दुर्लभो मानुषो देहो देहिनां क्षणभङ्गुर: ।
तत्रापि दुर्लभं मन्ये वैकुण्ठप्रियदर्शनम् ॥
durlabho mānuṣo deho dehināṁ kṣaṇa-bhaṅguraḥ |
tatrāpi durlabhaṁ manye vaikuṇṭha-priya-darśanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.29; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.289)
“Precious is the human body, [although] perishable within a moment, for bearers of bodies [i.e., jīvas subject to saṁsāra], and I consider even more precious the darśana of those who are dear to Vaikuṇṭha [i.e., Bhagavān, alt., those to whom Vaikuṇṭha is dear].”
Commentary
bahavo dehā bhavanti yeṣāṁ te dehino jīvāḥ | teṣāṁ kṣaṇa-bhaṅguro’pi maṇuṣo deho durlabhaḥ, parama-puruṣārtha-sādhanatvāt | vaikuṇṭhaḥ priyo yeṣāṁ, vaikuṇṭhasya vā priyās teṣāṁ darśanam api, kim uta saṅgādikam |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa)
“Precious is the human body, although perishable in a moment, for those who have had numerous bodies, that is, jīvas, because of [its] being the means to the supreme puruṣārtha. Darśana of those to whom Vaikuṇṭha dear, or, those who are dear to Vaikuṇṭha, is even more so, so what then of association and so forth [with those great souls]?”
ato’dya mayā sva-bhāgyam eva pratyakṣīkṛtam ity āha—durlabho mokṣa-sādhanatvāt | tatrāpīti vaikuṇṭha-priyāṇāṁ mokṣād apy adhikasya bhakti-yogasya pradāyakatvāt |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“‘Thus today, my own good fortune has been directly perceived by me.’ Thus, he [i.e., Mahārāja Nimi] speaks [this verse]. ‘Precious’ is [said] because of [its] being a means to mokṣa. ‘Even more so’ (tatrāpi) is [said] because of those who are dear to Vaikuṇṭha being bestowers of that which is greater than even mokṣa, that is, of bhakti-yoga.”