SB 4.22.4
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 4
- gauravād yantritaḥ sabhyaḥ
- praśrayānata-kandharaḥ
- vidhivat pūjayāṁ cakre
- gṛhītādhyarhaṇāsanān
SYNONYMS
gauravāt — glories; yantritaḥ — completely; sabhyaḥ — most civilized; praśraya — by humbleness; ānata-kandharaḥ — bowing down his shoulder; vidhi-vat — according to the instructions of the śāstra; pūjayām — by worshiping; cakre — performed; gṛhīta — accepting; adhi — including; arhaṇa — paraphernalia for reception; āsanān — sitting places.
TRANSLATION
When the great sages accepted their reception, according to the instructions of the śāstras, and finally took their seats offered by the King, the King, influenced by the glories of the sages, immediately bowed down. Thus he worshiped the four Kumāras.
PURPORT
The four Kumāras are paramparā spiritual masters of the Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. Out of the four sampradāyas, namely Brahma-sampradāya, Śrī-sampradāya, Kumāra-sampradāya and Rudra-sampradāya, the disciplic succession of spiritual master to disciple known as the Kumāra-sampradāya is coming down from the four Kumāras. So Pṛthu Mahārāja was very respectful to the sampradāya-ācāryas. As it is said by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstraiḥ: a spiritual master, or the paramparā-ācārya, should be respected exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word vidhivat is significant in this verse. This means that Pṛthu Mahārāja also strictly followed the injunctions of the śāstra in receiving a spiritual master, or ācārya, of the transcendental disciplic succession. Whenever an ācārya is seen, one should immediately bow down before him. Pṛthu Mahārāja did this properly; therefore the words used here are praśrayānata-kandharaḥ. Out of humility, he bowed down before the Kumāras.