Ānukūlya

durārdhyaṁ samārādhya viṣṇuṁ sarveśvareśvaram

durārdhyaṁ samārādhya viṣṇuṁ sarveśvareśvaram |
yo vṛṇīte mano-grāhyam asattvāt kumanīṣy asau ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.48.11)

“One who, after fully worshiping Viṣṇu, the difficult to worship Īśvara of all īśvaras, requests that which is acceptable to the mind [i.e., pleasures of the senses] is of low intelligence because of pettiness.”

Read on →

tṛptāv anya-janasya tṛptim ayitā duḥkhe mahāduḥkitā

tṛptāv anya-janasya tṛptim ayitā duḥkhe mahāduḥkitā
labdhaiḥ svīya-sukhāli-duḥkha-nicayair no harṣa-bādhodayāḥ |
sveṣṭārādhana-tatparā iha yathā śrī-vaiṣṇava-śreṇayaḥ
kās tā brūhi vicārya candra-vadane tā mad-vayasyā imāḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 13.113)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa presents a riddle:]
‘They attain satisfaction from another person’s satisfaction,
Are greatly troubled by [by another person’s] trouble,
Experience no elation or misery
Because of the personal pleasures and troubles they undergo,
And are devoted to the worship of their own Iṣṭa
Like the multitudes of blessed Vaiṣṇavas here—
Consider and tell [me],
O you of moon face,
Who are they?’
[Śrī Rādhā replies:]
‘They are these friends of mine!’”

Read on →

ta eva niyamāḥ sākṣāt ta eva ca yamottamāḥ

ta eva niyamāḥ sākṣāt ta eva ca yamottamāḥ |
tapo dānaṁ vrataṁ yajño yena tuṣyaty adhokṣajaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.16.61)

“That by which Adhokṣaja [i.e., Bhagavān] is satisfied is indeed directly the regulation (niyama), and that is indeed the best rule (yama), austerity (tapas), charity (dāna), rite (vrata), and sacrifice (yajña).”

Read on →

vaireṇa yaṁ nṛpatayaḥ śiśupāla-pauṇḍra

vaireṇa yaṁ nṛpatayaḥ śiśupāla-pauṇḍra-
śālvādayo gati-vilāsa-vilokanādyaiḥ |
dhyāyanta ākṛta-dhiyaḥ śayanāsanādau
tat-sāmyam āpur anurakta-dhiyāṁ punaḥ kim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.48)

“Kings such as Śiśupāla, Pauṇḍraka, and Śālva attained equality with he [i.e., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] whom they meditated upon out of enmity while lying down, sitting, and so forth, their minds imprinted with his movements, play, glances, and so forth. [So,] How much more [is this attainment of equality with him certain to happen in the the case] of those whose minds are attached [to him]?”

Read on →

tam aṅkam ārūḍham apāyayat stanaṁ

tam aṅkam ārūḍham apāyayat stanaṁ
sneha-snutaṁ sa-smitam īkṣatī mukham |
atṛptam utsṛjya javena sā yayāv
utsicyamāne payasi tv adhiśrite ||
sa jāta-kopaḥ sphuritāruṇādharaṁ
sandaśya dadbhir dadhi-mantha-bhājanam |
bhittvā mṛṣāśrur dṛṣad-aśmanā raho
jaghāsa haiyaṅgavam antaraṁ gataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.5–6)

“Raised in her lap, she [i.e., Yaśodā] had him [i.e., Kṛṣṇa] drink from her breast, flowing [with milk] out of affection, as she beheld his smiling face, but when the milk on the fireplace was beginning to boil over, she put him down [although he was] unsatiated, and quickly went over [to attend to the milk on the fireplace]. Angered [by this] and biting his quivering reddish lips with his teeth, he [then] broke with a grindstone the pot [that Yaśodā had been using] for churning yoghurt, went inside [the house] with false tears [alt., non-false tears, in his eyes], and in a concealed place devoured the fresh butter [that Yaśodā had just churned].”

Read on →

na cāsya kaścin nipuṇena dhātur

na cāsya kaścin nipuṇena dhātur
avaiti jantuḥ kumanīṣa ūtīḥ |
nāmāni rūpāṇi mano-vacobhiḥ
santanvato naṭa-caryām ivājñaḥ ||
sa veda dhātuḥ padavīṁ parasya
duranta-vīryasya rathāṅga-pāṇeḥ |
yo’māyayā santatayānuvṛttyā
bhajeta tat-pāda-saroja-gandham ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.37–38)

“No living being of corrupt intelligence understands with the mind or words through expertise [i.e., skill in argument and like, or skill in adhering to the paths of jñāna or yoga] the sports, names, and forms of the [Supreme] Element, he who extends [his names, forms, and sports when he graciously descends in age after age], just as an ignorant person [does not understand] the performance of a dancer. [Only] One who can non-deceitfully, continuously, and accordingly worship the fragrance of his lotus feet knows the way [alt., position] of the Supreme Element, he of infinite potency and chakra in hand.”

Read on →

atha śrī-bhagavat-prīti-lakṣaṇa-vākyānāṁ niṣkarṣaḥ

atha śrī-bhagavat-prīti-lakṣaṇa-vākyānāṁ niṣkarṣaḥ | nikhila-paramānanda-candrikā-candramasi-sakala-bhuvana-saubhāgya-sāra-sarvasva-sattva-guṇopajīvyānanta-vilāsa-mayāmāyika-viśuddha-sattvānavaratollāsād asamordhva-madhure śrī-bhagavati katham api cittāvatārād anapekṣita-vidhiḥ svarasata eva samullasantī viṣayāntarair anavacchedyā tātparyāntaram asahamānā hlādinī-sāra-vṛtti-viśeṣa-svarūpā bhagavad-ānukūlyātmaka-tad-anugata-tat-spṛhādi-maya-jñāna-viśeṣākārā tādṛśa-bhakta-mano-vṛtti-viśeṣa-dehā pīyūṣa-pūrato’pi sarasena svenaiva sva-dehaṁ sarasayantī bhakta-kṛtātma-rahasya-saṅgopana-guṇa-maya-rasanā-bāṣpa-muktādi-vyakta-pariṣkārā sarva-guṇaika-nidhāna-svabhāvā dāsīkṛtāśeṣa-puruṣārtha-sampattikā bhagavat-pātivratya-vrata-varyā-paryākulā bhagavan-manoharaṇaikopāya-hāri-rūpā bhāgavatī prītis tam upasevamānā virājata iti |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 78)

“Now, the essence of the [aforementioned] statements about the characteristics of prīti for Śrī Bhagavān [is summarized]. Śrī Bhagavān—the Moon refulgent with the moonlight of the totality of the highest bliss, he of unsurpassed and unparalleled sweetness (madhura) by virtue of the everlasting elation produced by [his] completely pure sattva [lit., ‘existence’] beyond māyā which is (1) filled with endless play (vilāsa), (2) the sustenance of [prākṛta] sattva-guṇa, and (3) the essence and entirety of [all] the good fortune [found] throughout all the worlds—divine (Bhāgavatī) prīti for Bhagavān [i.e., Bhagavān as he has thus been described]—(1) non-dependent on injunctions because of descending into the citta somehow [i.e., of its own accord by the gracious wish of Śrī Bhagavān], (2) fully elating entirely naturally [i.e., solely by virtue of her own nature and the nature of her object, Bhagavān], (3) inseparable [from him] by any other object, (4) intolerant of any other intention [alt., aim] (tātparya) [than him], (5) in constitution (svarūpa) a special vṛtti of the essence of hlādinī [i.e., of the hlādinī-vṛtti of Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti], (6) in appearance (ākāra) a particular form of awareness (jñāna) constituted of favorability (ānukūlya) towards Bhagavān and filled with desire [for Bhagavān] and so forth following [in the wake of] that [favorability towards him; i.e., a particular form of awareness (jñāna) constituted of favorability (ānukūlya) towards Bhagavān that is filled with elation caused by experience of Śrī Bhagavān as a result of desire for Śrī Bhagavān arising from favorability (ānukūlya) towards Śrī Bhagavān], (7) in figure (deha) a particular vṛtti in the mind of such a bhakta, (8) imbuing her own figure (deha) with rasa [i.e., relishability] greater than even a dessert made of ambrosia [i.e., than even the finest sweets that can be found in Svarga] solely by means of her own rasa [i.e., her own inherent relishability], (9) bearing the visible decorations (pariṣkāra) of the pearls of tears, an ornamental girdle made of the quality exhibited by a bhakta of hiding one’s own secrets, and so on, (10) in nature (svabhāva) a superb reservoir of all qualities, (11) in affluence (sampattikā) having made all the puruṣārthas maidservants, (12) greatly excited as a varyā [i.e., a bride who chooses her own husband] devoted to her vow of fidelity (pātivratya) to Bhagavān, and (13) captivating in beauty (rūpā) the sole approach [i.e., undertaking] of which is captivation of Bhagavān’s mind—[as such, personified prīti for Bhagavān] dazzles as she adores him.”

Read on →

devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām ānuśravika-karmaṇām

devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām ānuśravika-karmaṇām |
sattva evaika-manaso vṛttiḥ svābhāvikī tu yā ||
animittā bhāgavatī bhaktiḥ siddher garīyasī ||

(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.32; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.614; Prīti Sandarbha: 61)

“The vṛtti [i.e., engagement] solely in relation to Sattva [i.e., Bhagavān], which is natural [i.e., not effected by force] and causeless [i.e., free from extraneous desire], of the illuminators [i.e., the senses], which make known their objects and whose actions are directed by the Veda, of one of singular [i.e., one-pointed] mind is [known as] bhakti related to Bhagavān, and [is] superior to siddhi [i.e., mokṣa].”

Read on →

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham |
teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyute’stu sadā tvayi ||
yā prītir avivekānāṁ viṣayeṣv anapāyinī |
tvām anusmarataḥ sā me hṛdayān nāpasarpatu ||

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.20.18–19; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.434–435; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 142; Bhakti Sandarbha: 217; Prīti Sandarbha: 50, 61)

“O Nātha, wherever I go in the course of thousands of births, may I always have unwavering (acyutā) bhakti to you, the unwavering Lord (Acyuta)! As I continuously remember you, may that everlasting prīti which [is possessed of a characteristic like the prīti which] the undiscerning have for objects of the senses, never slip away from my heart.”

Read on →

Scroll to Top