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Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary)

by Śī Śīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja | 2005 | 440,179 words | ISBN-13: 9781935428329

The Brihad-bhagavatamrita Verse 1.1.2, English translation, including commentary (Dig-darshini-tika): an important Vaishnava text dealing with the importance of devotional service. The Brihad-bhagavatamrita, although an indepent Sanskrit work, covers the essential teachings of the Shrimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-purana). This is verse 1.1.2 contained in Chapter 1—Bhauma (the earthly plane)—of Part one (prathama-khanda).

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.1.2:

श्री-राधिका-प्रभृतयो नितरां जयन्ति गोप्यो नितान्�-भगवत�-प्रियत�-प्रसिद्ध� �
यसां हर� पर�-सौहृ�-मधुरिणां निर्वक्तुम� ईषद् अप� जातु � को’प� शक्त� � � �

śrī-rādhikā-prabhṛtayo nitarā� jayanti gopyo nitānta-bhagavat-priyatā-prasiddha� |
yasā� harau parama-sauhṛda-madhuriṇāṃ nirvaktum īṣad api jātu na ko’pi śakta� || 2 ||

The Vraja DZī are especially celebrated as the dearmost of Śī 󲹲. No one has ever come close to ascertaining the sweetness of their supreme affection towards Śī Hari. All these celebrated, eternally beloved DZī of Śī ṛṣṇa such as Śī 󾱰 are shining forth with all types of super-excellence. All glories unto them!

Commentary: پ-岹śī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śīla ٲԲ Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

To achieve Śī 󲹲’s profound mercy one has to receive the mercy of His beloved devotees. Therefore, His most beloved devotees are also present with topmost excellences like Him. He is narrating this notion through the verse beginning with Śī 󾱰. Amongst all the devotees of Śī ṛṣṇa, the DZī are the best, and amongst all the DZī Śī 󾱰 is the most superb. Therefore, Śī ’s name is mentioned most prominently.

The intent of using the word Ծٲ峾 is that devotees are especially dear to 󲹲. Although, from our mundane vision 󲹲 may disregard a devotee ever so slightly, that apparent neglect does not necessarily detract them from their pristine excellence. Regardless, this does not happen in the case of the DZī. In other words, one can never imagine any type of neglect of Śī 󲹲 towards the DZī. The DZī' unique quality of incomparable distinction, an apparent neglect by 󲹲 to others, has been favorably accepted by all great personalities everywhere.

Śī 󲹲 has personally described the esoteric love of the DZī by His own mouth in Śī-岵ٲ (10.32.22):

� पारये’ह� निरवद्�-संयुजा� स्�-साधु-कृत्यं विभुधायुषापि वः
या माभजन् दुर्जर-गे�-शृङ्खलाः संवृश्च्� तद� वः प्रतियात� साधुना

na pāraye’ha� niravadya-saṃyujā� sva-sādhu-kṛtya� vibhudhāyuṣāpi va�
yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalā� saṃvṛścya tad va� pratiyātu sādhunā

O endearing Vraja DZī, you have severed the difficult shackles of home and family life to meet Me. Having done this, I will not be able to repay you even slightly in a long lifespan of the demigods. Therefore your own glorious deeds have become repayment for that debt, in otherwords, I am forever indebted by your love.

In this way, the glories of the DZī� love have been sung in so many places, because the DZī are famous as the refuge of the most intense and highest limits of love of 󲹲. Although prasiddha means “that which is celebrated,� there is no need to search for any other validation of their prominence. Still the author indicates it for the pleasure of the devotees by beginning the line with . All these DZī, including Śī 󾱰, possess sweetness of the topmost intimate love towards Śī Hari, or all-attractive Śī ṛṣṇa. No one, including Śī Hari, is ever capable of describing even a small fragment of their sweetness. All these DZī are effulgently present in all their excellence. In this way, the mutul eternal love between Śī 󲹲 and the lovely DZī has indeed been shown.

The DZī are distinguished by their unique endeavors to achieve their position of bhagavat-prema. One other implication of the word prasiddha is that any other conclusion we may conceive in this matter is not definite. Still, the reason for the divine bliss of devotees is suggested here by the line beginning with , “whose prema in Śī Hari (parama manohara Śī ṛṣṇa) is also full of deep affection and charm.� That all-attractive, sweet prema with Śī 󾱰 and the other DZī is never even slightly constrained—like this, Śī 󲹲 and the DZī� mutual prema is eternally being exchanged.

Śī پ-岹śī Prakāśikā vṛtti: Those who perform devotional service to Śī Vrajendra-nandana ṛṣṇa without doing bhajana to His internal pleasure potency, Śī jī, are futilely doing bhajana. Rather, their bhajana to Śī ṛṣṇa is like sharp darts piercing His divine soft limbs�kṛṣṇāśraya� sa na vraja-ramānuga� sva-hṛdi saptaśalyāni me, “A person who accepts ṛṣṇa’s shelter without following in the footsteps of the lovely DZī of Vraja is like one of seven thorns that penetrate my heart.� Those persons are like hypocrites who serve and worship Śī Govinda, yet do not serve and worship His devotees, remaining always cheated of His mercy. Just as the existence of the sun cannot be perceived without heat and light, similarly the devotional service of 󲹱 is futile without Śī 󾱰.

Therefore Śī Uddhavajī, who is the best of devotees, also prayed to the footdust of the divine damsels of Vraja, vande nanda-Ჹٰīṇāṃ, -reṇum abhīkṣṇaśa�: “I repeatedly offer my respects to the footdust of the DZī of Śī Nanda’s Vraja.� (Śīmad-岵ٲ or 岵ٲ ʳܰṇa 10.47.63) Here the word śٰīṇām (women) is in the Sanskrit plural number (bahuvacana), whereas the word 岹-reṇum (footdust) is in the singular number (eka-vacana), indicating the deep confidential meaning that it is only one particle of footdust of Śīmatī 󾱰jī that Śī Uddhavajī is truly aspiring for.

Śī-岵Գܲ-bhakti, spontaneous devotional service, is achievable by the mercy of the Supreme Personality or by the mercy of the devotee. The deep, confidential meaning hidden here is that bhakti (devo tional service), bhagavat-ṛp (󲹲’s mercy) and bhakta-ṛp (devotees� mercy) are Գܲ峾ī, or followers of the eternal associates. Theref ore, without the moods of the nitya-parikaras or eternal associates, one’s spontaneous devotional mood (岵Գܲtya) is not perfected. Thus by severe austerities alone, one cannot enter the of Śī ṛn屹Բ without being under the guidance of the DZī. Rather, the śܳپ and the sages of ٲṇḍ첹 forest achieved their desires by performing 岵Գܲbhajana following in the moods of the DZī and thus obtained both the moods and spiritual forms of DZī.

Therefore, it is indeed beneficial for the 󲹰첹 of 岵Գܲbhakti to perform their 󲹲Բ-ᲹԲ only under the guidance of the eternal associates such as Śīmatī 󾱰, Śī Lalita, Śī վś and the other vraja-ī DZī, and under the guidance of other Ჹ-ī (residents of Vraja) such as Śī ū貹, Śī ū貹, Śī ٲԲ, and 鲹ܲٳ. Independent bhajana would only become a source of unwanted troubles.

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