kṛṣi-śabdaś ca sattārtho ṇaś cānanda-svarūpakaḥ |
sukha-rūpo bhaved ātmā bhāvānanda-mayatvataḥ ||
(Gautamīya-tantra; cited in Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā to Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.1)
“The word kṛṣ means existence, and [the word] ṇa means that which is of the nature of bliss. The Ātmā is the very form of joy because he is constituted of the bliss of bhāva [i.e., existence, alt., prema].”
kṛṣir bhū-vācakaḥ śabdo ṇaś ca nirvṛti-vācakaḥ |
tayor aikyaṁ paraṁ brahma kṛṣṇa ity abhidhīyate ||
(Mahābhārata: Udyoga-parva: 71.4; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.9.30 and Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā on Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.1)
“The word [i.e., root] kṛṣ is a signifier of existence, and [the suffix] ṇa is a signifier of bliss. The oneness of the two [i.e., of the referrents of kṛṣ and ṇa, that is, existence and bliss], Parabrahman, is thus referred to as Kṛṣṇa.”
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ |
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam ||
(Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.1)
“The Controller, the Supreme Being, Kṛṣṇa, is the embodiment of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, the origin without origin, Govinda, and the cause of all causes.”
sā hānis tan mahac chidraṁ sa mohaḥ sa ca vibhramaḥ |
yan muhūrtaṁ kṣaṇaṁ vāpi vāsudevaṁ na kīrtayet ||
(Kātyāyana Saṁhitā; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.508; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115; Sarva-samvādinī on Bhagavat Sandarbha, Durgama-saṅgaminī to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.247; Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.9.35)
“That moment or even instant in which Vāsudeva is not praised is a loss, a great fault, a delusion, and a fiasco.”
labdhātmikā satī rūḍhir bhaved yogāpahāriṇī |
kalpanīyā tu labhate nātmānaṁ yoga-bādhataḥ ||
(Kumārila Bhaṭṭa; cited in Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā to Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.1)
“The acquired conventional meaning (rūḍhi-artha) [of a word] overrides its etymological meaning (yoga-artha). A word meaning should not be supposed [through etymology] when there is an obstruction to its own etymological meaning [by the conventional meaning in the context of the word’s usage].”
tvaṁ sākṣāt kṛṣṇacandrasya paripūrṇatamasya ca |
goloke go-gaṇair yukte gopī-gopāla-saṁyute ||
tvaṁ hi govardhano nāma vṛndāraṇye virājase |
tvaṁ no girīṇāṁ sarveṣāṁ giri-rājo’si sāmpratam ||
namo vṛndāvanāṅkāya tubhyaṁ goloka-mauline |
pūrṇa-brahmātapatrāya namo govardhanāya ca ||
(Garga-saṁhitā: 2.2.13–5)
[The Himālayas praise Govardhana as he descends to the earth:] “You are known as Govardhana and you reside in Goloka, replete with the cows, cowherd men, and cowherd women of the Suprememost Being Kṛṣṇacandra. You are now the king of all of us mountains. Obeisance and obeisance unto you, the lap of Vṛndāvana, the crown of Goloka, and the umbrella of the Supreme Brahman.”
śruti-smṛti-sadācāraḥ svasya ca priyam ātmanaḥ |
samyak saṅkalpajaḥ kāmo dharma-mūlam idaṁ smṛtam ||
(Yājñavalkya-smṛti: 1.7; cited in the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā, and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.11.7 and Bhakti Sandarbha: 58)
“The Śruti, the Smṛti, proper conduct (sadācāra), the satisfaction of one’s own mind, and desire arising from proper resolve—these are known as the basis [i.e., the pramāṇa, the means of knowing] of dharma.”
daive puruṣakāre ca karma-siddhir vyavasthitā |
(Yājñavalkya-saṁhitā: 1.349)
“Accomplishment of actions is determined by destiny and virility.”
na kāṣṭhe vidyate devo na śilāyāṁ kadācana |
bhāve hi vidyate devas tasmād bhāvaṁ samācaret ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa: 2.38.13)
“Deva is never present in wood or in stone. Deva is present in bhāva. Therefore, cultivate bhāva.”
sa kiṁ guruḥ sa kiṁ tātaḥ sa kiṁ putra sa kiṁ sakhā |
sa kiṁ rājā sa kiṁ bandhur na dadyād yo harau matim ||
(Garga-saṁhitā: 10.62.11)
“One who shall not focus his mind on Hari—is he a guru? Is he a father? Is he a son? Is he a friend? Is he a king? Is he a relative?”
