Bhagavat-kathā – Page 5

etan mahākhyāna-varaṁ mahā-hareḥ

etan mahākhyāna-varaṁ mahā-hareḥ
kāruṇya-sārālaya-niścayārthakam |
yaḥ śraddhayā saṁśrayate kathañcana
prāpnoti tat-prema tathaiva so’py aram ||
(Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.160)

“Anyone who somehow [i.e., by śravaṇa, kīrtana, or otherwise] takes full shelter [i.e., becomes fully absorbed] with śraddhā in this most excellent narration—the purpose of which is determining the recipient of the essence of the great Hari’s grace—quickly attains that very prema for him [i.e., and so all the more so does one who engages in the process bhajana it describes].”

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tad eva ramyaṁ ruciraṁ navaṁ navaṁ

tad eva ramyaṁ ruciraṁ navaṁ navaṁ
tad eva śaśvan manaso mahotsavam |
tad eva śokārṇava-śoṣaṇaṁ nṛṇāṁ
yad uttamaḥśloka-yaśo’nugīyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.12.50; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 269)

“Only that [speech] through which the glory of he of highest praise is continuously sung is pleasing, relishable, and ever-new, only that is a grand, eternal festival for the heart, and only that dries up the ocean of humanity’s lamentation.”

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mṛṣā giras tā hy asatīr asat-kathā

mṛṣā giras tā hy asatīr asat-kathā
na kathyate yad bhagavān adhokṣajaḥ |
tad eva satyaṁ tad u haiva maṅgalaṁ
tad eva puṇyaṁ bhagavad-guṇodayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.12.49; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 269)

[Translation based on the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā:] “False, harsh, and improper is that speech which does not describe Bhagavān Adhokṣaja. Only that [speech] through which Bhagavān’s qualities manifest is truthful, only that is beneficial, and only that is purifying.”
[Translation based on the Bhakti Sandarbha vyākhyā:] “Vain, false, and extraneous is that speech which does not describe Bhagavān Adhokṣaja. Only that [speech] through which Bhagavān’s qualities manifest is truthful, only that is beneficial, and only that is purifying.”

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śrutam apy aupaniṣadaṁ dūre hari-kathāmṛtāt

śrutam apy aupaniṣadaṁ dūre hari-kathāmṛtāt |
yan na santi dravac-citta-kampāśru-pulakādayaḥ ||
(Unknown source; cited in Padyāvalī: 39; Bhakti Sandarbha: 69)

“Even that which I have heard in the Upaniṣads [about nirviśeṣa Brahman] is also far from the amṛta of Hari-kathā, as by [hearing] it no melting of the heart, trembling, tears, horripilation, and so forth occur.”

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uvāsa katicin māsān gopīnāṁ vinudan śucaḥ

uvāsa katicin māsān gopīnāṁ vinudan śucaḥ |
kṛṣṇa-līlā-kathāṁ gāyan ramayām āsa gokulam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.47.54)

“He [i.e., Uddhava] resided [there, i.e., in Vraja] for some months and dispelled the gopīs’ sorrow. By singing narrations of Kṛṣṇa’s līlā, he delighted Gokula.”

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yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ

yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ
tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam |
haraty ajo’ntaḥ śrutibhir gato’ṅgajaṁ
ko vai na seveta mukunda-vikramam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.18.11)

“He who is unborn [i.e., Bhagavān], having entered within [i.e., into the subtle body of the jīva] through the ears [alt., through hearing], removes the desire [alt., the contamination] in the mind [alt., attracts the mind and desires] of those who consistently sip the sacred water of the magnificence of his own potency, which is attained in their association [i.e., in the association of those dear to Bhagavān]. Indeed who would not honor the prowess of Mukunda [i.e., the kathā about Mukunda spoken by his dear bhaktas]?”

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so’cirād eva rājarṣe syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ

so’cirād eva rājarṣe syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ |
śṛṇvataḥ śraddadhānasya nityadā syād adhīyataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.38)

“O royal sage! That [i.e., fully performed bhakti-yoga—prema-bhakti] will certainly manifest soon for one who shall take shelter in Acyuta-kathā, hearing and studying it with śraddhā continuously.”

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sudhānām cāndrīṇāṁ mādhurīmonmāda-damanī

sudhānām cāndrīṇāṁ mādhurīmonmāda-damanī
dadhānā rādhādi-praṇaya-ghana-sāraiḥ surabhitām |
samantāt santāpodgama-viṣama-saṁsāra-saraṇī-
praṇītāṁ te tṛṣṇāṁ haratu hari-līlā-śikhariṇī ||
(Vidagdha-mādhava: 1.1)

“Bearing the fragrance of the camphor of Rādhā and others’ love, may the śikhariṇī of Hari’s līlā, the subduer of the pride of the sweetness of the moon’s nectars, completely remove your thirst arising from [travelling along] the rugged, distressing path of saṁsāra [just as śikhariṇī subdues the mania produced by an excess of vāta and aches produced by an excess of pitta].”

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yat tūttamaḥ-śloka-guṇānuvādaḥ

yat tūttamaḥ-śloka-guṇānuvādaḥ
saṅgīyate’bhīkṣṇam amaṅgala-ghnaḥ |
tam eva nityaṁ śṛṇuyād abhīkṣṇaṁ
kṛṣṇe’malāṁ bhaktim abhīpsamānaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.15)

“… Whereas one who is desirous of pure bhakti to Kṛṣṇa should always repeatedly hear only narration of the qualities of he of highest praise [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣnā], which is sung repeatedly and destroys all inauspiciousness.”

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yat pītaṁ śruti-vāṅ-manobhir aniśaṁ tṛṣṇā-pradam adbhutaṁ

yat pītaṁ śruti-vāṅ-manobhir aniśaṁ tṛṣṇā-pradam adbhutaṁ
saṁsārāmaya-hāry api praṇayajonmādāndhya-mohādi-kṛt |
śaśvac carvitam apy analpa-rasadaṁ dehādi-hṛt-puṣṭidaṁ
taj jīyād amṛta-spṛhā-haram idaṁ govinda-līlāmṛtam ||
(Govinda Līlāmṛta: 1.5)

“May this wonderful Govinda-līlāmṛtam triumph! [Why is it wonderful?] Even when it is drunk with the ears, tongue, and mind, it incessantly produces thirst [for more of itself] and [simultaneously] gives nourishment to the body, heart, and so forth; even though it cures the disease of saṁsāra, it gives rise to the madness, blindness, delusion, and so forth manifest by love (praṇāya) [i.e., the “disease” of Kṛṣṇa-prema]; even when it is chewed constantly [as it wonderfully can continually be both drunk and chewed], it produces no small amount of rasa [i.e., as sugarcane does, but rather again and again produces an abundance of sweet prema-rasa]; and even though it is itself amṛta (nectar), it removes all desire for amṛta [i.e., be it the nectarean beverage drunk by the devas to remain ever-youthful sought by the karmīs or the various forms of liberation from māyā sought by the jñānīs and yogīs].”

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