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ŚB 1.1.13

Devanagari

तन्न: शुश्रूषमाणानामर्हस्यङ्गानुवर्णितुम् ।
यस्यावतारो भूतानां क्षेमाय च भवाय च ॥ १३ ॥

Text

tan naḥ śuśrūṣamāṇānām
arhasy aṅgānuvarṇitum
yasyāvatāro bhūtānāṁ
kṣemāya ca bhavāya ca

Synonyms

tat — those; naḥ — unto us; śuśrūṣamāṇānām — those who are endeavoring for; arhasi — ought to do it; aṅga — O Sūta Gosvāmī; anuvarṇitum — to explain by following in the footsteps of previous ācāryas; yasya — whose; avatāraḥ — incarnation; bhūtānām — of the living beings; kṣemāya — for good; ca — and; bhavāya — upliftment; ca — and.

Translation

O Sūta Gosvāmī, we are eager to learn about the Personality of Godhead and His incarnations. Please explain to us those teachings imparted by previous masters [ācāryas], for one is uplifted both by speaking them and by hearing them.

Purport

The conditions for hearing the transcendental message of the Absolute Truth are set forth herein. The first condition is that the audience must be very sincere and eager to hear. And the speaker must be in the line of disciplic succession from the recognized ācārya. The transcendental message of the Absolute is not understandable by those who are materially absorbed. Under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, one becomes gradually purified. Therefore, one must be in the chain of disciplic succession and learn the spiritual art of submissive hearing. In the case of Sūta Gosvāmī and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya, all these conditions are fulfilled because Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī is in the line of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, and the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya are all sincere souls who are anxious to learn the truth. Thus the transcendental topics of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s superhuman activities, His incarnation, His birth, appearance or disappearance, His forms, His names and so on are all easily understandable because all requirements are fulfilled. Such discourses help all men on the path of spiritual realization.