TEXT 1
sri-suka uvaca
variyan esa te prasnah
krto loka-hitam nrpa
atmavit-sammatah pumsam
srotavyadisu yah parah
SYNONYMS
sri-sukah uvacaSri Sukadeva Gosvami said; variyanglorious; esahthis; teyour; prasnahquestion; krtahmade by you; loka-hitambeneficial for all men; nrpaO King; atmavittranscendentalist; sammatahapproved; pumsamof all men; srotavya-adisuin all kinds of hearing; yahwhat is; parahthe supreme.
TRANSLATION
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists.
PURPORT
Even the very question is so nice that it is the best subject matter for hearing. Simply by such questioning and hearing, one can achieve the highest perfectional stage of life. Because Lord Krsna is the original Supreme Person, any question about Him is original and perfect. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that the highest perfection of life is to achieve the transcendental loving service of Krsna. Because questions and answers about Krsna elevate one to that transcendental position, the questions of Maharaja Pariksit about Krsna philosophy are greatly glorified. Maharaja Pariksit wanted to absorb his mind completely in Krsna, and such absorption can be effected simply by hearing about the uncommon activities of Krsna. For instance, in the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that simply by understanding the transcendental nature of Lord Krsna's appearance, disappearance, and activities, one can immediately return home, back to Godhead, and never come back to this miserable condition of material existence. It is very auspicious, therefore, to hear always about Krsna. So Maharaja Pariksit requested Sukadeva Gosvami to narrate the activities of Krsna so that he could engage his mind in Krsna. The activities of Krsna are nondifferent from Krsna Himself. As long as one is engaged in hearing such transcendental activities of Krsna, he remains aloof from the conditional life of material existence. The topics of Lord Krsna are so auspicious that they purify the speaker, the hearer and the inquirer. They are compared to the Ganges waters, which flow from the toe of Lord Krsna. Wherever the Ganges waters go, they purify the land and the person who bathes in them. Similarly, krsna-katha, or the topics of Krsna, are so pure that wherever they are spoken, the place, the hearer, the inquirer, the speaker and all concerned become purified.

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