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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 2.2.26, 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 2.2.26 contained in Chapter 2—Jnana (knowledge)—of Part two (prathama-khanda).

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.26:

ततोऽदिति� शची� जीवं ब्राह्मणान� अप� मानयन् �
त्रैलोक्ये वैष्णवी� भक्तिं पूर्णा� प्रावर्तयं सद� � २६ �

tato'diti� śacī� jīva� 󳾲ṇān api Բⲹ |
trailokye vaiṣṇavī� bhakti� pūrṇāṃ prāvartaya� || 26 ||

ٲٲ�–t; aditim–Aditi (Indra’s mother); śī–Ś� (Indra’s wife); ī–ṛh貹پ (Indra’s guru); 󳾲ṇān–the persons who have realized Brahman; api–a; Բⲹ–hDzԴǰԲ; trai-lokye–throughout the three worlds; ṣṇī–to Lord վṣṇ; bhaktim–d𱹴dzپDz; ūṇām–full (unadulterated); 屹ٲⲹ𲹳; –iԳԳٱ.

Thereafter, I showed proper respect to Aditi, Śī, and the 󳾲ṇa like ṛh貹پ, and throughout the three worlds, I preached pure devotional service to Śī վṣṇ, with my full energy.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

This verse beginning with tat explains how Śī Gopa-ܳ propagated devotional service to Śī 󲹲 everywhere. He says, “Although I became master of the opulence of the three worlds, I did not become overwhelmed by the intoxicating sense enjoyment available to me, unlike kings such as Nahuṣa. Because of this, I did not disrespect anyone; rather I gave special honor to deva- (mother of the demigods) Aditi, Śī, and to the 󳾲ṇa, including ṛh貹پ, Agastya, and Gautama. Moreover, I propagated bhakti in its complete form–the ninefold process of devotional service to 󲹲–everywhere in the three worlds.� This reveals the superiority of Gopa-ܳ over Purandara (Indra), the son of Aditi.

Now, one might ask, “In which manvantara (lifespan of Manu) of which kalpa (day of ) did Gopa-ܳ fill the post of Indra?�

It may be answered, “Gopa-ܳ obtained the position of Indra in the Vaivasvata manvantara of the present ղ kalpa.� However, this answer does not seem consistent with a statement found in a verse spoken later in this treatise (Śī Bṛhad-岵峾ṛt 2.143): “From Brahmaloka, Gopa-ܳ saw that the fire emanating from the mouth of ṅkṣaṇa had consumed the three planetary systems�Svarga, martya-loka (earth, the planet of mortals), and (the lower planetary system).� [This only happens during the night of .]

These two statements appear inconsistent because the first halfportion of ’s lifespan has now elapsed, and the present time period is within the first part of the second half of ’s life. This time period is within the particular kalpa in which the Lord’s Śٲ-varāha, or white boar incarnation, appears, and therefore, this present day of is called the Śٲ-varāha kalpa. Because the Śٲ-varāha kalpa is still going on, this means that the night of has not yet arrived. [With the night of comes a partial cosmic annihilation.] Therefore, it is not possible that Gopaܳ could have seen the cosmic annihilation (pralaya) that destroyed this kalpa. This proves that Gopa-ܳ received the post of Indra in a previous kalpa (day of ) and not in the Vaivasvata manvantara of the present ղ kalpa.

The commentary of this verse states: �eva� aditi-suta–purandarāt api vaiśiṣṭyam dhvanitam–This reveals Gopa-ܳ’s superiority over Purandara, the son of Aditi.� From this statement, it seems that it was indeed during the Vaivasvata manvantara that Gopa-ܳ had obtained the position of the lord of heaven, because Purandara is the name of Indra during the Vaivasvata manvantara. (By the Lord’s desire, sometimes Indra has different names.) Therefore, the conclusion is that this incident happened during a Vaivasvata manvantara in some kalpa before this present ղ kalpa.

One more aspect of this topic is worthy of consideration. Aditi, the wife of śⲹ貹, is the mother of Indra in every kalpa. Similarly, the posts of Indra’s wife Śī-ī and those of the other presiding demigods are manifested in every manvantara. So in every manvantara, the name ‘Indra� is found. Nevertheless, by the desire of 󲹲, in some manvantaras, Indra may have a different name. For instance, the name of Indra is ‘Purandara� in the Vaivasvata manvantara and ‘Mantradruma� in the Cākṣuṣa manvantara. Moreover, in some manvantaras, superior living beings who are known by different names can also become Indra.

During every day of , the posts of all the ʰ貹پ, or progenitors of the living beings, are filled as they appear along with their family members.

It is stated in Śī վṣṇ ʳܰṇa:

युगे युगे भवन्त्य् एत� दक्षाद्य� मुनि सत्त�
पुनश� चै� निरुध्यन्त� विद्वांस� तत्र � मुह्यत�

yuge yuge bhavanty ete dakṣādyā muni sattama
punaś caiva nirudhyante vidvāṃs tatra na muhyati

The great sages such as ٲṣa appear and disappear in every millennium. Those who are intelligent are not bewildered by this.

When the day of comes to an end, the cosmic annihilation, or pralaya, takes place, and again at the beginning of the new creation, the religious duty of the age (yuga-dharma) needs to be propagated.

Śī Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya states:

सर्व-कल्पेष� चाप्य् एव�
सृष्टि-पुष्टि-विनष्टयः

sarva-kalpeṣu cāpy eva�
ṛṣṭi-ṣṭ-Բṣṭⲹ�

During every kalpa (day of ), creation, sustenance, and destruction take place.

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