sarva-bhÅ«tÄtma-dá¹›k sÄká¹£Ät
tasyÄgamana-kÄraṇam
vijá¹…ÄyÄcintayan nÄyaá¹
Å›rÄ«-kÄmo mÄbhajat purÄ
patnyÄḥ pati-vratÄyÄs tu
sakhÄ priya-cikÄ«rá¹£ayÄ
prÄpto mÄm asya dÄsyÄmi
sampado 'martya-durlabhÄḥ
sarva - of all; bhÅ«ta - living beings; Ätma - of the hearts; dá¹›k - the witness; sÄká¹£Ät - direct; tasya - his (SudÄmÄ's); Ägamana - for the coming; kÄraṇam - the reason; vijñÄya - understanding fully; acintayat - He thought; na - not; ayam - he; Å›rÄ« - of opulence; kÄmaḥ - desirous; mÄ - Me; abhajat - worshiped; purÄ - in the past; patnyÄḥ - of his wife; pati - to her husband; vratÄyÄḥ - chastely devoted; tu - however; sakhÄ - My friend; priya - the satisfaction; cikÄ«rá¹£ayÄ - with the desire of securing; prÄptaḥ - now come; mÄm - to Me; asya - to him; dÄsyÄmi - I will give; sampadaḥ - riches; amartya - by the demigods; durlabhÄḥ - unobtainable.
Being the direct witness in the hearts of all living beings, Lord Kṛṣṇa fully understood why SudÄmÄ had come to see Him. Thus He thought, “In the past My friend has never worshiped Me out of a desire for material opulence, but now he comes to Me to satisfy his chaste and devoted wife. I will give him riches that even the immortal demigods cannot obtain.â€
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« comments that the Lord momentarily wondered, “How has it come about, despite My omniscience, that this devotee of Mine has fallen into such poverty?†Then, quickly understanding the situation, He spoke to Himself the words related in this verse.
But someone may point out that SudÄmÄ should not have been so poverty-stricken, since appropriate enjoyment comes as a by-product of service to God even for a devotee who has no ulterior motives. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.22):
ananyÄÅ› cintayanto mÄá¹
ye janÄḥ paryupÄsate
teá¹£Äá¹ nityÄbhiyuktÄnÄá¹
yoga-ká¹£emaá¹ vahÄmy aham
“But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.â€
In response to this point, a distinction must be made between two kinds of renounced devotees: one kind is inimical to sense gratification, and the other is indifferent to it. The Supreme Lord does not force sense gratification upon the devotee who is extremely averse to worldly enjoyments. This is seen among such great renouncers as Jaá¸a Bharata. On the other hand, the Lord may give limitless wealth and power to a devotee who is neither repelled nor attracted by material things, such as PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja. Up to this point in his life, SudÄmÄ BrÄhmaṇa was totally averse to sense gratification, but now, out of compassion for his faithful wife — and also because he hankered to have Kṛṣṇa’s audience — he went to beg from the Lord.
