Sabse Unci Prem Sagai
(refrain) sabse ūṅcī prema
sagāī
Word for word
(refrain) sabse - of all; ūńcī - highest; prema - love; sagāī - bond
Refrain: Of all forms of worship of the Lord, love is the highest.
duryodhana ko mevā tyāgo sāga vidura ghara pāī
Word for word
duryodhana - Duryodhana; ko - of; mevā - royal delicacies; tyāgo - renounced; sāga - vegetable preparations; vidura - of Vidura; ghara - home; pāī - partook
Lord Krsna renounced the delicacies that Duryodhana offered, and ate vegetables at Vidura's house.
jūṭhe phala sabarī ke
khāye bahu vidhi prema lagāī
Word for word
jūṭhe - already eaten; phala - fruits; sabarī - the devotee Sabari; ke - of; khāye - He ate; bahu - lots; vidhi - in the manner of; prema - love; lagāī - applied
As Lord Ramacandra, He ate fruits which were already filled with love from Sabari.
prema ke bas nṛpa sevā
kīnhī āp bane hari nāī
Word for word
prema - love; ke - of; bas - for the matter; nṛpa - Lord of man-kind; sevā - service; kīnhī - do; āp - you; bane - become; hari - Lord; nāī - servant
Love is indeed the best way to serve and please the Lord.
rājasuya yajña yudhiṣṭhira
kīno tāmai jūṭha
uṭhāī
Word for word
rājasuya yajña - the royal Rasasuya Yajna sacrifice; yudhiṣṭhira - King Yudhisthira; kīno - He did; tāmai - Their (the guests present); jūṭha - partaken utensils; uṭhāī - He lifted up
In Maharaja Yuddhistira's Rajasuya Yajna sacrifice, Lord Krsna served the brahmanas and picked up their eating utensils.
prema ke basa arjuna ratha
hāṅkhyo bhūla gaye ṭhakurāī
Word for word
prema - love; ke - of; basa - for the matter of; arjuna - Arjuna; ratha - chariot; hāńkhyo - steered; bhūla gaye - He has forgotten; ṭhakurāī - His Supremity
Out of pure love for Arjuna, He took the position of being his charioteer, and He forgot that He was the Lord.
aisī prīta baḍhī
vṛndāvana gopina nāca nacāī
Word for word
aisī - in such way; prīta - love; baḍhī - expanded; vṛndāvana - in Vrndavana; gopina - the cowherd girls; nāca - danced; nacāī - He made them dance
Such love did Lord Krsna portray in Vrndavana when He danced with the gopis in the rasa lila.
sūra krūra is lāyaka
nāhī kaha lag karau baḍāī
Word for word
sūra - the poet Sura Dasa; krūra - cruel; is - this; lāyaka - worthy of; nāhī - is not; kaha - where; lag - touch; karau - do; baḍāī - the Great One
The harsh Suradasa is not worthy to praise the merciful and magnanimous Lord.
Translation
Refrain: Of all forms of worship of the Lord, love is the highest.
Lord Krsna renounced the delicacies that Duryodhana offered, and ate vegetables at Vidura's house.
As Lord Ramacandra, He ate fruits which were already filled with love from Sabari.
Love is indeed the best way to serve and please the Lord.
In Maharaja Yuddhistira's Rajasuya Yajna sacrifice, Lord Krsna served the brahmanas and picked up their eating utensils.
Out of pure love for Arjuna, He took the position of being his charioteer, and He forgot that He was the Lord.
Such love did Lord Krsna portray in Vrndavana when He danced with the gopis in the rasa lila.
The harsh Suradasa is not worthy to praise the merciful and magnanimous Lord.
Notes
This song became popular by Jagjit and Chitra Singh's 1983 album "Samarpan" as well as in B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat series. This song was originally meant to be rendered in Raga Kafi in Bhajani Theka.