Text 44] Pastimes of Childhood and Youth 223
SYNONYMS
jhafijhdvata—the strong wind of a storm; prdya—like; @mi—-l|; s/oka—verses;
paditla—recited; tara—of them; madhye—in the midst; s/oka—one verse; tumi—You;
kaiche—how; kanthe—within the heart; ka/a—have taken.
TRANSLATION
“l recited all the verses like the blowing wind. How could You completely learn
by heart even one among those verses?”
TEXT 44
AG BE, CATA AH |l—“sPaaa? |
SOS CALAN ACA CSTE GH ‘SBR SHA’ a8 1
prabhu kahe, devera vare tumi——‘kavi-vara’
aiche devera vare keho haya ‘srutidhara’
SYNONYMS
prabhu—the Lord; kahe—reptied; devera—of a superior power; vare—by benedic-
tion; turni—you; kavi-vara—the most elevated poet; a/che—similarly; devera—of the
Lord; vare—by the benediction; keho—someone,; haya—becomes; Ssrutidhara—one
who can immediately remember.
TRANSLATION
The Lord replied: “By the grace of the Lord someone may become a great poet,
and similarly by His grace someone else may become a great srutidhara who can
memorize anything immediately.””
PURPORT
In this connection, srutidhara is a very important word. Sruti means ‘“‘hearing,”’
and dhara means ‘‘one who can capture.’’ Formerly, before the beginning of Kali-
yuga, almost everyone, especially among the intelligent men, the brdhmanas, was a
Srutidhara. As soon as a student heard any of the Vedic wisdom from his master,
he would remember it forever. There was no need to refer to books, and therefore
there were no written books in those days. The spiritual master delivered the Vedic
hymns and their explanations to the student, who would then remember them for-
ever, without consulting books.
To become a Srutidhara, one who can remember simpiy by hearing, is a great
achievement for a student. In Bhagavad-gitd the Lord says:
yad yad vibhitimat sattvam
Srimad urjitam eva va
