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 sprach: Als der uralte Purusha, die Höchste Persönlichkeit Gottes, so zu Bali Mahārāja geredet hatte—der von allen Sādhus als große Seele anerkannt ist—faltete Bali die Hände, die Augen voller Tränen, und antwortete mit vor Bhakti-Entzücken stockender Stimme wie folgt.
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.