ciraṠvimṛśya munaya
Ä«Å›varasyeÅ›itavyatÄm
jana-saṅgraha ity ūcuḥ
smayantas taá¹ jagad-gurum
ciram - for some time; vimṛśya - thinking; munayaḥ - the sages; Ä«Å›varasya - of the supreme controller; Ä«Å›itavyatÄm - the status of being controlled; jana-saá¹…grahaḥ - the enlightenment of the people in general; iti - thus (concluding); Å«cuḥ - they said; smayantaḥ - smiling; tam - to Him; jagat - of the universe; gurum - the spiritual master.
For some time the sages pondered the Supreme Lord’s behavior, which resembled that of a subordinate living being. They concluded that He was acting this way to instruct the people in general. Thus they smiled and spoke to Him, the spiritual master of the universe.
ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« explains the word Ä«Å›itavyatÄ as referring to one’s not being a controller, or in other words, to being under the law of karma, obliged to work and experience the results of one’s work. While addressing the sages, Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted the role of a subordinate living being to emphasize the importance of hearing and serving saintly Vaiṣṇavas. The Personality of Godhead is also the supreme teacher of spiritual surrender.
