Text 29: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who is also known as Viṣṇurāta [one who is always protected by Viṣṇu], bowed his head to receive the chief guest, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. At that time all the ignorant women and boys ceased following Śrīla Śukadeva. Receiving respect from all, Śukadeva Gosvāmī took his exalted seat.
Text 30: Śukadeva Gosvāmī was then surrounded by saintly sages and demigods just as the moon is surrounded by stars, planets and other heavenly bodies. His presence was gorgeous, and he was respected by all.
Text 31: The sage Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī sat perfectly pacified, intelligent and ready to answer any question without hesitation. The great devotee, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, approached him, offered his respects by bowing before him, and politely inquired with sweet words and folded hands.
Text 32: The fortunate King Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, by your mercy only, you have sanctified us, making us like unto places of pilgrimage, all by your presence here as my guest. By your mercy, we, who are but unworthy royalty, become eligible to serve the devotee.
Śrīdharasvāmi's Bhāvārthadīpikā
He bowed his head and surrendered himself completely. Thereupon, the women and others who had accompanied him departed, and he sat down. This is the intended meaning. (29)
That Lord, surrounded by sages like Brahmṛṣi, shone brilliantly. The planets refer to the asterisms like Ārdrā and Aśvinī, and the other stars. (30)
Whose means of that Lord. Bowing again to receive his grace. (31)
Thus, by these five verses, the sages became fit to serve. For by his taking the form of a guest, they became worthy to be places of pilgrimage. (32-33)
The Illumination of Meaning by Śrī Vaṃśīdhara
There is no special day indicated as the day of his arrival, for he came unexpectedly. Therefore, after seeing the worship done by the king, the women, thinking "He is Smara (the god of love) himself!" being deluded, and the children, departed out of fear from those sages. And Śuka, to whom worship consisting of proper obeisance, embracing, affectionate inquiry about well-being, and questions was done by those sages born from sages – all this happened to him, being indicated by "whose". Since he had planetary and solar nature. Therefore, all the sages bowed to him. And Vyāsa, Nārada and others embraced him affectionately with trembling voices, asking about his well-being with bowed heads and noses. And he returned their obeisance, as indicated. "The great sage" – for it is said, "The commands of preceptors should not be disregarded." (29)
Here, Śukadeva's excellence over even the incarnations of the Lord like Vyāsa, Nārada, and Paraśurāma should be understood as arising only from the intensity of his devotion, for it is said: "And the venerable Vyāsa is also devoted to Vāsudeva." By "place of pilgrimage" is meant that in the midst of the greatest among the great, he was surrounded and hidden by kings and Brahma-sages, etc., in order to reveal his greatness, as expressed by "he shone brilliantly." It has been explained thus: since there was no fear of death from the Creator, there was no paleness of the beauty of his limbs and face. (30)
With truthful and pleasing words. (31)
"The virtuous ones became fit to serve" means that even the kṣatriyas became qualified to serve the virtuous. "Places of pilgrimage" - Wherever you go, even a censurable place becomes a sacred place of pilgrimage, purifying people; thus, though censurable, we have become places of pilgrimage through your grace. The neuter gender is used, though the case and number deviate from the original, as words denoting their own meaning take precedence. And he states the reason as "through compassion." (32)
Śrī Vīraḥ Rāghava's Explanation
Then Viṣṇurāta (Parīkṣit), bowing his head, performed worship with obeisances to that guest who had arrived, the revered Śuka. The meaning is that he worshipped with bowed head first. Similarly, the ignorant children who had accompanied him also departed. Then the worshipped Śuka sat on the great seat offered by the king. (29)
Seated on that seat, that Lord Śuka, greater than even the greatest, endowed with greatness, shone brilliantly surrounded by the hosts of Brahma sages and others, just as the moon surrounded by the clusters of planets and stars. The planets refer to Aṅgāraka (Mars) and others; the asterisms (ṛkṣas) are Aśvinī and others; and other than these two are the stars. (30)
With a calm, pure appearance, unobstructed like clouds, the king Parīkṣit, though according to the rule "nan is prohibited after words meaning misery or oblation" in the phrase "nityam asik-prajā-medhayoḥ" (5.4.122), it is an exception because of being derived from ṛṣi, approached the sage Śuka who was seated, bowed with his head to the great devotee, joined his palms, and with composed mind fit for listening, asked with sweet words. (31)
He explains the same: "Oh Brahman! We kṣatriyas have also become today fit to serve the virtuous ones. Or, we have become worthy of being favored by the virtuous ones. For this reason, he says, "Through your compassion, you have made us places of pilgrimage by taking the form of a guest." (32)
Śrī Vijayādhvaja Tīrtha's Jewel Mirror
In this chapter, it is established that all sins are destroyed only through association with the virtuous and knowledge, etc. Therein, he first describes the arrival of Śuka, as indicated by "therein". Where Parīkṣit and the sages were situated, in that situation or state, the son of Vyāsa, the Lord Śuka, arrived unexpectedly by the will of the Lord, as connected by "having arrived". To indicate his exceptional radiance previously, it is said "having arrived". His arrival was not on any specific day, for it is said "for whom there was no specific day". He did this, the reason being to avoid questions like "How was he recognized by the citizens?" or "How is he the son of the Pāṇḍavas?", which should be understood. (5)
That Parīkṣit was the greatest among the great, surrounded and hidden by kings in order to reveal his greatness, as expressed by "he shone brilliantly". It has been explained thus: since there was no fear of death from the Creator, there was no paleness of the beauty of his limbs and face. (6)
With truthful pleasing words. (7)
"Oh Brahman! Oh knower of Brahman! We kṣatriyas have today become fit to serve the virtuous ones. Oh what good fortune! How is it that you, having arrived in the form of a guest, have made us places of pilgrimage, just as you make places into sacred pilgrimage sites for purification? Through your compassion alone is this possible." Therefore, it is said "through compassion." (8)
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's Krama-sandarbha:
Fit to be honored by the virtuous, following righteous conduct. (32-35)
Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartin's Sārārtha-darśinī
The young women, thinking 'This is Smara (Cupid) himself', became disturbed. The ignorant ones departed from those sages out of great fear - this is the meaning. He (Śuka) sat down. The worship, characterized by appropriate obeisances, embracing with affection, inquiring about well-being, etc., which was done to him by the sages and done by the sages, arose for him because of his being the supreme spiritual guide (tāraka). By this, all the sages bowed to him. But Vyāsa, Nārada and others embraced him with affection, inquired about his well-being by bowing their heads, etc. And it is indicated that he bowed to them in return. "The great seat" - for the command of the superiors is not to be examined, as said in texts. (29)
The planets are (those like) Śukra (Venus) and others. The asterisms are Aśvinī and others. Other than those are the stars. Here, it should be known that his excellence is due to the greatness of his devotion, superior even to incarnations like Vyāsa, Nārada, Paraśurāma, and others. (30)
He whose intellect (medhā) is unobstructed (na kuṇṭhā) in all matters, bowed again to ask questions. (31)
The meaning is that even we kṣatriyas have become worthy of serving the great saints (mahāntas). The term "tīrthakāḥ" means that even a contemptible place becomes a sacred pilgrimage site purifying people when you come there; so even though contemptible, we have become like sacred places. The words take on masculine gender, deviating from their literal genders. (32)
Śrī Śukadevajī's Siddhānta-pradīpa
Viṣṇurāta (Parīkṣit) offered respectful worship by bowing his head to Śuka. After that, the women and others departed. And Śuka sat on the great seat offered by Viṣṇurāta as a seat of honor. This is the meaning. (29)
Seated on that great seat, that Lord Śuka, greater than even the greatest, surrounded by Brahma sages and others, shone brilliantly just as the moon surrounded by planets and others. The planets are (those like) Śukra and others, the asterisms are Aśvinī and others, other than those are the stars. The Brahma sages are Vasiṣṭha and others, the royal sages are Āṛṣṭiṣeṇa and others, and the divine sages are Nārada and others. (30)
Bowing again to ask questions, he with an unobstructed intellect in all matters, asked with sweet truthful words. (31)
He explains the same with eight statements beginning with "aho". "Oh Brahman! We kṣatriyas have become worthy of being honored by the virtuous ones, because you have made us sacred pilgrimage sites by coming in the form of a guest." (32)
Śrī Vallabhācārya's Subodhinī Commentary
Thus, when the question was about to be asked, the king stood up. His standing posture is referred to by the words "Viṣṇurāta". The Lord himself indicated that he knew "I am being protected" by saying this. And since he was a guest whose arrival time is not fixed, wondering what should be given to him, the king offered his own head by bowing down to him with reverence, meaning his head was offered to him. Then, to indicate that he has renounced all objects grasped due to misapprehension, he says: "tataḥ" - the qualities and results of actions were also renounced. After that, having been worshipped, he sat on the great seat meant for the king's sitting. (29)
Then, to say that even those sages residing at a distance came and sat around him nearby, he says: "saṃvṛtaḥ". But what is the reason for him being surrounded by all? For that, he says: "mahān mahīyasām" - meaning he is the bestower of knowledge even to the knowledgeable. To emphasize or for completeness, the Lord himself came in that form. Then his greatness became known to everyone. He gives an example: just as the moon in the sky is surrounded by planets like Mercury, asterisms like Aśvinī, and groups of scattered stars. Three types are mentioned for the example and the object exemplified to establish their similarity. (30)
Now, realizing the Lord's desire that this is the right time to ask and no other should be asked, he asked him, as said by the words "praśāntam". The duties of teacher and student are described by words like praśānta. Of these, the four duties of the teacher are: knowledge, the function of knowledge, being unagitated, and the means. Here, "praśāntam" indicates being unagitated, "akuṇṭha-medhaḥ" means whose intellect (medhā) is unobstructed (na kuṇṭhā). The word "medhā" is used to negate the possibility of his intellect being material. Immediately after, to mention the qualities of a student along with the means, he indicates that even a king and a devotee can become a student for profound teachings by saying "nṛpaḥ bhāgavataḥ". Then he mentions the six duties of a student with the words beginning "abhyupetya". First is to approach the teacher facing him, then to offer prostrations with eight limbs of the body. (31)
Then, with sweet words or truthful words, he first praises him by saying "aho" in order to ask the question. "Aho" indicates wonder - "Today we..." just like before. "Brahman" gives the reason - having directly realized Brahman. "We have become great" - how? "We have become worthy of being served even by the virtuous ones." The implication is that we will also become supreme instructors. But by nature we are kṣatra-bandhavas, kṣatriyas, born in the kṣatriya lineage, not virtuous ones released from the path of brāhmaṇas through sacred rites. He explains the reason by saying "kṛpayā". Just as places like Gaṅgā become sacred due to association with you when you bathe there, similarly, by your compassion and favor, we householders have become sacred places in the form of guests worthy of serving. This indicates there is no merely superficial sacredness in us. (32)
Śrī Gosvāmi Śrī Puruṣottama's Subodhinī Prakāśa Commentary
On the word "Viṣṇu" here: "Whose arrival time is not fixed" means "Since his staying is not permanent, he is called a guest", as per the quote.
On "parigṛhītānām" (objects grasped): Parigṛhītānām means grasped by Śuka.
On "aho" here: "Pūrvavat" means just as in the case of "aho vayam", self-praise is intended for praising the other, similar to that.
On "upadeṣṭṛtvam": Meaning like Janaka and others.
On "tadgataṃ pāpam" etc.: It means the sin associated with the body goes into the water through contact with water. (30)
On "puruṣasya" here: The original statement itself becomes clear that the two types of eligibility are based on independence and the performance of acts like hearing etc., and based on the absence or presence of those respectively.
On "viparītam" etc.: It means the absence of relationship with the independent agent in the set of five acts, and the absence of relationship with someone else's (acts).
On "viśakalitātayā": It means divided into two based on the agent, and ten based on the acts.
Or, some explain the meaning of "viparīta" as follows: "Athavā" etc.
On "ubhayakaraṇam": It means both the daily (nitya) and occasional (naimittika) performances.
The question may arise: If accepting the rules, how is there a scope for both performances? They explain by saying "āvaśyakam" etc. (31)
Thus, with the rays of the moon-like nails of the revered Śrī Vallabhācārya, the heart's darkness has been removed, and Subodhinī is revealed today. (1)
This offering of words at his feet is presented. May he, with his sons, be pleased with compassion upon this servant. (2)
Whatever is proper or improper said by me out of limited understanding, being ignorant of the intention, may that be forgiven by the compassionate ones. (3)
With folded hands, repeatedly bowing to those wise ones, I submit, any impropriety here should be prevented by the virtuous after examining it. (4)
Thus ends the commentary on the nineteenth chapter of the first book of Subodhinī Prakāśa, revealed by Śrī Puruṣottama, son of Śrī Pītāmbara.
Śrī Giridhara's Bālaprabodhini:
Then the illustrious Viṣṇu, after examining the arrived guest, that Śuka, rendered worship to him with a respectful bow of the head. Indeed, the unintelligent boys and others who had accompanied him departed. And the revered Śuka, having been honored by the king, took his seat on the great throne offered by the king. (29)
Seated there on that throne, the great one, the lord Śuka, surrounded by a multitude of great seers like Brahmarṣi and others, shone forth, as the moon surrounded by a cluster of great luminaries like the asterisms Ṛkṣa and Aśvinī, and other stars. (30)
The king Parīkṣit, approaching the sage comfortably seated, came face to face, bowed his head, joined his palms reverentially and attentively, and bowing again, questioned him with a gentle voice. The doubt arises, "Why should one not be afraid to question one so supremely exalted?" To this, he says, "Praśāntam" - one devoid of faults like anger. And he states the reason for the question - "Akuṇṭhamedhasam" - one whose intellect is unobstructed regarding the meaning of all scriptures. He affirms the king's worthiness to question by saying "Bhāgavata." (31)
He illustrates the question itself - "Aho" and so on until the end. With five statements beginning with "Aho," he reveals his sense of fulfillment upon the arrival of Śrī Śuka. "O Brahman, O omniscient one, we, the Kṣatriya kinsmen too, are miraculously deemed fit for the company of the virtuous today, because by your grace, in the form of a guest, you have sanctified us like holy places." (32)
Hindi Anuvāda
King Parikshit bowed his head to Lord Shukadeva who had arrived as a guest, and worshipped him. The children and women who did not recognize his true form, left from there after witnessing his glory; while the revered Lord Shukadeva, honored by all, graced the exalted seat. (29)
Like the moon surrounded by the galaxies of planets, stars, and constellations like Riksha and Ashwini, the radiant Lord Shukadeva was encompassed by the assembly of great sages like Brahmarshis, Devarshis and Rajarshis. Indeed, he was worthy of reverence even for the great souls. (30)
When the keen-intellected Lord Shukadeva was seated calmly, the devotee king Parikshit approached him, bowed at his feet, stood with folded hands, and then in a very sweet voice, inquired from him. (31)
Parikshit said, "O Lord! O Omniscient one! We, unworthy Kshatriyas, have become fortunate today to receive the company of saints. For by your grace, you have sanctified us like holy places by arriving as our esteemed guest." (32)
SB 1.19.29-32
