Bhagavat-kathā – Anuśīlana.in

nāsāṁ dvijāti-saṁskāro na nivāso gurāv api |

nāsāṁ dvijāti-saṁskāro na nivāso gurāv api |
na tapo nātma-mīmāṁsā na śaucaṁ na kriyāḥ śubhāḥ ||
tathāpi hy uttamaḥ-śloke kṛṣṇe yogeśvareśvare |
bhaktir dṛḍhā na cāsmākaṁ saṁskārādimatām api ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.23.42–43)
“Although they have neither the saṁskāra of a twice-born, nor residence with the guru, nor austerity, nor self-inquiry, nor cleanliness, nor meritorious rites, still certainly [they have] firm bhakti to he of highest praise, Kṛṣṇa, the Īśvara of all masters of yogas, whereas even we who are endowed with the saṁskāra [of a twice-born] and so forth do not [have bhakti to Kṛṣṇa].”

Read on →

bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaṅgo

bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaṅgo
bhūyād ananta mahatām amalāśayānām |
yenāñjasolbaṇam uru-vyasanaṁ bhavābdhim
neṣye bhavad-guṇa-kathāmṛta-pāna-mattaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.9.11; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.290, Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14)

“O Unending One! May I have the full association of mahats who are always fully sustaining bhakti to you and [thus] of taintless heart by which I, inebriated by drinking the nectar of narrations of your qualities, shall easily cross beyond the immense ocean of material existence beset with waves of afflictions.”

Read on →

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās
tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ |
śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-
māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.43)

“Of mind absorbed in the great nectar
Of [songs sung by] the singers of your feats,
I am certainly not afraid,
O Supreme One,
Of the insurmountable Vaitaraṇī.
[Still,] I pity the fools,
Whose minds are averse to that [great nectar],
Bearing the burden [of worldly life]
For the sake of the illusory pleasure
Produced by objects of the senses.”

Read on →

naitan manas tava kathāsu vikuṇṭhanātha

naitan manas tava kathāsu vikuṇṭhanātha
samprīyate durita-duṣṭam asādhu tīvram |
kāmāturaṁ harṣa-śoka-bhayaiṣaṇārtaṁ
tasmin kathaṁ tava gatiṁ vimṛśāmi dīnaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.39; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 1)

“O Lord of Vaikuṇṭha!
This mind—
Corrupted by sin,
Unholy,
Impetuous,
Afflicted by kāma,
And beset with elation, sorrow, fear, and desire—
Does not take great pleasure
In narrations about you.
Therewith,
How can this wretch
Contemplate your existence?”

Read on →

trasto’smy ahaṁ kṛpaṇa-vatsala duḥsahogra

trasto’smy ahaṁ kṛpaṇa-vatsala duḥsahogra-
saṁsāra-cakra-kadanād grasatāṁ praṇītaḥ |
baddhaḥ sva-karmabhir uśattama te’ṅghri-mūlaṁ
prīto’pavarga-śaraṇaṁ hvayase kadā nu ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.16)

“Cast among devourers [i.e., asuras],
And bound by my own karmas,
I am afraid of the havoc
Of the fierce, difficult to bear wheel of saṁsāra.
O you who are affectionate to the pitiable,
O Greatest Beloved,
When will you be pleased
And call [me] to the shelter that is [itself] liberation—
The soles of your feet?”

Read on →

rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti

rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti
na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā |
na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair
vinā mahat-pāda-rajo’bhiṣekam ||
yatrottamaḥśloka-guṇānuvādaḥ
prastūyate grāmya-kathā-vighātaḥ |
niṣevyamāṇo’nudinaṁ mumukṣor
matiṁ satīṁ yacchati vāsudeve ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.12.12–13)

“[Jaḍa Bhārata:] O Rahūgaṇa, neither by austerity, nor by sacrifice, nor by giving, nor by household life, nor by the Vedas, nor by [worship of] water, fire, and the sun does one attain this without bathing in the foot-dust of the mahats, amongst whom is sung recounting of the qualities of he of highest praise [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān], on account of which termination of village talk occurs, and which upon being honored daily produces a seeker of mokṣa’s genuine inclination towards Vāsudeva.”

Read on →

kathā imās te kathitā mahīyasāṁ

kathā imās te kathitā mahīyasāṁ
vitāya lokeṣu yaśaḥ pareyuṣām |
vijñāna-vairāgya-vivakṣayā vibho
vaco-vibhūtīr na tu pāramārthyam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.14)

[Translation based on the ṭīkās of Śrīdhara Svāmī and Jīva Gosvāmī:] “[Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Parīkṣit Mahārāja:] O King, these narrations narrated [by me] for the purpose of [teaching] knowledge [i.e., knowledge of the insubstantiality of sense objects (viṣayāsāra-jñānam)] and [subsequent] non-attachment (vairāgyam), which extend the fame of departed great personages [i.e., prominent kings and so forth other than avatāras of Bhagavān] throughout the worlds, are splendors of speech and not, rather, ultimate truth.”

[Translation based on the ṭīkā of Viśvanātha Cakravartī:] “[Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Parīkṣit Mahārāja:] O King, these narrations narrated [by me] for the purpose of [teaching] knowledge [i.e., experience of Bhagavān] and [subsequent] non-attachment, which extend the fame of great personages who attained the Supreme throughout the worlds, are not splendors of speech, but rather, ultimate truth.”

Read on →

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ |
hṛdy antaḥstho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.17; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 12)

“Situated internally, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Well-Wisher of the sat, he of whom hearing and praising are purifying, completely washes away vices in the hearts of those who hear narrations of himself.”

Read on →

śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ

śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ |
syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.16)

“O learned ones, taste for discussion of Vāsudeva shall come about for one possessed of śraddhā and desirous to hear [such discussion] as a result of service to a mahat as an outcome of pilgrimage to a holy place.”

Read on →

Uddhava-gītā

Uddhava-gītā

Six verses in praise of the Vraja-gopīs expressed by Śrī Uddhava after delivering Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s messages from Mathurā.

Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.47.58–63.

Read on →