Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 16 Verse 3

Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order | Chapter 16: Praise of King Pṛthu by the Professional Reciters

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.16.3

athāpy udāra-śravasaḥ pṛthor hareḥ

kalāvatārasya kathāmṛtādṛtāḥ

yathopadeśaḿ munibhiḥ pracoditāḥ

ślāghyāni karmāṇi vayaḿ vitanmahi

SYNONYMS

atha api — nevertheless; udāra — liberal; śravasaḥ — whose fame; pṛthoḥ — of King Pṛthu; hareḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu; kalā — part of a plenary expansion; avatārasya — incarnation; kathā — words; amṛta — nectarean; ādṛtāḥ — attentive to; yathā — according to; upadeśam — instruction; munibhiḥ — by the great sages; pracoditāḥ — being encouraged; ślāghyāni — laudable; karmāṇi — activities; vayam — we; vitanmahi — shall try to spread.

TRANSLATION

Although we are unable to glorify you adequately, we nonetheless have a transcendental taste for glorifying your activities. We shall try to glorify you according to the instructions received from authoritative sages and scholars. Whatever we speak, however, is always inadequate and very insignificant. Dear King, because you are a direct incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all your activities are liberal and ever laudable.

PURPORT

However expert one may be, he can never describe the glories of the Lord adequately. Nonetheless, those engaged in glorifying the activities of the Lord should try to do so as far as possible. Such an attempt will please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya has advised all His followers to go everywhere and preach the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Since this message is essentially Bhagavad-gītā, the preacher's duty is to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is understood by disciplic succession and explained by great sages and learned devotees. One should speak to the general populace in accordance with one's predecessors — sādhu, guru and śāstras. This simple process is the easiest method by which one can glorify the Lord. Devotional service, however, is the real method, for by devotional service one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead with just a few words. Without devotional service, volumes of books cannot satisfy the Lord. Even though preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement may be unable to describe the glories of the Lord, they can nonetheless go everywhere and request people to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness