Å›rÄ«-vasudeva uvÄca
namo vaḥ sarva-devebhya
ṛṣayaḥ śrotum arhatha
karmaá¹‡Ä karma-nirhÄro
yathÄ syÄn nas tad ucyatÄm
Å›rÄ«-vasudevaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« Vasudeva said; namaḥ - obeisances; vaḥ - to you; sarva - all; devebhyaḥ - (who comprise) the demigods; ṛṣayaḥ - O sages; Å›rotum arhatha - please listen; karmaá¹‡Ä - by material work; karma - of (previous) work; nirhÄraḥ - the purging; yathÄ - how; syÄt - there may be; naḥ - to us; tat - that; ucyatÄm - please say.
Here Vasudeva addresses the sages as “the residence of all the demigods.†His statement is confirmed in the authoritative Å›ruti-mantras, which declare, yÄvatÄ«r vai devatÄs tÄḥ sarvÄ veda-vidi brÄhmaṇe vasanti: “Whatever demigods exist, all reside in a brÄhmaṇa who knows the Veda.â€