Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
sa itthaá¹ dvija-mukhyena
saha saṅkathayan hariḥ
sarva-bhūta-mano-'bhijñaḥ
smayamÄna uvÄca tam
brahmaṇyo brÄhmaṇaá¹ kṛṣṇo
bhagavÄn prahasan priyam
premá¹‡Ä nirÄ«ká¹£aṇenaiva
preká¹£an khalu satÄá¹ gatiḥ
Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; saḥ - He; ittham - in this manner; dvija - of brÄhmaṇas; mukhyena - with the best; saha - together; saá¹…kathayan - conversing; hariḥ - Lord Hari; sarva - of all; bhÅ«ta - living beings; manaḥ - the minds; abhijñaḥ - who knows perfectly; smayamÄnaḥ - smiling; uvÄca - said; tam - to him; brahmaṇyaḥ - devoted to the brÄhmaṇas; brÄhmaṇam - to the brÄhmaṇa; kṛṣṇaḥ - Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; prahasan - laughing; priyam - at His dear friend; premá¹‡Ä - lovingly; nirÄ«ká¹£aṇena - with a glance; eva - indeed; preká¹£an - looking; khalu - indeed; satÄm - of the saintly devotees; gatiḥ - the goal.
[Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said:] Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa, perfectly knows the hearts of all living beings, and He is especially devoted to the brÄhmaṇas. While the Supreme Lord, the goal of all saintly persons, conversed in this way with the best of the twice-born, He laughed and spoke the following words to that dear friend of His, the brÄhmaṇa SudÄmÄ, all the while smiling and looking upon him with affection.
According to ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ«, the words sarva-bhÅ«ta-mano-’bhijña indicate that since Lord Kṛṣṇa knows the minds of everyone, He could tell at once that His friend SudÄmÄ had brought some flat rice for Him and was ashamed to present it. According to ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha Cakravartī’s further explanation of this verse, Lord Kṛṣṇa smiled at this moment, thinking “Yes, I am going to make you show what you brought for Me.†His smile then turned to laughter as He thought, “How long are you going to keep this precious gift hidden in your cloth?â€
Kṛṣṇa glanced toward the bundle hidden inside His friend’s garment, telling SudÄmÄ by His loving glance, “The veins showing through your emaciated skin and your ragged clothes astonish everyone present, but these symptoms of poverty will last only until tomorrow morning.â€
Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is BhagavÄn, the supreme, independent Lord, He is always pleased to reciprocate with those who are priya, His cherished servants. As the indulgent patron of the brÄhmaṇa class, He especially enjoys favoring brÄhmaṇas who are additionally qualified by unconditional devotion to Him.
