Å›rÄ«-bahulÄÅ›va uvÄca
bhavÄn hi sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄm
ÄtmÄ sÄkṣī sva-dá¹›g vibho
atha nas tvat-padÄmbhojaá¹
smaratÄá¹ darÅ›anaá¹ gataḥ
Å›rÄ«-bahulÄÅ›vaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« BahulÄÅ›va said; bhavÄn - You; hi - indeed; sarva - of all; bhÅ«tÄnÄm - created beings; ÄtmÄ - the Supreme Soul; sÄkṣī - the witness; sva-dá¹›k - self-illumined; vibho - O almighty one; atha - thus; naḥ - to us; tvat - Your; pada-ambhojam - lotus feet; smaratÄm - who are remembering; darÅ›anam gataḥ - have become visible.
ÅšrÄ« BahulÄÅ›va said: O almighty Lord, You are the Soul of all created beings, their self-illumined witness, and now You are giving Your audience to us, who constantly meditate on Your lotus feet.
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« explains BahulÄÅ›va’s inner thoughts as follows: BahulÄÅ›va glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa as the inspiring Soul of all life and consciousness, thinking that even an inert dullard like himself could be awakened to devotional awareness by His mercy. He glorifies the Lord as the witness of all pious and impious actions, confident that the Lord remembers whatever little devotional service he has ever done. And he glorifies Him as self-illumined, never needing to be enlightened or informed by any external source, with the knowledge that the Lord has always been aware of BahulÄÅ›va’s long-cherished secret desire to see Him.
