गुणायनं शीलधनं कृतज्ञं
वृद्धाश्रयं संवृणतेऽनु सम्पदः ।
प्रसीदतां ब्रह्मकुलं गवां च
जनार्दनः सानुचरश्च मह्यम् ॥४४॥

guṇÄyanaṠśīla-dhanaá¹ ká¹›ta-jñaá¹
vá¹›ddhÄÅ›rayaá¹ saá¹vṛṇate 'nu sampadaḥ
prasÄ«datÄá¹ brahma-kulaá¹ gavÄá¹ ca
janÄrdanaḥ sÄnucaraÅ› ca mahyam

 guṇa-ayanam - one who has acquired all the good qualities; Å›Ä«la-dhanam - one whose wealth is good behavior; ká¹›ta-jñam - one who is grateful; vá¹›ddha-ÄÅ›rayam - one who takes shelter of the learned; saá¹vṛṇate - achieves; anu - certainly; sampadaḥ - all opulences; prasÄ«datÄm - be pleased upon; brahma-kulam - the brÄhmaṇa class; gavÄm - the cows; ca - and; janÄrdanaḥ - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sa - with; anucaraḥ - along with His devotee; ca - and; mahyam - upon me.


Text

Whoever acquires the brahminical qualifications — whose only wealth is good behavior, who is grateful, and who takes shelter of experienced persons — gets all the opulence of the world. I therefore wish that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His associates be pleased with the brÄhmaṇa class, with the cows and with me.

Purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped with the prayer namo brahmaṇya-devÄya go-brÄhmaṇa-hitÄya ca. Thus it is clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead respects and protects the brÄhmaṇas and brahminical culture, as well as the cows; in other words, wherever there are brÄhmaṇas and brahminical culture, there are cows and cow protection. In a society or civilization in which there are no brÄhmaṇas or brahminical culture, cows are treated as ordinary animals and slaughtered, at the sacrifice of human civilization. The specific mention of the word gavÄm by Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja is significant because the Lord is always associated with cows and His devotees. In pictures Lord Kṛṣṇa is always seen with cows and His associates such as the cowherd boys and the gopÄ«s. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be alone. Therefore Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja said, sÄnucaraÅ› ca, indicating that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always associated with His followers and devotees.

A devotee acquires all the good qualities of the demigods; he is guṇÄyanam, the reservoir of all good qualities. His only asset is good behavior, and he is grateful. Gratitude for the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one of the qualities of brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. Everyone should feel grateful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He is maintaining all living entities and supplying all their necessities. As stated in the Vedas (Kaá¹­ha Upaniá¹£ad 2.2.13), eko bahÅ«nÄá¹ yo vidadhÄti kÄmÄn: the supreme one is supplying all necessities to the living entities. The living entity who is therefore grateful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is certainly qualified with good characteristics.

The word vá¹›ddhÄÅ›rayam is very significant in this verse. Vá¹›ddha refers to one who is advanced in knowledge. There are two kinds of old men: those who are advanced in years and those who are experienced in knowledge. One who is advanced in knowledge is actually vá¹›ddha (jñÄna-vá¹›ddha); one does not become vá¹›ddha simply by advancing in age. Vá¹›ddhÄÅ›rayam, a person who takes shelter of a superior person who is advanced in knowledge, can acquire all the good qualities of a brÄhmaṇa and be trained in good behavior. When one actually attains good qualities, becomes grateful for the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and takes shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, he is endowed with all opulence. Such a person is a brÄhmaṇa or Vaiṣṇava. Therefore Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja invokes the blessings and mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with His associates, devotees, Vaiṣṇavas, brÄhmaṇas and cows.