भक्त्याहमेकया ग्राह्य: श्रद्धयात्मा प्रिय: सताम् ।
भक्ति: पुनाति मन्निष्ठा श्वपाकानपि सम्भवात् ॥
bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ śraddhayātmā priyaḥ satām |
bhaktiḥ punāti man-niṣṭhā śvapākān api sambhavāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.602; Bhakti Sandarbha: 147, 241; Prīti Sandarbha: 1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.135)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] I, the Self—the Beloved—of the sat, am attainable by means of one-pointed bhakti with śraddhā. Bhakti fixed upon me purifies even dog-cookers of their birth.”
Alternate translation based on the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā:
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] I, the Self—the Beloved—of the sat, am attainable by means of bhakti with śraddhā alone. Bhakti fixed upon me purifies even dog-cookers of their birth.”
Commentary
śraddhayā yā bhaktis tayā | sambhavāj jāti-doṣād apīty arthaḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“By that bhakti which is with śraddhā [is the sense]. ‘Of [their] birth’ (sambhavāt) means [bhakti purifies them] even of a fault resulting from [their] birth].”
śraddhayā yā bhaktis tayā | satāṁ bhaktānāṁ priya ātmā, ātmano’pi sakāśāt priya ity arthaḥ | yad vā, ātmāpi apriyo yasmāt, sa parama-priyatama ity arthaḥ |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.602)
“By that bhakti which is with śraddhā [is the sense]. ‘The self (ātmā) is dear to the sat, that is, to bhaktas, and he is dear [to them] even more so than the self’ is the meaning [of “the Self—the Beloved—of the sat” (Ātmā Priyaḥ satām)]. Alternately [when the text is read rather as ātmāpriyaḥ satām—ātmā apriyaḥ satām], ‘He, on account of whom even the self (ātmā) is not dear (apriya), is supremely dearmost’ is the meaning.”
śraddhayā bhaktyā—śraddhā-pūrvikayā kevalayā bhaktyā tv aham eva grāhyaḥ, kramād vaśīkāryaḥ | saiva man-niṣṭhā mayi dārḍhyaṁ gatā satī | atha ‘na sādhayati māṁ yogaḥ’ ity etat sārdha-padyaṁ yogādīnāṁ sādhana-rūpāṇāṁ pratiyogitvena nirdiṣṭatvāt, śraddhā-sahāyatvena vidhānāc ca tat-param | sādhyāyāṁ śraddhollekhaḥ punar-ukta iti | yadyapi phala-bhakti-dvāraiva tad-vaśīkāritvaṁ tasyāḥ, tathāpy atra sādhana-rūpāyā mukhyatvena prāptatvāt tatraivodāhṛtam |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā; Bhakti Sandarbha: 147)
“By means of bhakti with śraddhā, that is, by means of one-pointed bhakti preceded by śraddhā, I myself am attainable, that is, I am able to be gradually captivated. That [bhakti] specifically fixed on me means [that] has attained firmness upon me.
“Now, this verse and a half [beginning] na sādhayati māṁ yogaḥ [i.e., SB 11.14.20–21] pertains to that [i.e., to sādhana-bhakti] because of [bhakti’s] being designated [therein] as being a counter-part of forms of sādhana beginning with yoga and because of the injunction [therein] of [bhakti’s] having the assistance of śraddhā. In the case of sādhya [-bhakti being proposed to be the subject of discussion in this verse and a half], the mention of śraddhā would be redundant [if that were the since, since it goes without saying the sādhya-bhakti is always concomitant with śraddhā]. Although its [i.e., bhakti’s] being captivating of him [i.e., Bhagavān] is only by means of ‘end result bhakti’ [i.e., only by means of bhakti when it is manifest in completion], still because of the sādhana form [of bhakti] being indicated as being primary here [i.e., as being the primary subject of discussion in this portion of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam], it is cited in that regard specifically [i.e., sādhana-bhakti specifically is said in the verse under discussion to be captivating of Bhagavān].”
yatheti | sva-vākyena prāptaṁ yogādīnām api sva-prāpti-sādhanatvam āśaṅkyāha—bhaktyeti | ekayā na tv anyena yogādinety arthaḥ | tena yad anyatra jñānādīnām api brahma-prāpti-sādhanatvaṁ śrūyate, tatrasthā guṇa-bhūtā bhaktir eva tat-prāpiketi jñeyam | tad evaṁ jñāna-sat-karmādikaṁ bhagavantaṁ sādhayitum asamarthaṁ kevalaṁ pāpa-nāśakatayaiva sārthakam abhūd iti sthitam | tatrāpi bhakter yathā pāpa-nāśakatā na tathā jñānādīnām ity āha—bhaktir iti sārdhena | sambhavāt jāti-doṣād apīti śrī-svāmi-caraṇāḥ, tena prārabdha-pāpa-nāśakatā bhakter budhyate |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Expecting yoga and so forth’s also being [regarded as] means of attainment of himself as indicated by [the word] ‘as’ (yathā) in his own [previous] statement [i.e., in the preceding verse], he [i.e., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] says bhaktyā … [i.e. he speaks this verse to negate that idea]. ‘By [bhakti] alone, and not, rather, by something else, that is, yoga or otherwise, is the meaning [i.e., bhakti alone, and not yoga or otherwise, can cause attainment of Bhagavān]. Thus, where jñāna and so forth too are heard of elsewhere as being means of attainment of Brahman, the secondary bhakti present in them is alone the cause of attainment of that. This is to be understood. Thus, in this way, jñāna, meritorious karma, and so forth are unable to cause attainment of Bhagavān; they are useful only as destroyers of sin. This is established. In that regard, furthermore, jñāna and so forth do not have destructiveness of sin to the extent that bhakti does. This he states with the [second] half [of the verse]: bhaktiḥ …. According to Śrī [Śrīdhara] Svāmīcaraṇa, ‘“Of [their] birth” (sambhavāt) means [bhakti purifies them] even of a fault resulting from [their] birth].’ Thus, bhakti’s being a destroyer of commenced (prārabdha) sin is understood.”