Devanagari
श्रीभगवानुवाच
किमुपायनमानीतं ब्रह्मन् मे भवता गृहात् ।
अण्वप्युपाहृतं भक्तै: प्रेम्णा भूर्येव मे भवेत् ।
भूर्यप्यभक्तोपहृतं न मे तोषाय कल्पते ॥ ३ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kim upāyanam ānītaṁ
brahman me bhavatā gṛhāt
aṇv apy upāhṛtaṁ bhaktaiḥ
premṇā bhury eva me bhavet
bhūry apy abhaktopahṛtaṁ
na me toṣāya kalpate
Synonyms
śrī
—
bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Lord said
;
kim
—
what
;
upāyanam
—
gift
;
ānītam
—
brought
;
brahman
—
O brāhmaṇa
;
me
—
for Me
;
bhavatā
—
by you
;
gṛhāt
—
from your home
;
aṇu
—
infinitesimal
;
api
—
even
;
upāhṛtam
—
thing offered
;
bhaktaiḥ
—
by devotees
;
premṇā
—
in pure love
;
bhūri
—
immense
;
eva
—
indeed
;
me
—
for Me
;
bhavet
—
it becomes
;
bhūri
—
huge
;
api
—
even
;
abhakta
—
by nondevotees
;
upahṛtam
—
presented
;
na
—
not
;
me
—
My
;
toṣāya
—
for the satisfaction
;
kalpate
—
is competent .
Translation
The Supreme Lord said: O brāhmaṇa, what gift have you brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Supreme Lord said: O brāhmaṇa, what gift have you brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me.
KB 10.81.3
“My dear friend, what have you brought for Me? Has your wife given you some nice eatable for Me?” While addressing His friend, Lord Kṛṣṇa looked upon him and smiled with great love. He continued: “My dear friend, you must have brought some presentation for Me from your home.”
Lord Kṛṣṇa knew that Sudāmā was hesitating to present Him with the paltry chipped rice, which was actually unfit for His eating. Understanding the mind of Sudāmā Vipra, the Lord said, “My dear friend, I am certainly not in need of anything, but if My devotee gives Me something as an offering of love, even though it may be very insignificant, I accept it with great pleasure. On the other hand, if a person is not a devotee, even though he may offer Me very valuable things, I do not like to accept them. I actually accept only things offered to Me in devotion and love; otherwise, however valuable a thing may be, I do not accept it.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
‘Have you brought anything from your house? I surmise that you having such affectionate for me would not come emptied coming so far from your house, to see me who have such affection for you."
"But I am very embarrassed to show it because it is meager."
"Even if my devotee offers only a little (anu) with devotion, it becomes plenty for me."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
What have you brought? Please tell me, or please give it. O brāhmaṇa! Since you know the Vedas, it is not proper to keep for yourself what you have brought for me. This is his joking intention in addressing Sudāmā as a brāhmaṇa. You have brought it from your house, from your wife. You are not acting like a friend. Though the gift was sent by your devoted wife, you hesitate to give it to me. He then encourages him, giving up joking. I will accept what is given, since I have proper behavior. Even a small gift like rice, if offered by persons with respect (bhaktaiḥ) and prema, or which is offered with prema, becomes very satisfying to me. What is offered by persons without respect or without devotion will not satisfy me. I am not pleased with those persons.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
What have you brought? Please tell me, or please give it. O brāhmaṇa! Since you know the Vedas, it is not proper to keep for yourself what you have brought for me, since brāhmaṇas are naturally generous. This is his joking intention in addressing Sudāmā as a brāhmaṇa. I give great regard to what is offered to me by devotees, and with prema. Or what is offered by my devotees becomes filled with prema for me. What is offered by persons without respect or without devotion will not satisfy me. I am not pleased with those persons.