dharma iṣṭaṁ dhanaṁ nṝṇāṁ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.19.39; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa-ṭīkā: 16.270)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa answer’s Uddhava’s question, “What is wealth?”:] “Dharma is desirable wealth [i.e., not cows, horses, etc.].”
vidharmaḥ para-dharmaś ca ābhāsa upamā chalaḥ |
adharma-śākhāḥ pañcemā dharma-jño’dharmavat tyajet ||
dharma-bādho vidharmaḥ syāt para-dharmo’nya-coditaḥ |
upadharmas tu pākhaṇḍo dambho vā śabda-bhic chalaḥ ||
yas tv icchayā kṛtaḥ pumbhir ābhāso hy āśramāt pṛthak |
svabhāva-vihito dharmaḥ kasya neṣṭaḥ praśāntaye ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.12–14)
“Vidharma, para-dharma, ābhāsa, upamā (upadharma), and chala—a knower of dharma should avoid these five branches of adharma, which are indeed [also] adharma. That which [although performed with the idea that it is dharma in actuality] opposes dharma is vidharma [“contrary dharma”]. That which is enjoined for others is para-dharma [“another’s dharma”]. Heresy and pretension are upadharma [“apparent dharma”]. Distortion of [the intended meaning of] words [in śāstra] is chala [“deceit”]. That done by one’s own wish which is contrary to one’s āśrama is ābhāsa [“a semblance of dharma”]. For whom is the dharma enjoined by one’s svabhāva incapable of pacification [i.e., who will not find peace by adhering to their own dharma]?”
etad-artho hi loke’sminn avatāro mayā kṛtaḥ |
vadhyā me dharma-dhvajinas te hi pātakino’dhikāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.78.27)
[Balarāma speaking in reference to Romaharṣaṇa:] “The descent (avatāra) made by me into this world is indeed for this purpose: these dharma-flag-bearers [i.e., hypocrites, those who do not actually adhere to dharma but make a show as if they do for personal gain] are indeed the most sinful and fit to be killed by me.”
dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītaṁ
na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ |
na siddha-mukhyā asurā manuṣyāḥ
kuto nu vidyādhara-cāraṇādayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.3.19; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 110, 165)
“Indeed, neither the ṛṣis, nor even the devas, nor the principal siddhas understand the dharma directly enjoined by Bhagavān [alt., the dharma performed purely to attain Bhagavān], so how would asuras, human beings, vidyādharas, cāraṇas, and others [understand it]?”
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.”
vedo’khilo dharma-mūlaṁ smṛti-śīle ca tad-vidām |
ācāraś caiva sādhūnām ātmanas tuṣtir eva ca ||
(Manu-smṛti: 2.6; cited in the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā, and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.11.7 and Bhakti Sandarbha: 58)
“The basis of dharma is the entire Veda, the Smṛti [i.e., the Smṛti-śāstras] and the sensibility of those who known it [i.e., of those who know the Veda], the conduct of the sādhus [i.e., sadācāra], and satisfaction of [one’s own] mind.”
dharma-mūlaṁ hi bhagavān sarva-vedamayo hariḥ |
smṛtaṁ ca tad-vidāṁ rājan yena cātmā prasīdati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.11.7; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 58)
“O King, the basis of dharma [i.e., the pramāṇa, the means of knowing dharma], by which the ātmā [i.e., the mind] is satisfied, definitively is Bhagavān, Hari, the embodiment [i.e., the source] of all the Vedas, and that which is remembered by those who know him [i.e., the Smṛti-śāstras].”
tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hṛdi-sthaṁ kuru keśavam |
mriyamāṇo hy avahitas tato yāsi parāṁ gatim ||
mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ |
ātma-bhāvaṁ nayaty aṅga sarvātmā sarva-saṁśrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.49–50)
“Therefore, O King, with your whole being [i.e., with full endeavor], fix Keśava within the heart. By being [so] attentive while dying, you will attain the supreme destination. O King! Bhagavān, Puruṣottama, who is to be meditated upon by the dying, and is the Self of all and Shelter of all, leads [one] to bhāva of the ātmā [i.e., to the svarūpa (bhāva) of the jīva (ātmā), or, to prema (bhāva) for himself (Ātmā)].”
… kṛṣṇo vai dāma-bandhanāt |
goṣṭhe dāmodara iti gopībhiḥ parigīyate ||
(Hari-vaṁśa Purāṇa; cited in Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.10.17)
“Because of being bound by a rope [around the belly], Kṛṣṇa is sung of by the gopīs in Vraja as ‘Dāmodara’ [lit. “rope-belly”].”
tasmād vaco manaḥ prāṇān niyacchen mat-parāyaṇaḥ |
mad-bhakti-yuktayā buddhyā tataḥ parisamāpyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.16.44)
“Therefore, with the intellect fixed with bhakti [i.e., śraddhā] upon me, one whose ultimate shelter is me should control the speech, mind, and prāṇas. Then, he reaches success.”
