mūrtimanta bhāgavata—bhakti-rasa mātra |
ihā bujhe—ye haya kṛṣṇera kṛpā-pātra ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.3.529)
“Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is simply manifest bhakti-rasa. One who is a recipient of Kṛṣṇa’s grace understands this.”
idaṁ bhagavatā pūrvaṁ brahmaṇe nābhi-paṅkaje |
sthitāya bhava-bhītāya kāruṇyāt samprakāśitam ||
ādi-madhyāvasāneṣu vairāgyākhyāna-saṁyutam |
hari-līlā-kathā-vrātāmṛtānandita-sat-suram ||
sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ yad brahmātmaikatva-lakṣaṇam |
vastv advitīyaṁ tan-niṣṭhaṁ kaivalyaika-prayojanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.10–12)
“At the beginning, middle, and end replete with narrations productive of non-attachment (vairāgya); filled with the amṛta of discussion of Hari’s līlā by which the sādhu suras [i.e., Hari’s bhaktas, or, the self-satisfied (ātmārāmas)] become blissful; focused on that non-dual Reality (advitīya Vastu) which is the essence of the entire Vedānta [i.e., of the Upaniṣads] and has the characteristic of oneness of [i.e., the characteristic of non-excessive non-difference between] the ātmā with Brahman; and possessed of the singular aim of kaivalya [i.e., purity, meaning, pure bhakti, Bhagavat-prema, or, direct perception of Supreme Entity]—this [i.e., Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] was previously manifested in full [i.e., taught] out of compassion by Bhagavān [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] to Brahmā, who was situated on the navel-lotus [of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu] and frightened of material existence.”
purā mayā proktam ajāya nābhye
padme niṣaṇṇāya mamādi-sarge |
jñānaṁ paraṁ man-mahimāvabhāsaṁ
yat sūrayo bhāgavataṁ vadanti ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.4.13)
[Bhagavān:] “The supreme knowledge, by which my greatness [i.e., my līlā] is illuminated, and which the wise call Bhāgavatam [i.e., the four verses (SB 2.9.32–35)] was previously spoken by me at the beginning of creation to Aja [i.e., Brahmā] seated on the lotus of my navel.”
oṁ namaḥ paramahaṁsāsvādita-caraṇa-kamala-cin-makarandāya bhakta-jana-mānasa-nivāsāya śrī-rāmacandrāya |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)
“Om. Obeisance unto Śrī Rāmacandra, whose dwelling place is the bhaktas’ minds and the spiritual nectar of whose lotus feet is tasted by the paramahaṁsas.”
nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam |
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayaṁ
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.3)
“O relishers of rasa! O aesthetes! Drink continuously and [even] beyond [the attainment of] liberation the rasa of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the fruit of the wish-fulfilling tree of the Vedas, which has fallen from the mouth of Śuka [i.e., Śukadeva Gosvāmī] and is constituted of liquid nectar.”
janmādy asya yato’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ |
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo’mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)
“Let us meditate on the eternal Supreme Being, because of whom the manifestation, maintenance, and dissolution of this [perceptible universe] occur; who is fully aware of all matters and autonomous; who revealed the Veda, about which even the sages are bewildered, to the first seer [i.e., Lord Brahmā] through the heart; in whom exists the real threefold creation like a combination of fire, water, and earth; and by whose own power deception [i.e., māyā] is forever dispelled.”
ya etad ānanda-samudra-sambhṛtaṁ
jñānāmṛtaṁ bhāgavatāya bhāṣitam |
kṛṣṇena yogeśvara-sevitāṅghriṇā
sac-chraddhayāsevya jagad vimucyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.48)
“A person who [even] slightly honors with sincere śraddhā the nectar of knowledge filled with an ocean of bliss [i.e., the path of Bhagavad-bhakti] spoken to the bhāgavata [i.e., the foremost of bhaktas, Uddhava] by Kṛṣṇa, whose feet are served by the masters of yoga, is completely liberated.”
ya etat pūtanā-mokṣaṁ kṛṣṇasyārbhakam adbhutam |
śṛṇuyāc chraddhayā martyo govinde labhate ratim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.6.44)
“A mortal who is able to hear with śraddhā of this wonderful childhood act of Kṛṣṇa—the liberation of Pūtanā—attains rati for Govinda.”
saiṣā hy upaniṣad brāhmī pūrveṣāṁ pūrva-jair dhṛtā |
śraddhayā dhārayed yas tāṁ kṣemaṁ gacched akiñcanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.3)
“One who can adhere with śraddhā to this renowned Upaniṣad [i.e., this esoteric knowledge], related to Brahman and adhered to by the predecessors of our ancestors [i.e., by those such as Sanaka who came before Nārada and others], can become detached [i.e, free from adjuncts beginning with the body, or, free from possessiveness, that is, one can become an unalloyed bhakta] and attain weal [i.e., the supreme abode, or, bhakti-yoga, or Bhagavān’s lotus feet].
dharmān anyān parityajya mām ekaṁ bhaja viśvasan |
yādṛśī yādṛśī śraddhā siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.61)
“Completely relinquishing other dharmas, worship me alone, fostering conviction. Howsoever is the śraddhā [one fosters], so is the attainment (siddhi) [one achieves].”
