534
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[ Canto 4, Ch. 12 ]
son's advancement in every respect, so the spiritual master is very happy to observe the ascendancy of his disciple.
TEXT 41
मारद उवाच
नूनं सुनीतेः पतिदेवताया-
स्तपःप्रभावस्य सुतस्य तां गतिम् ।
दृष्ट्वाभ्युपायानपि वेदवादिनो
नैवाधिगन्तुं प्रभवन्ति किं नृपाः ॥४१॥
nārada uvāca
nūnam sunīteḥ pati-devatāyās
tapaḥ-prabhāvasya sutasya tām gatim
dṛṣṭvābhyupāyān api veda-vādino
naivādhigantum prabhavanti kim nṛpāḥ
nāradaḥ uvāca  – Nārada said;  nūnam  – certainly;  sunīteḥ  – of Sunīti;  pati-devatāyāḥ  – very much attached to her husband;  tapaḥ-prabhāvasya  – by the influence of austerity;  sutasya  – of the son;  tām  – that;  gatim  – position;  dṛṣṭvā  – observing;  abhyupāyān  – the means;  api  – although;  veda-vādinaḥ  – strict followers of the Vedic principles or the so-called Vedāntists;  na  – never;  eva  – certainly;  adhigantum  – to attain;  prabhavanti  – are eligible;  kim  – what to speak of;  nṛpāḥ  – ordinary kings.
TRANSLATION
The great sage Nārada said: Simply by the influence of his spiritual advancement and powerful austerity, Dhruva Mahārāja, the son of Sunīti, who was devoted to her husband, acquired an exalted position not possible even for the so-called Vedāntists or strict followers of the Vedic principles to attain, not to speak of ordinary human beings.
PURPORT
In this verse the word  veda-vādinaḥ  is very significant. Generally, a person who strictly follows the Vedic principles is called  veda-vādī . There are also so-called Vedāntists who advertise themselves as followers of Vedānta philosophy but who misinterpret  Vedānta . This expression is also found in the  Bhagavad-gītā :  veda-vāda-ratāḥ , which means persons who are attached to the  Vedas  without understanding the purport of the  Vedas . Such persons may go on talking about the  Vedas  or may execute austerities in their own