6.99

jyestha-bhave amsite haya prabhu-jnana

kanistha-bhave apanate bhakta-abhimana

SYNONYMS

jyestha-bhave—in the emotion of being superior; amsite—in the original source of all incarnations; haya—there is; prabhu-jnana—knowledge as master; kanistha-bhave—in an inferior conception; apanate—in Himself; bhakta-abhimana—the conception of being a devotee.

The source of all incarnations has the emotions of a superior when He considers Himself the master, and He has the emotions of an inferior when He considers Himself a devotee.

PURPORT

A fraction of a particular thing is called a part, and that from which the fraction is distinguished is called the whole.

Therefore the fraction, or part, is included within the whole.

The Lord is the whole, and the devotee is the part or fractional part.

That is the relationship between the Lord and the devotee.

There are also gradations of devotees, who are calculated as greater and lesser.

When a devotee is great he is called prabhu, and when he is lesser he is called bhakta, or a devotee.

The supreme whole is Krsna, and Baladeva and all Visnu incarnations are His fractions.

Lord Krsna is therefore conscious of His superior position, and all Visnu incarnations are conscious of Their positions as devotees.