पुरुषेष्वपि राजेन्द्र सुपात्रं ब्राह्मणं विदुः ।
तपसा विद्यया तुष्ट्या धत्ते वेदं हरेस्तनुम् ॥
नन्वस्य ब्राह्मणा राजन्कृष्णस्य जगदात्मनः ।
पुनन्तः पादरजसा त्रिलोकीं दैवतं महत् ॥
puruṣeṣv api rājendra supātraṁ brāhmaṇaṁ viduḥ |
tapasā vidyayā tuṣṭyā dhatte vedaṁ hares tanum ||
nanv asya brāhmaṇā rājan kṛṣṇasya jagad-ātmanaḥ |
punantaḥ pāda-rajasā tri-lokīṁ daivataṁ mahat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.14.41–42)
“Even among [all] embodied beings, O Emperor, know the brāhmaṇa, who by way of austerity, knowledge, and satisfaction carries the Veda—a form of Hari [himself]—to be a most worthy recipient [of respect]. Indeed, O King, brāhmaṇas, who are purifying of the three worlds with [their] foot-dust, are a great object of worship (daivata) [even] for him, Kṛṣṇa, the Self of the world.”
Commentary
puruṣeṣu pūrvokta-viśeṣaṁ jāty-ādinā vivṛṇoti—puruṣeṣv apīti | … jagad-ātmano jagati loka-saṅgraha-dharmādi-pravartanena tan-niyantur ity arthaḥ | daivataṁ pūjyatvena darśitam |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 293)
“Next, he describes the aforementioned speciality among embodied beings [that makes someone most worthy of respect] based on birth [alt., caste] (jāti) and so forth: puruṣeṣv api … [i.e., Śrī Nārada speaks SB 7.14.41]. … [The description of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in SB 7.14.42 as] ‘The Self of the world’ (Jagad-ātmā) means [he is] the regulator thereof by means of propagating dharma and so forth for the sake of social cohesion in the world. [The brāhmaṇas being an] ‘Object of worship’ (daivata) [even for Śrī Kṛṣṇa] is shown by [their] being worthy of respect [even from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, i.e., it does not literally mean they are superior in nature to him].”
puruṣasyeva jātyā tapa-ādibhyaś ca śraiṣṭhyam āha—puruṣeṣv apīti | vedaṁ brahma-śabda-vācyaṁ dhatte jñānena sa brāhmaṇa iti tad adhīte tad vedety anena brāhmaṇa-pada-vyutpattir darśitā | ‘kṛṣṇasya mahat daivatam’ iti tenāpy ādriyate brahmaṇyatvāt, na ca tad-daivatatvāt brāhmaṇāḥ tasmāt sakāśād api vastuta eva pūjyā iti siddhānta eveti vācyaṁ, rājasūye bahuṣv api brāhmaṇeṣu vidyamāneṣu kṛṣṇasyaivāgra-pūjanāt |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“He describes superiority among embodied beings on the basis of birth [alt., caste] (jāti) and on the basis of austerity and so forth: puruṣeṣv api … [i.e., Śrī Nārada speaks SB 7.14.41]. One who by means of knowledge carries the Veda, the referent of the word Brahma, is [called] a brāhmaṇa. In this way, by this [sūtra in Aṣṭadhāyī (4.2.59)], ‘He studies that; he knows that’ (tad adhīte tad veda), the derivation of the word brāhmaṇa is shown. Regarding [the statement in SB 7.14.42 that brāhmaṇas are], ‘A great object of worship for Kṛṣṇa’ (Kṛṣṇasya mahat daivatam), a brāhmaṇa is honored even by him [i.e., even by Śrī Kṛṣṇa] because of [Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] being a brahmaṇya [i.e., a supporter and worshiper of brāhmaṇas], and it is not that because of their being an object of worship [for Śrī Kṛṣṇa] that brāhmaṇas are in actuality worthy of respect even more so that him. This conclusion (siddhānata) specifically is to be stated [in this regard] because of the first worship specifically of Kṛṣṇa [occuring] during the Rājasūya [sacrifice] even in the presence of many brāhmaṇas.”