Devanagari
मैत्रेय उवाच
इति ब्रुवाणं नृपतिं गायका मुनिचोदिता: ।
तुष्टुवुस्तुष्टमनसस्तद्वागमृतसेवया ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
maitreya uvāca
iti bruvāṇaṁ nṛpatiṁ
gāyakā muni-coditāḥ
tuṣṭuvus tuṣṭa-manasas
tad-vāg-amṛta-sevayā
Synonyms
maitreyaḥ uvāca
—
the great sage Maitreya said
;
iti
—
thus
;
bruvāṇam
—
speaking
;
nṛpatim
—
the King
;
gāyakāḥ
—
the reciters
;
muni
—
by the sages
;
coditāḥ
—
having been instructed
;
tuṣṭuvuḥ
—
praised, satisfied
;
tuṣṭa
—
being pleased
;
manasaḥ
—
their minds
;
tat
—
his
;
vāk
—
words
;
amṛta
—
nectarean
;
sevayā
—
by hearing .
Translation
The great sage Maitreya continued: While King Pṛthu thus spoke, the humility of his nectarean speeches pleased the reciters very much. Then again they continued to praise the King highly with exalted prayers, as they had been instructed by the great sages.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Maitreya said: The singers, pleased by hearing his sweet words, then praised Pṛthu, who had just spoken, as order by the sages.
In the Sixteenth Chapter the bards, ordered by the sages, praise Pṛthu, describing how he would milk the earth in the future.
Purport
Here the word
muni-coditāḥ
indicates instructions received from great sages and saintly persons. Although Mahārāja Pṛthu was simply enthroned on the royal seat and was not at that time exhibiting his godly powers, the reciters like the
sūta,
the
māgadha
and the
vandī
understood that King Pṛthu was an incarnation of God. They could understand this by the instructions given by the great sages and learned
brāhmaṇas.
We have to understand the incarnations of God by the instructions of authorized persons. We cannot manufacture a God by our own concoctions. As stated by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura,
sādhu-śāstra-guru:
one has to test all spiritual matters according to the instructions of saintly persons, scriptures and the spiritual master. The spiritual master is one who follows the instructions of his predecessors, namely the
sādhus,
or saintly persons. A bona fide spiritual master does not mention anything not mentioned in the authorized scriptures. Ordinary people have to follow the instructions of
sādhu, śāstra
and
guru.
Those statements made in the
śāstras
and those made by the bona fide
sādhu
or
guru
cannot differ from one another.
Reciters like the
sūta
and the
māgadha
were confidentially aware that King Pṛthu was an incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. Although the King denied such praise because he was not at that time exhibiting his godly qualities, the reciters did not stop praising him. Rather, they were very pleased with the King, who, although actually an incarnation of God, was so humble and delightful in his dealings with devotees. In this connection we may note that previously (4.15.21) it was mentioned that King Pṛthu was smiling and was in a pleasant mood while speaking to the reciters. Thus we have to learn from the Lord or His incarnation how to become gentle and humble. The King’s behavior was very pleasing to the reciters, and consequently the reciters continued their praise and even foretold the King’s future activities, as they had been instructed by the
sādhus
and sages.