ity ukto 'pi dviyas tasmai
vrÄ«á¸itaḥ pataye Å›riyaḥ
pá¹›thuka-prasá¹›tiá¹ rÄjan
na prÄyacchad avÄá¹…-mukhaḥ
iti - thus; uktaḥ - addressed; api - although; dvijaḥ - the brÄhmaṇa; tasmai - to Him; vrÄ«á¸itaḥ - embarrassed; pataye - to the husband; Å›riyaḥ - of the goddess of fortune; pá¹›thuka - of flat rice; prasá¹›tim - the palmfuls; rÄjan - O King (ParÄ«ká¹£it); na prÄyacchat - did not offer; avÄk - bowed down; mukhaḥ - whose head.
[Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« continued:] Even after being addressed in this way, O King, the brÄhmaṇa felt too embarrassed to offer his palmfuls of flat rice to the husband of the goddess of fortune. He simply kept his head bowed in shame.
According to Ä€cÄrya ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ«, the description here of Kṛṣṇa as “the husband of the goddess of fortune†implies that SudÄmÄ questioned himself, “How can the Lord of ÅšrÄ« eat this hard, stale rice?†By bowing his head, the brÄhmaṇa revealed his meditation: “My dear master, please do not make me ashamed. Even if You request it from me repeatedly, I will not give this to You. I have made up my mind.†But the Lord countered with His own thought: “The intention you had fixed in your mind while coming here must not be frustrated, for you are My devotee.â€
