Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 1
Bali Liberated, Prahlāda Blessed, and Vāmana Accepted as Universal Protector
श्रीशुक उवाच इत्युक्तवन्तं पुरुषं पुरातनं महानुभावोऽखिलसाधुसम्मत: । बद्धाञ्जलिर्बाष्पकलाकुलेक्षणो भक्त्युत्कलो गद्गदया गिराब्रवीत् ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca ity uktavantaṁ puruṣaṁ purātanaṁ mahānubhāvo ’khila-sādhu-sammataḥ baddhāñjalir bāṣpa-kalākulekṣaṇo bhakty-utkalo gadgadayā girābravīt
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When the supreme, ancient, eternal Personality of Godhead had thus spoken to Bali Mahārāja, who is universally accepted as a pure devotee of the Lord and therefore a great soul, Bali Mahārāja, his eyes filled with tears, his hands folded and his voice faltering in devotional ecstasy, responded as follows.
FAQs
This verse describes classic bhakti symptoms—folded hands, tear-filled eyes, and a voice choked with emotion—arising when a devotee hears the Lord’s words.
“Puruṣaṁ purātanam” refers to the primeval Supreme Person—the Lord (commonly understood as Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa) who is eternal and the original source.
Cultivate reverence and heartfelt prayer—listen to divine teachings with sincerity, respond with humility (like folded hands), and let devotion become genuine rather than merely formal.