धर्म: प्रोज्झितकैतवोऽत्र परमो निर्मत्सराणां सतां
वेद्यं वास्तवमत्र वस्तु शिवदं तापत्रयोन्मूलनम् ।
श्रीमद्भागवते महामुनिकृते किं वा परैरीश्वर:
सद्यो हृद्यवरुध्यतेऽत्र कृतिभि: शुश्रूषुभिस्तत्क्षणात् ॥
dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ
vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam |
śrīmad-bhāgavate mahāmuni-kṛte kiṁ vāparair īśvaraḥ
sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.2; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.396; Tattva Sandarbha: 19, 26, 50; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 84; Paramātma Sandarbha: 106, Bhakti Sandarbha: 106, 115, 217; Prīti Sandarbha: 16, 18, 73; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā and Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.244)
“Here [i.e., in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam], for the sādhus who are free from envy, is the highest dharma wherein deceit is utterly rejected. Here is the Reality, the real object to be be known, which bestows the highest good and uproots the three miseries. What need is there of any other [śāstra] than this Śrīmad Bhāgavatam compiled by the best of the sages [i.e., Vedavyāsa]? [There is no such need because] Here Īśvara is bound within the heart by the fortunate who desire to serve immediately, from that [very] moment [they begin to listen].”
Commentary
idānīṁ śrotṛ-pravartanāya śrī-bhāgavatasya kāṇḍa-traya-viṣayebhyaḥ sarva-śāstrebhyaḥ śraiṣṭhyaṁ darśayati—dharma iti | atra śrīmati sundare bhāgavate paramo dharmo nirūpyate | paramatve hetuḥ | prakarṣeṇojjhitaṁ kaitavaṁ phalābhisandhi-lakṣaṇaṁ kapaṭaṁ yasmin saḥ | pra-śabdena mokṣābhisandhir api nirastaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“Now, for the purpose of inspiring listeners, he [i.e., the author, Śrī Vedavyāsa] shows the superiority of Śrī Bhāgavatam over all [other] śāstras the subjects of which are the three kāṇḍas [i.e., the three sections of the Vedas, viz., the karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, and upāsanā-kāṇḍa (syn., devatā-kāṇḍa)]: dharmaḥ … [i.e., he writes SB 1.1.2]. Here, in this beautiful (śrīmat) Bhāgavatam, the highest (paramaḥ) dharma is described. The cause in regard to [its] being the highest (parama) [is stated as follows]: [this Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is] that in which deceit (kaitavam), that is, duplicity in the form of the pursuit of [extraneous] results, is utterly (prakarṣeṇa) rejected (ujjhitam). Even the pursuit of mokṣa is repudiated by the prefix pra [“utterly” in the word projjhita, “utterly rejected”].”
atra yas tāvad dharmo nirūpyate sa khalu ‘sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje’ ity ādikayā, ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ | svānuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam ||’ ity antayā rītyā bhagavat-santoṣaṇaika-tātparyeṇa śuddha-bhakty-utpādakatayā nirūpaṇāt parama eva | yataḥ so’pi tad-eka-tātparyatvāt prakarṣeṇa ujjhitaṁ kaitavaṁ phalābhisandhi-laksaṇaṁ kapaṭaṁ yasmin tathābhūtaḥ | pra-śabdena sālokyādi-sarva-prakāra-mokṣābhisandhir api nirastaḥ |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 95)
“The dharma which is fundamentally described herein [i.e., in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] is verily the highest (paramaḥ) because of the description [of it herein] as being a producer of pure (śuddha) bhakti by virtue of [its] singular intent (tātparya) [being that] of Bhagavān’s satisfaction in accord with the method [described in the verses] beginning with sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo … [i.e., SB 1.2.6] and ending with ataḥ pumbhir … [i.e., SB 1.2.13] since it is also of such nature that within it deceit (kaitavam), meaning, duplicity in the form of the pursuit of [extraneous] results, is utterly (prakarṣeṇa) rejected (ujjhitam) on account of [its,meaning, this highest dharma’s] being possessed of singular intent upon that [i.e., Bhagavān’s satisfaction]. Even the pursuit of mokṣa of all types beginning with sālokya is repudiated by the prefix pra [“utterly” in the word projjhita, “utterly rejected”].
atra kim anuṣṭheyam ity apekṣāyām āha dharma iti | prakarṣeṇa ujjhitaṁ kaitavaṁ phalābhisandhi-lakṣaṇaṁ kapaṭaṁ yasmin sa iti sakāma-karma-yogo vyāvṛttaḥ | pra-śabdena mokṣābhisandhir api nirasta iti | niṣkāma-karma-śama-damādy-aṅga-jñāna-yogāṣṭāṅga-yogāś ca vyāvṛttāḥ | parama iti sarva-śreṣṭhatvena sarva-sukaratvena phala-prāptāv apy aheyatvena ca śuddha-bhakti-yoga eva ukta ity abhidheya-tattvaṁ viśiṣya darśitam |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“In expectation of [the question], ‘What is [the action enjoined] to be performed here [i.e., in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam]?’ he [i.e., Vedavyāsa] says dharmaḥ … [i.e., he writes the first line of the verse]. [Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is] That in which deceit (kaitavam), meaning, duplicity in the form of the pursuit of [extraneous] results, is utterly (prakarṣeṇa) rejected (ujjhitam). Thus, sakāma-karma-yoga [i.e., karma-yoga performed with desire to attain from the practice a particular result for oneself] is excluded [from being the enjoined practice taught in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam]. Even the pursuit of mokṣa is repudiated by the prefix pra [‘utterly’ in the word projjhita, ‘utterly rejected’]. Thus, jñāna-yoga and aṣṭāṅga-yoga, the limbs of which are desireless action (niṣkāma karma), mental control, sensory control, and so forth, are excluded [from being the enjoined practice taught in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam]. Because of [the word] “highest” (parama), only pure (śuddha) bhakti-yoga is stated [to be the enjoined practice taught in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] because of [pure bhakti-yoga’s] being the best of all [forms of yoga], [its] being the most easy to perform of all [forms of yoga], and [its] being indispensable [i.e., still purposeful to perform] even after attainment of the result [of performing it, viz., prema-bhakti]. Thus, the abhidheya-tattva [of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] is distinguished and shown [in this verse].”