ततो नारायणो विष्णुर्नियुक्तः सुरसत्तमैः।
जानन्नपि सुरानेवं श्लक्ष्णं वचनमब्रवीत्॥
tato nārāyaṇo viṣṇur niyuktaḥ sura-sattamaiḥ
jānann api surān evaṁ ślakṣṇaṁ vacanam abravīt
tataḥ = thus; nārāyaṇaḥ = Lord Nārāyaṇa; viṣṇuḥ = Viṣṇu; niyuktaḥ = prayed for; sura-sattamaiḥ = by the best of the demigods; jānan = His knowing the answer to His question; api = despite; surān = to the demigods; evam = the following; ślakṣṇam = sweet; vacanam = words; abravīt = spoke.
Thus prayed for by the best of the demigods, Lord Nārāyaṇa Viṣṇu, spoke the following sweet words to the demigods, despite His knowing the answer to His question.
1 Śrī Govindarāja’s exact derivation is as follows: na riṣyanti na naśyantīti narāḥ nitya-vastūni.
2 In other words, nārāyaṇa is the name of a person, not an adjective. On the other hand, śiva, for instance, can be taken as the name of a person or an adjective meaning “auspicious,” and as an adjective, it will then mean, “an auspicious person.” But Nārāyaṇa can only refer to Lord Viṣṇu and He is indeed the shelter of all naras.
The demigods had requested Lord Viṣṇu to appear in the world of humans as the son of Daśaratha and kill Rāvaṇa. But should the Lord take birth in His own four handed form or in some other manner? The Supreme Personality of Godhead inquires about this now.
Nārāyaṇaḥ is derived from the word nara which refers to eternal entities.1 The shelter (ayana) of all eternal entities is Nārāyaṇa. The ṇ of Nārāyaṇa signifies that it is a proper noun.2 Even though He is superior to all, his acceptance of the prayers of the best of the demigods indicates His dependence on those who have taken shelter of Him. He spoke sweetly in order to honor them.