TRANSLATION

Saunaka said, The son of Vyasadeva, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, was a highly learned sage and was able to describe things in a poetic manner. What did Maharaja Pariksit again inquire from him after hearing all that he said?

A pure devotee of the Lord automatically develops all godly qualities, and some of the prominent features of those qualities are as follows: He is kind, peaceful, truthful, equable, faultless, magnanimous, mild, clean, nonpossessive, a well-wisher to all, satisfied, surrendered to Krsna, without hankering, simple, fixed, self-controlled, a balanced eater, sane, mannerly, prideless, grave, sympathetic, friendly, poetic, expert, and silent. Out of these twenty-six prominent features of a devotee, as described by Krsnadasa Kaviraja in his Caitanya-caritamrta, the qualification of being poetic is especially mentioned herein in relation to Sukadeva Gosvami. The presentation of Srimad-Bhagavatam by his recitation is the highest poetic contribution. He was a self-realized learned sage. In other words, he was a poet amongst the sages.