tad vaḥ prasÄdayÄmy adya
brahma daivaá¹ paraá¹ hi me
tad dhÄ«ty Ätma-ká¹›taá¹ manye
yat sva-pumbhir asat-ká¹›tÄḥ
tat - therefore; vaḥ - you sages; prasÄdayÄmi - I am seeking your forgiveness; adya - just now; brahma - the brÄhmaṇas; daivam - most beloved personalities; param - highest; hi - because; me - My; tat - that offense; hi - because; iti - thus; Ätma-ká¹›tam - done by Me; manye - I consider; yat - which; sva-pumbhiḥ - by My own attendants; asat-ká¹›tÄḥ - having been disrespected.
The Lord is always in favor of the brÄhmaṇas and the cows, and therefore it is said, go-brÄhmaṇa-hitÄya ca. Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is also the worshipable Deity of the brÄhmaṇas. In the Vedic literature, in the á¹›g-mantra hymns of the Ṛg Veda, it is stated that those who are actually brÄhmaṇas always look to the lotus feet of Viṣṇu: oá¹ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaá¹ padaá¹ sadÄ paÅ›yanti sÅ«rayaḥ. Those who are qualified brÄhmaṇas worship only the Viṣṇu form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which means Kṛṣṇa, RÄma and all Viṣṇu expansions. A so-called brÄhmaṇa who is born in the family of brÄhmaṇas but performs activities aimed against the Vaiṣṇavas cannot be accepted as a brÄhmaṇa, because brÄhmaṇa means Vaiṣṇava and Vaiṣṇava means brÄhmaṇa. One who has become a devotee of the Lord is also a brÄhmaṇa. The formula is brahma jÄnÄtÄ«ti brÄhmaṇaḥ. A brÄhmaṇa is one who has understood Brahman, and a Vaiṣṇava is one who has understood the Personality of Godhead. Brahman realization is the beginning of realization of the Personality of Godhead. One who understands the Personality of Godhead also knows the impersonal feature of the Supreme, which is Brahman. Therefore one who becomes a Vaiṣṇava is already a brÄhmaṇa. It should be noted that the glories of the brÄhmaṇa described in this chapter by the Lord Himself refer to His devotee-brÄhmaṇa, or the Vaiṣṇava. It should never be misunderstood that the so-called brÄhmaṇas who are born in brÄhmaṇa families but have no brahminical qualifications are referred to in this connection.