दामोदरप्रियसखा पृथुकास्वादनप्रियः ।घृणी दामोदरः श्रीदो गोपीपुनरवेक्षकः॥
dāmōdarapriyasakhā pṛthukāsvādanapriyaḥ ·ghṛṇī dāmōdaraḥ śrīdō gōpīpunaravēkṣakaḥ
dear friend of Dāmodara (and Balarāma's companion)
The Sudāmā story opens with a description of Kṛṣṇa and Sudāmā as the closest of student-friends under Sāndīpani Muni; their bond of pure friendship (sakhā) prefigures the devotion the episode will celebrate.
fond of tasting the beaten-rice offering
the Sudāmā episode, Bhāg. 10.80–81
Kṛṣṇa receives Sudāmā's humble gift of flat rice (pṛthuka) with such enthusiasm that he eats the first handful in joy and reaches for more; the Bhāgavata sees this as Kṛṣṇa tasting his devotee's love, not mere food.
the compassionate
Described as having burning compassion (ghṛṇī), Kṛṣṇa's tears on seeing the impoverished Sudāmā are described as real tears—the Lord weeping at the suffering of his devotee.
Dāmodara — the cord-bound one
The binding episode with the rope (dāma) on the belly (udara) is celebrated as the supreme demonstration that Kṛṣṇa surrenders to love; Yaśodā's rope could bind what cosmic forces cannot.
the bestower of Śrī (wealth and beauty)
Sudāmā's hovel transformed overnight
Kṛṣṇa gives Sudāmā the greatest wealth: Sudāmā returns home to find his hut transformed into a palace with divine servants, gardens, and heavenly fragrance—the gift of Śrī in its fullest form.
who once more saw the gopīs in their later years
At the Kurukṣetra solar eclipse, the gopīs of Vṛndāvana see Kṛṣṇa again after years of separation; their reunion is the most emotionally intense scene in the Daśama Skandha.
