Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 21
Nārada Sees Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Yoga-māyā in the Palaces of the Queens
Dvāra-kā-līlā
दीव्यन्तमक्षैस्तत्रापि प्रियया चोद्धवेन च । पूजित: परया भक्त्या प्रत्युत्थानासनादिभि: ॥ २० ॥ पृष्टश्चाविदुषेवासौ कदायातो भवानिति । क्रियते किं नु पूर्णानामपूर्णैरस्मदादिभि: ॥ २१ ॥ अथापि ब्रूहि नो ब्रह्मन् जन्मैतच्छोभनं कुरु । स तु विस्मित उत्थाय तूष्णीमन्यदगाद् गृहम् ॥ २२ ॥
dīvyantam akṣais tatrāpi priyayā coddhavena ca pūjitaḥ parayā bhaktyā pratyutthānāsanādibhiḥ
There he saw the Lord playing at dice with His beloved consort and His friend Uddhava. Lord Kṛṣṇa worshiped Nārada by standing up, offering him a seat, and so on, and then, as if He did not know, asked him, “When did you arrive? What can needy persons like Us do for those who are full in themselves? In any case, My dear brāhmaṇa, please make My life auspicious.” Thus addressed, Nārada was astonished. He simply stood up silently and went to another palace.
In Kṛṣṇa, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when Nārada arrived at the second palace, “Lord Kṛṣṇa acted as if He did not know what had happened in the palace of Rukmiṇī.” Nārada understood that Lord Kṛṣṇa was simultaneously present in both palaces, performing different activities, so “he simply left the palace silently, in great astonishment over the Lord’s activities.”
FAQs
In this verse Kṛṣṇa notes that Nārada asked “as if unaware,” showing the sweetness of līlā: exalted devotees sometimes act in ordinary ways to deepen loving exchange and etiquette.
Kṛṣṇa expresses humility: ordinary, limited beings cannot truly benefit the spiritually perfect; yet devotion and service are still offered as loving duty, not as a claim of superiority.
Approach saints, teachers, and elders with respect and without pride, offering service as gratitude—understanding that real growth comes from humility and sincere receptivity.