sÅ«ta uvÄca
itÄ«á¸ito 'rcitaḥ kÄmam
ṛṣiá¹‡Ä bhagavÄn mune
tatheti sa smayan prÄgÄd
badary-ÄÅ›ramam Ä«Å›varaḥ
sÅ«taḥ uvÄca - SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« said; iti - in these words; Ä«á¸itaḥ - glorified; arcitaḥ - worshiped; kÄmam - satisfactorily; ṛṣiá¹‡Ä - by the sage MÄrkaṇá¸eya; bhagavÄn - the Personality of Godhead; mune - O wise Åšaunaka; tathÄ iti - 'so be it'; saḥ - He; smayan - smiling; prÄgÄt - departed; badarÄ«-ÄÅ›ramam - for the hermitage BadarikÄÅ›rama; Ä«Å›varaḥ - the Supreme Lord.
SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« said: O wise Åšaunaka, thus satisfied by MÄrkaṇá¸eya’s praise and worship, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, smiling, replied, “So be it,†and then departed for His hermitage at BadarikÄÅ›rama.
The words bhagavÄn and Ä«Å›vara in this verse refer to the Supreme Lord in His incarnation as the twin sages Nara and NÄrÄyaṇa. According to ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura, the Supreme Lord smiled ruefully, because He prefers that His pure devotees stay away from His illusory energy. Curiosity to see the illusory energy of the Lord sometimes develops into sinful material desire. Nonetheless, to please His devotee MÄrkaṇá¸eya, the Lord granted his request, just as a father who cannot convince his son to give up pursuing a harmful desire may let him experience some painful reaction so that he will then voluntarily desist. Thus, understanding what would soon happen to MÄrkaṇá¸eya, the Lord smiled as He prepared to display the illusory potency to him.
