itthaá¹ tvÄá¹ putra-Å›okena
magnaá¹ tamasi dustare
atad-arham anusmá¹›tya
mahÄpuruá¹£a-gocaram
anugrahÄya bhavataḥ
prÄptÄv ÄvÄm iha prabho
brahmaṇyo bhagavad-bhakto
nÄvÄsÄditum arhasi
ittham - in this way; tvÄm - you; putra-Å›okena - because of grief at the death of your son; magnam - merged; tamasi - in darkness; dustare - insurmountable; a-tat-arham - unsuitable for a person like you; anusmá¹›tya - remembering; mahÄ-puruá¹£a - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; gocaram - who are advanced in understanding; anugrahÄya - just to show favor; bhavataḥ - toward you; prÄptau - arrived; ÄvÄm - we two; iha - in this place; prabho - O King; brahmaṇyaḥ - one who is situated in the Supreme Absolute Truth; bhagavat-bhaktaḥ - an advanced devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na - not; avÄsÄditum - to lament; arhasi - you deserve.
Several words in this verse are very important. The word mahÄ-puruá¹£a refers to advanced devotees and also to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. MahÄ means “the supreme,†and puruá¹£a means “person.†One who always engages in the service of the Supreme Lord is called mahÄ-pauruá¹£ika. Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« and MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it are sometimes addressed as mahÄ-pauruá¹£ika. A devotee should always aspire to engage in the service of advanced devotees. As ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura has sung:
tÄá¹…dera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vÄsa
janame janame haya, ei abhilÄá¹£a
A devotee should always aspire to live in the association of advanced devotees and engage in the service of the Lord through the paramparÄ system. One should serve the mission of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu through the instructions of the great GosvÄmÄ«s of Vá¹›ndÄvana. This is called tÄá¹…dera caraṇa sevi. While serving the lotus feet of the GosvÄmÄ«s, one should live in the association of devotees (bhakta-sane vÄsa). This is the business of a devotee. A devotee should not aspire for material profit or lament for material loss. When Aá¹…girÄ á¹šá¹£i and NÄrada saw that MahÄrÄja Citraketu, an advanced devotee, had fallen in the darkness of ignorance and was lamenting for the material body of his son, by their causeless mercy they came to advise him so that he could be saved from this ignorance.
Another significant word is brahmaṇya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sometimes addressed by the prayer namo brahmaṇya-devÄya, which offers obeisances unto the Lord because He is served by the devotees. Therefore this verse states, brahmaṇyo bhagavad-bhakto nÄvÄsÄditum arhasi. This is the symptom of an advanced devotee. Brahma-bhÅ«taḥ prasannÄtmÄ. For a devotee — an advanced, self-realized soul — there is no cause for material jubilation or lamentation. He is always transcendental to conditional life.