Text 29] The Lord Tastes Nectar 15
TRANSLATION

Hearing these quotations from the revealed scripture Srimad-Bhagavatam,
Jhadu Thakura replied, ‘Yes, this is true, for it is the version of Sastra. It is
true, however, for one who is genuinely advanced in devotion to Krsna.

TEXT 29
aifi— Noss, ataiy ails Fore |
BD ACE EH, TAH AE AoE wife U” a0 1
ami —nica-jati, Amara nahi krsna-bhakti
anya aiche haya, amdaya nahi aiche sakti”
SYNONYMS

ami—t; nica-jati—belonging to a lower caste; amara—my; nahi—there is not;
krsna-bhakti—devotion to Krsna; anya—others; aiche haya—may be such;
amaya—unto me; nahi—there is not; aiche sakti—such power.

TRANSLATION

“Such a position may befit others, but | do not possess such spiritual power.

| belong to a lower class and have not even a pinch of devotion to Krsna.”
PURPORT

In his statement, Jhadu Thakura presents himself as being born in a low-caste
family and not having the qualifications of a bona fide devotee of Lord Krsna. He
accepts the statements declaring a lowborn person highly exalted if he is a
Vaisnava. However, he feels that these descriptions from Srimad-Bhagavatam ap-
propriately describe others, but not himself. Jhadu Thakura’s attitude is quite
befitting a real Vaisnava, for a Vaisnava never considers himself exalted, even if he
factually is. He is always meek and humble and never thinks that he is an ad-
vanced devotee. He assigns himself to a lower position, but that does not mean
that he is indeed low. Sanatana Gosvami once said that he belonged to a low-
caste family, for although he was born in a brahmana family, he had associated
with mlecchas and yavanas in his service as a government minister. Similarly,
Jhadu Thakura presented himself as someone who belonged to a low caste, but
he was actually elevated above many persons born in brahmana families. Not only
is there evidence for this in Srimad-Bhagavatam, as quoted by Kalidasa in verses
26 and 27; there is also considerable evidence for this conclusion in other sdastras.
For example, in the Mahabharata, Vana-parva, Chapter 180, it is stated:
