शुश्रूषयानुषङ्गेण प्राप्तोऽहं ब्रह्मपुत्रताम् ॥७३॥
tÄvad dÄsyÄm ahaá¹ jajñe
tatrÄpi brahma-vÄdinÄm
Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£ayÄnuá¹£aá¹…geṇa
prÄpto 'haá¹ brahma-putratÄm
tÄvat - since being cursed; dÄsyÄm - in the womb of a maidservant; aham - I; jajñe - took birth; tatrÄpi - although (being a śūdra); brahma-vÄdinÄm - unto persons well conversant with the Vedic knowledge; Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£ayÄ - by rendering service; anuá¹£aá¹…geṇa - simultaneously; prÄptaḥ - obtained; aham - I; brahma-putratÄm - a birth as the son of Lord BrahmÄ (in this life).
Although I took birth as a śūdra from the womb of a maidservant, I engaged in the service of Vaiṣṇavas who were well-versed in Vedic knowledge. Consequently, in this life I got the opportunity to take birth as the son of Lord BrahmÄ.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.32):
mÄá¹ hi pÄrtha vyapÄÅ›ritya
ye ’pi syuḥ pÄpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiÅ›yÄs tathÄ Å›Å«drÄs
te ’pi yÄnti parÄá¹ gatim
“O son of Pá¹›thÄ, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth — women, vaiÅ›yas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers] — can approach the supreme destination.†It doesn’t matter whether a person is born as a śūdra, a woman or a vaiÅ›ya; if he associates with devotees repeatedly or always (sÄdhu-saá¹…gena), he can be elevated to the highest perfection. NÄrada Muni is explaining this in relation to his own life. The saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement is important, for regardless of whether one is a śūdra, vaiÅ›ya, mleccha, yavana or whatever, if one associates with a pure devotee, follows his instructions and serves the pure devotee, his life is successful. This is bhakti. Ä€nukÅ«lyena kṛṣṇÄnuśīlanam. Bhakti consists of serving Kṛṣṇa and His devotees very favorably. AnyÄbhilÄá¹£itÄ-śūnyam. If one has no desire other than to serve Kṛṣṇa and His devotee, then his life is successful. This is explained by NÄrada Muni through this practical example from his own life.
