifth element.” The twenty-fifth element is the
jīva,
the living being. Every living being is a servant of the Lord, and the Lord is the true friend of every living being. Thus even when the Lord chastises envious persons like Jarāsandha, such punishment amounts to real friendship, since both the Lord’s chastisement and His blessing are for the benefit of the living being.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In the material world, if the object of worship worships the worshipper, it will not be beneficial for the worshipper. However, because you are independent, if you worship your devotee, or if you receive his worship, or if you punish him, it is always beneficial.
This is expressed in this verse.
It is not at all amazing for you, the master of all the people, that you are the benefactor (maitri) of all people. Because you are the master of all the people and all people are in the status of dependent jivas, they must factually be your servants.
In the explanation of Om in the Padma Purana it is said, "A refers to Visnu, U refers to Laksmi and M refers is the twenty fifth element, the jiva, the servant of the other two."
For those brahmanas like me who worship you with devotion, your worshipping us gives displeasure. For others who serve you like Vidura and Uddhava, you give them sorrow by refusing to accept their worship. Others who are like animals, living in the material world, who do not worship you, are given your glance of mercy. And other evil persons like Jarasandha you punish. For all these people you are the benefactor, for you appear in this world by your free will for giving the highest benefit to all the people of the world in the form of prema bhakti and liberation, as well as maintainance and protection.
This I know.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
This is not astonishing. The statement is in the neuter to express generality. It is in the singular, with the expectation that he will enlarge his topic. You give proper treatment (maitrī) though you are the master of all the people. In your form, you are equal to all. These two are not astonishing since you appear in order to give benefit to the world in the form of bhakti and mukti. You bestow these two according to the qualification of the person. This is all possible because you are capable (vibho). Thus you are praised by songs (urugāya).
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
It is not surprising for you, the Lord of all planets, that you worship me, since you have affection for people. And you do not depend anything. O Lord, complete in yourself (vibho)! You descend from Vaikuṇṭha by your own will (svairāvaratāraḥ). Your glory is thus sung in all planets (urugaya).
Or you are the friend of devotees like me and the punisher of non-devotees. This is not surprising for you, who are equal to all, since you are the Lord of all planets. It is quite suitable that you descend by your will for everyone’s benefit. You make steady and nourish the universe by spreading bhakti and showing affection for your devotees and you protect the universe by destroying the demons, since by this you destroy obstacles to bhakti. Though contrary to your nature as being equal to all, it is not surprising in you. Though I am a servant, you, the Lord, worship me. It is not astonishing since you are independent.