Devanagari
वसुदेव भवान् नूनं भक्त्या परमया हरिम् ।
जगतामीश्वरं प्रार्च: स यद् वां पुत्रतां गत: ॥ ४१ ॥
Verse text
vasudeva bhavān nūnaṁ
bhaktyā paramayā harim
jagatām īśvaraṁ prārcaḥ
sa yad vāṁ putratāṁ gataḥ
Synonyms
vasudeva
—
O Vasudeva
;
bhavān
—
your good self
;
nūnam
—
doubtlessly
;
bhaktyā
—
with devotion
;
paramayā
—
supreme
;
harim
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
jagatām
—
of all the worlds
;
īśvaram
—
the supreme controller
;
prārcaḥ
—
have worshiped thoroughly
;
saḥ
—
He
;
yat
—
inasmuch
;
vām
—
of both of you (Vasudeva and Devakī)
;
putratām
—
the role of son
;
gataḥ
—
has taken on .
Translation
O Vasudeva, without doubt you must have previously worshiped Lord Hari, the master of all worlds. Both you and your wife must have perfectly worshiped Him with supreme devotion, since He has accepted the role of your son.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O Vasudeva, without doubt you must have previously worshiped Lord Hari, the master of all worlds. Both you and your wife must have perfectly worshiped Him with supreme devotion, since He has accepted the role of your son.
KB 10.84.41
“My dear Vasudeva, certainly you have already performed many pious activities in your previous lives. Otherwise, how could you be the father of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead?”
Purport
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī paraphrases the sages’ mood as follows: “We have answered you, who questioned us in the manner of ordinary discourse, in the same ordinary way. In truth, however, since you are the eternally liberated father of the Supreme Lord, neither worldly customs nor the injunctions of scripture have any authority over you.”
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the very name
Vasudeva
indicates that Vasudeva manifests brilliantly (
dīvyati
) the superexcellent wealth (
vasu
) of pure devotional service. In the Eleventh Canto Nārada will again meet with Vasudeva and at that time remind him,
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 material duties and has taken full shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who offers shelter to all, is not indebted to the demigods, great sages, ordinary living beings, relatives, friends, mankind or even his forefathers who have passed away. Since all such classes of living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, one who has surrendered to the Lord’s service has no need to serve such persons separately.” (
Bhāg.
11.5.41
)
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
You have asked a question posing as an ordinary person, and we have answered according to ordinary scriptural rules. But actually since you are the father of the Lord, and a nitya siddha devotee, you do not have to follow the ordinary rules of scripture. But if you think that you are only qualified to following the rules of scripture then listen to what we have said. O Vasudeva, you enjoy ( deva) the treasure (vasu) of bhakti yoga. You have intensely worshipped (pra arcah) the lord with most excellent devotion previously. Therefore, why should you now fall to the lower standard of actions? If it is not so, then our words meaning nothing. The proof is that the Lord himself has appeared as your son. If you want to perform such lower acts out of humility, and taking yourself as a fallen soul, do so just to teach other persons, as the Lord does.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Having described the process for persons who have not developed faith in bhakti, now they say that Vasudeva has been most successful from the beginning. O Vasudeva! Vasudeva means he who performs pastimes (deva) with a wealth (vasu) of bhakti for the Lord. They then show how this is true. Certainly you worshipped excellently (pra--arcaḥ) the Lord—as your son, by which you brought him under control. The Lord takes away all suffering (harim), since he is the Lord of all devatās and others (jagatām īśvaram). Therefore you have finished repaying all debts and are to be worshipped by all liberated souls and devotees. With another intention you have also accomplished this. However, this relief from debt is stated according to his imitation of human pastimes, not according to his eternal position. This is indicated by the word Vasudeva itself. Vasudeva refers to the internal śakti of the Lord called śuddha-sattva. It is said in the Fourth Canto: sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditaṁ: śuddha-sattva is called vasudeva. (SB 4.3.23)
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Having described the process for persons who have not developed faith in bhakti, now they say that Vasudeva has been most successful from the beginning. O Vasudeva!
sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditaṁ; the pure antaḥ-karaṇa is called Vasudeva. (SB 4.3.23)
Thus Vasudeva has a pure heart, endowed with pure sattva. Or Vasudeva means “he who shines (deva) with a wealth (vasu) of bhakti. That is stated in the verse. Certainly you worshipped excellently (pra--arcaḥ) the Lord—as your son, by which you brought him under control. The Lord takes away all suffering (harim), since he is the Lord of all devatās and others (jagatām īśvaram). Therefore you have finished repaying all debts and are to be worshipped by all liberated souls and devotees.