nanu brahman bhagavataḥ
sakhā sākṣāc chriyaḥ patiḥ
brahmaṇyaś ca śaraṇyaś ca
bhagavān sātvatarṣabhaḥ
nanu -- indeed; brahman -- O brahmana; bhagavatah -- of your exalted self; sakha -- the friend; sakshat -- directly; sriyah -- of the supreme goddess of fortune; patih -- the husband; brahmanyah -- compassionate to brahmanas; ca -- and; saranyah -- willing to give shelter; ca -- and; bhagavan -- the Supreme Lord; satvata -- of the Yadavas; rishabhah -- the best.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti explains in his commentary how the brahmana's wife anticipated every possible objection her husband might make to her request that he go to Lord Krishna to beg charity. If the brahmana might say, "How could the husband of the goddess of fortune befriend a fallen soul like myself?" she replies by saying that Lord Krishna is brahmanya, very favorably disposed toward the brahmanas. If Sudama might claim to have no real devotion for the Lord, she replies by saying that he is a great and wise personality who would surely obtain the shelter and mercy of the Lord. If the brahmana might object that Lord Krishna is equally disposed to all the countless unhappy conditioned souls suffering the fruits of their own karma, she replies that Lord Krishna is especially the Lord of the devotees, and thus even if He Himself did not grant Sudama His mercy, certainly the devotees engaged in serving the Lord would mercifully give him some charity. Since the Lord protects the Satvatas, the members of the Yadu dynasty, what difficulty would there be for Him to protect a humble brahmana like Sudama, and what fault would there be in His doing so?