Verse 1.4.23

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.4.23:

विचित्र-सेवा-दानं हि हनूमत्-प्रभृतिष्व् इव ।
प्रभोः प्रसादो भक्तेषु मतः सद्भिर् न चेतरत् ॥ २३ ॥

vicitra-sevā-dānaṃ hi hanūmat-prabhṛtiṣv iva |
prabhoḥ prasādo bhakteṣu mataḥ sadbhir na cetarat || 23 ||

Sādhus engaged in bhakti always proclaim devotees like Śrī Hanumān, who serve in various wonderful ways, are the actual recipients of Bhagavān’s mercy, not the vigilant practice of simply sustaining one’s own service.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Now, in this verse beginning with vicitra, Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja states his reasons for not considering the nurturing expressions of Bhagavān as the actual mercy of Bhagavān.

Sādhus who are dedicated in bhakti always say that the bestowal of the welfare of various services alone is the actual mercy of Bhagavān upon the devotees. Sustenance, caressing and so on is not the mercy of our Lord. If the question arises, “Then what is the meaning of the bestowal of those services, or the kind of mercy which the devotee has received?” Anticipating this question, he refers to the story of such devotees as Śrī Hanumān. Saying here, hanūmat-prabhṛtiṣu, “devotees like Hanumān,” means devotees such as the Pāṇḍavas, Yādavas, or Sugrīva and Aṅgada.

“Services which have been granted to devotees like Śrī Hanumān, that kind of service has never been offered. Therefore, towards such devotees like Śrī Hanumān the mercy of Bhagavān appears, not to me. So, why are you glorifying and praising me with words like ‘the topmost recipient of Bhagavān’s mercy’?” Like this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa by Himself manifests, maintains and so on; thus the doubts raised in the meaning of half of this verse are nullified.