Devanagari
सूत उवाच
स उपामन्त्रितो राज्ञा कथायामिति सत्पते: ।
ब्रह्मरातो भृशं प्रीतो विष्णुरातेन संसदि ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
sūta uvāca
sa upāmantrito rājṣā
kathāyām iti sat-pateḥ
brahmarāto bhṛśaṁ prīto
viṣṇurātena saṁsadi
Synonyms
sūtaḥ uvāca
—
Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī said
;
saḥ
—
he (Śukadeva Gosvāmī)
;
upāmantritaḥ
—
thus being inquired
;
rājṣā
—
by the King
;
kathāyām
—
in the topics
;
iti
—
thus
;
sat
—
pateḥ — of the highest truth
;
brahma
—
rātaḥ — Śukadeva Gosvāmī
;
bhṛśam
—
very much
;
prītaḥ
—
pleased
;
viṣṇu
—
rātena — by Mahārāja Parīkṣit
;
saṁsadi
—
in the meeting .
Translation
Sūta Gosvāmī said: Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī, being invited by Mahārāja Parīkṣit to speak on topics of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the devotees, was very much pleased.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Sūta said: Being requested by the King in the assembly about Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, Śukadeva was greatly pleased.
Purport
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
can be legitimately discussed only among the devotees of the Lord. As the
Bhagavad-gītā
was authoritatively discussed between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna (the Lord and the devotee respectively), similarly
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
which is the postgraduate study of the
Bhagavad-gītā,
can also be discussed between the scholars and devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Otherwise the real taste of the nectar cannot be relished. Śukadeva Gosvāmī was pleased with Mahārāja Parīkṣit because he was not at all tired of hearing the topics of the Lord and was more and more anxious to hear them on and on with interest. Foolish interpreters unnecessarily tackle the
Bhagavad-gītā
and
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
when they have no access to the subject matter. There is no use in nondevotees’ meddling with the two topmost Vedic literatures, and therefore Śaṅkarācārya did not touch
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
for commentation. In his commentation on the
Bhagavad-gītā,
Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya accepted Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but later on he commented from the impersonalist’s view. But, being conscious of his position, he did not comment on the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī was protected by Lord Kṛṣṇa (vide
Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa
), and therefore he is known as Brahmarāta, and Śrīmān Parīkṣit Mahārāja was protected by Viṣṇu, and thus he is known as Viṣṇurāta. As devotees of the Lord, they are always protected by the Lord. It is clear also in this connection that a Viṣṇurāta should hear
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
from Brahmarāta and no one else because others misrepresent the transcendental knowledge and thus spoil one’s valuable time.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Sat-pateḥ means Kṛṣṇa. Brahma-rataḥ refers to Śukadeva. Sūta here testifies that the Kṛṣṇa is being discussed in the questions and answers.