sÅ«ta uvÄca
atha taá¹ sukham ÄsÄ«na
upÄsÄ«naá¹ bá¹›hac-chravÄḥ
devará¹£iḥ prÄha viprará¹£iá¹
vīṇÄ-pÄṇiḥ smayann iva
sÅ«taḥ - SÅ«ta; uvÄca - said; atha - therefore; tam - him; sukham ÄsÄ«naḥ - comfortably seated; upÄsÄ«nam - unto one sitting nearby; bá¹›hat-Å›ravÄḥ - greatly respected; devará¹£iḥ - the great ṛṣi among the gods; prÄha - said; viprará¹£im - unto the ṛṣi among the brÄhmaṇas; vīṇÄ-pÄṇiḥ - one who carries a vÄ«á¹‡Ä in his hand; smayan iva - apparently smiling.
SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« said: Thus the sage amongst the gods [NÄrada], comfortably seated and apparently smiling, addressed the ṛṣi amongst the brÄhmaṇas [VedavyÄsa].
NÄrada was smiling because he well knew the great sage VedavyÄsa and the cause of his disappointment. As he will explain gradually, VyÄsadeva’s disappointment was due to insufficiency in presenting the science of devotional service. NÄrada knew the defect, and it was confirmed by the position of VyÄsa.
