Hermeneutics

vyāmohāya carācarasya jagatas te te purāṇāgamās

vyāmohāya carācarasya jagatas te te purāṇāgamās
tāṁ tām eva hi devatāṁ paramikāṁ jalpantu kalpāvadhi |
siddhānte punar eka eva bhagavān viṣṇuḥ samastāgama-
vyāpāreṣu vivecana-vyatikaraṁ nīteṣu niścīyate ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 5.97.27; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.107; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.4.142; Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.2.53; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.142)

“Let the various Purāṇas and Āgamas chatter about the [supposed] supremacy of various devatās for the sake of deluding the world of moving and stationary beings to the end of the kalpa. When, however, the expressions of all the Āgamas are brought into conjoint examination, then, in accord with their siddhānta, one alone, Bhagavān Viṣṇu, is ascertained [to be supreme].”

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apauruṣeyaṁ vākyaṁ vedaḥ

apauruṣeyaṁ vākyaṁ vedaḥ | sa ca vidhi-mantra-nāmadheya-niṣedhārthavāda-bhedāt pañca-vidhaḥ |
(Artha-saṅgraha: 1 (10))

Veda is a statement that is not produced by a puruṣa (apauruṣeya) [i.e., a statement that is beginninglessly self-existent and thus not produced by any living being]. That [i.e., Veda], furthermore, is of five types according to the divisions of (1) vidhi [i.e., injunction], (2) mantra [i.e., hymn], (3) nāmadheya [i.e., name], (4) niṣedha [i.e., prohibition], and (5) arthavāda [i.e., explanatory or eulogistic passage].”

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yatra niṣkāma-dharma-nirmala-cittaḥ

yatra niṣkāma-dharma-nirmala-cittaḥ sat-prasaṅga-lubdhaḥ śraddhāluḥ śānty-ādimān adhikārī | sambandho vācya-vācaka-bhāvaḥ | viṣayo niravadyo viśuddhānanta-guṇa-gaṇo’cintyānanta-śaktiḥ sac-cid-ānandaḥ puruṣottamaḥ | prayojanaṁ tv aśeṣa-doṣa-vināśa-puraḥsaras tat-sākṣātkāra … |
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 1.1.1)

“… In which [i.e., in the Vedānta-sūtra], the bearer of eligibility (adhikārī) is a person who is of taintless heart by virtue of [engagement in] desireless dharma, is desirous of association with sādhus, is endowed with śraddhā [in the meaning of śāstra], and is possessed of tranquility and so forth [i.e., control of the mind, control of the senses, and other virtues]. The relation (sambandha) [of the text with its subject (viṣaya)] is of the nature of referent (vācya) and referrer (vācaka). The subject (viṣaya) is the irreproachable Supreme Person (Puruṣottama) constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss and possessed of endless pure qualities and endless inconceivable potency. The aim (prayojana) is direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him preceded by the disintegration of all faults.”

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viṣayo viśayaś caiva pūrvapakṣas tathottaram

viṣayo viśayaś caiva pūrvapakṣas tathottaram |
nirṇayaś ceti pañcāṅgaṁ śāstre’dhikaraṇaṁ smṛtam ||
(Śloka-vārtika of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa)

“(1) The subject (viṣaya), (2) a doubt (viśaya) [regarding it], (3) a prior position (pūrvapakṣa) [regarding it], then (4) the answer [lit., the ‘latter’ position regarding it], (5) and the conclusion (nirṇaya)—an adhikaraṇa [i.e., ‘topic’] in śāstra in known to be of these five parts.”

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upamīyate yena tad upamānam, yat tūpamīyate tad upameyam

upamīyate yena tad upamānam, yat tūpamīyate tad upameyam |
(Amṛta-ṭīkā on Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa: 1314)

“That with which comparing occurs [i.e., to which something is compared] is [called] the upamāna [i.e., the object of comparison], and that which is compared [to the upamāna] is [called] the upameya [i.e., the subject of comparison, e.g., in the phrase ‘lotus feet,’ the lotus is the upamāna and feet are the upameya].”

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yadyapi pūrvānusāreṇa candrādayas tasya dṛṣṭāntatā-leśam api nārhanti

yadyapi pūrvānusāreṇa candrādayas tasya dṛṣṭāntatā-leśam api nārhanti, tathāpi sādhāraṇa-lokānāṁ tad-dvārā tan-mahima-praveśārtham eva te dṛṣṭāntitāḥ | yatra tu tad-antaraṅga-parikarair api tādṛśaṁ varṇyate, tatra sākṣād bhagavad-vibhūti-rūpa-tal-līlā-parikarā eva candrādayo dṛṣṭāntitā iti sarvatra jñeyam |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.46)

“Although, in accord with the former [comment made earlier on this subject in regard to BRS 1.1.1], the moon and so forth are not fit even in the least to be objects of comparison with him [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa], still they are cited as objects of comparison [with him] for the purpose of common people’s entering into his greatness thereby. Where, however, such [objects of comparison] are described even by his intimate retinue, there only the moon and so forth that are directly [part of] the retinue in his līlā in the form of Bhagavān’s splendors (vibhūtis) are cited as objects of comparison [with him]. This is to be understood in all cases.”

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