Shloka 23
Sudāmā Brāhmaṇa Receives Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy
The Gift of Flat Rice
इति तच्चिन्तयन्नन्त: प्राप्तो निजगृहान्तिकम् । सूर्यानलेन्दुसङ्काशैर्विमानै: सर्वतो वृतम् ॥ २१ ॥ विचित्रोपवनोद्यानै: कूजद्द्विजकुलाकुलै: । प्रोत्फुल्लकमुदाम्भोजकह्लारोत्पलवारिभि: ॥ २२ ॥ जुष्टं स्वलङ्कृतै: पुम्भि: स्त्रीभिश्च हरिणाक्षिभि: । किमिदं कस्य वा स्थानं कथं तदिदमित्यभूत् ॥ २३ ॥
iti tac cintayann antaḥ prāpto niya-gṛhāntikam sūryānalendu-saṅkāśair vimānaiḥ sarvato vṛtam
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus thinking within himself, Sudāmā came to the place where his home had stood. Yet that spot was now surrounded on every side by lofty celestial palaces and vimānas, radiant like the combined brilliance of the sun, fire, and moon. There were wondrous courtyards and gardens, alive with cooing flocks of birds, and ponds where kumuda, ambhoja, kahlāra, and utpala lotuses bloomed. Finely adorned men and doe-eyed women stood ready in service. Sudāmā, astonished, wondered, “What is this? Whose residence is it? How has all this come to be?”
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī gives the sequence of the brāhmaṇa’s thoughts: First, seeing a great, unfamiliar effulgence, he thought, “What is this?” Then, noting the palaces, he asked himself, “Whose place is this?” And recognizing it as his own, he wondered, “How has it become so transformed?”
FAQs
He reaches his home and finds it miraculously transformed into a magnificent, heavenly residence with gardens, birds, lotus-filled waters, and richly adorned attendants—revealing Kṛṣṇa’s grace.
Because the poverty he left behind has become extraordinary opulence; he cannot recognize the place and wonders how his former condition has changed so completely.
Sincere devotion and humility are never wasted—divine grace can change one’s situation in unexpected ways, while keeping the heart focused on gratitude rather than entitlement.