Canto 1: Creation | Chapter 11: Lord Kṛṣṇa's Entrance into Dvārakā |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.11.22
prahvābhivādanāśleṣa-
kara-sparśa-smitekṣaṇaiḥ
āśvāsya cāśvapākebhyo
varaiś cābhimatair vibhuḥ
SYNONYMS
prahvā — by bowing His head; abhivādana — by greeting with words; āśleṣa — embracing; kara-sparśa — shaking hands; smita-īkṣaṇaiḥ — by a glancing smile; āśvāsya — by encouragement; ca — and; āśvapākebhyaḥ — down to the lowest rank of dog-eaters; varaiḥ — by benedictions; ca — also; abhimataiḥ — as desired by; vibhuḥ — the Almighty.
TRANSLATION
The Almighty Lord greeted everyone present by bowing His head, exchanging greetings, embracing, shaking hands, looking and smiling, giving assurances and awarding benedictions, even to the lowest in rank.
PURPORT
To receive the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa there were all grades of population, beginning from Vasudeva, Ugrasena and Gargamuni — the father, grandfather and teacher — down to the prostitutes and caṇḍālas, who are accustomed to eat dogs. And every one of them was properly greeted by the Lord in terms of rank and position. As pure living entities, all are the separated parts and parcels of the Lord, and thus no one is alien by His eternal relation. Such pure living entities are graded differently in terms of contamination of the modes of material nature, but the Lord is equally affectionate to all His parts and parcels, despite material gradation. He descends only to recall these materialistic living beings back to His kingdom, and intelligent persons take advantage of this facility offered by the Personality of Godhead to all living beings. No one is rejected by the Lord from the kingdom of God, and it remains with the living being to accept this or not.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness