tasyÄvanijya caraṇau tad-apaḥ sva-mÅ«rdhnÄ
bibhraj jagad-gurutamo 'pi satÄá¹ patir hi
brahmaṇya-deva iti yad guṇa-nÄma yuktaá¹
tasyaiva yac-caraṇa-śaucam aśeṣa-tīrtham
tasya - his; avanijya - washing; caraṇau - the feet; tat - that; apaḥ - water; sva - His own; mÅ«rdhnÄ - on the head; bibhrat - carrying; jagat - of the entire universe; guru-tamaḥ - the supreme spiritual master; api - even though; satÄm - of the saintly devotees; patiḥ - the master; hi - indeed; brahmaṇya - who favors the brÄhmaṇas; devaḥ - the Lord; iti - thus called; yat - since; guṇa - based on His quality; nÄma - the name; yuktam - fitting; tasya - His; eva - indeed; yat - whose; caraṇa - of the feet; Å›aucam - the bathing; aÅ›eá¹£a - complete; tÄ«rtham - holy shrine.
The Lord bathed NÄrada’s feet and then put the water on His own head. Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spiritual authority of the universe and the master of His devotees, it was proper for Him to behave in this way, for His name is Brahmaṇya-deva, “the Lord who favors the bá¹›Ähmaṇas.†Thus ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa honored the sage NÄrada by bathing his feet, even though the water that bathes the Lord’s own feet becomes the Ganges, the ultimate holy shrine.
Since Lord Kṛṣṇa’s own lotus feet are the source of the most holy Ganges, the Lord did not have to purify Himself by bathing NÄrada Muni’s feet. Rather, as ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda explains: “Lord Kṛṣṇa in DvÄrakÄ enjoyed the pastimes of a perfect human being. When, therefore, He washed the feet of the sage NÄrada and took the water on His head, NÄrada did not object, knowing well that the Lord did so to teach everyone how to respect saintly persons.â€
