SB 1.19.31 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 31
Presantam asinamakuntha medhasam Munim nripo bhagawatah abhyupetya. Pranamya murdhna avahita kritanjalir Natwa gira sunritaya anwaprichhat.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Prasantam—perfectly pacified, Asinam—sitting, Akuntha—without any hesitation, Medhasam—one who has got the required brain, Munim—unto the great sage, Nripa—the king (Maharaj Parikshit) Bhagwatah—the great devotee, Abhyupetya—going nearer to him,Prananya—bowing down, Murdhna—by his head Avahita—properly,-Kritanjali—with folded hands, Natwa—politely, by words, Sunritaya—in sweet voices, Anwaprichhat—enquired.
TRANSLATION
The great devotee Maharaj Parikshit, then going nearer to the sage Sri Sukdeva Goswami who was sitting perfectly pacified and had the necessary brain to answer everything unhesitatingly, offered again his respects by bowing down before him and very politely enquired from him in sweet words with folded hands.
PURPORT
The gesture, now adopted by Maharaj Parikshit in the matter of questioning a master is quite befitting in terms of scri ptural injunction. The scriptural injunction is that one should humbly approach a spiritual master for understanding the transcendental science. Maharaj Parikshit was now prepared for meeting his death and within a very short time of seven days he was to know the process of entering the kingdom of God. In such important cases only one is required to approach a spiritual master. There is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master unless one is not in need of solving the problems of life. One who does not know how to put questions before the spiritual master has no business to go there. And the qualification of the spiritual master is perfectly manifested in the person of Sukdeva Goswami. Both the spiritual master and the disciple namely Sri Sukdeva Goswami and Maharaj Parikshit attained perfection through the medium of Srimad Bhagwatam. Sukdeva Goswami learnt Srimad Bhagwatam from his father Vyasdeva but he had no chance to recite it. Before Maharaj Parikshit he recited Srimad Bhagwatam and answered the questions of Maharaj Pasikshit unhesitatingly from Srimad Bhagwatam and thus both the master and the disciple got salvation.