कालेन नष्टा प्रलये वाणीयं वेदसंज्ञिता ।
मयादौ ब्रह्मणे प्रोक्ता धर्मो यस्यां मदात्मकः ॥
kālena naṣṭā pralaye vāṇīyaṁ veda-saṁjñitā |
mayādau brahmaṇe proktā dharmo yasyāṁ mad-ātmakaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.3; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 76)
“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] This speech known as the Veda [which is] lost because of time [and] in the dissolution [of the universe] in which dharma based of me is present was dictated to Brahmā by me at the beginning [of the universe’s emanation following its prior dissolution].”
Commentary
tatra bhaktir eva mahāphalatvena mukhyā | anyāni tu sva-sva-prakṛty-anusāreṇa puṣpa-sthānīya-svargādi-phala-buddhibhiḥ praṇibhiḥ prādhānyena parikalpitāni kṣullaka-phalānīti vivektuṁ prakṛty-anusāreṇa bahudhā vedārtha-pratipattim āha—kāleneti saptabhiḥ | mad-ātmakaḥ mayy evātmā cittaṁ yena saḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“In this regard [i.e., in regard to the question raised in SB 11.14.1 as to which is the best of all means of benefit (śreyas)], bhakti alone is the primary one because of [bhakti itself’s] being the supreme attainment. Others, on the contrary, are meager attainments that are imagined to be pre-eminent by living beings whose minds according to their own respective natures are [focused] on the attainments of Svarga and the like, which are comparable to flowers [i.e., which are pleasant yet ephemeral and devoid absolute value]. To discern this, he [viz., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] describes determination of the meaning of the Vedas in various ways according to [various individuals’ respective] natures with the seven [verses]: kālena … [i.e., he speaks SB 11.14.3–9]. ‘Based of me’ (mad-ātmakaḥ) means that by which the mind (ātmā) remains upon me alone.”
kāleneti sārdhakam | taiḥ | kālena naṣṭā, tatrāpi pralaye kalpānte, bahudhā naṣṭety arthaḥ | iyam iti ‘bhavatā’ ity-ādinā yathā bhavatānūdyate, tathā nirūpikety arthaḥ | etena jñānādikaṁ jñānādi-miśratvaṁ mad-āveśānya-phalatvaṁ ca na man-matam iti bodhitam | ādau brāhma-kalpādau | mad-ātmako mat-svarūpa-bhūtaḥ hlādinī-sāra-rūpatvāt |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“Kālena … [i.e., this verse] is joined by the [following] half [verse]. According to him [i.e., the verse is to be understood as it has been explained by Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda]. ‘Lost because of time’ (kālena naṣṭā), and moreover in that regard, in the dissolution at the end of the epoch (kalpa) [in the sense]; [thus,] lost in multiple ways is the meaning. Regarding [Śrī Bhagavān’s use of the word] ‘this’ (iyam), ‘As [it is] reiterated by you, so it is determined’ is the meaning in accord with bhavatā … [i.e., in accord with the statement made by Uddhava in the previous verse, SB 11.14.2, ‘O Svāmī, non-desirous practice (yoga) of bhakti, by which attachment is dispelled in entirety and the mind is absorbed in you, has been proclaimed by you;’ this is to say, the use in SB 11.4.3 of the demonstrative pronoun ‘this‘ (iyam) for the purpose of referring specifically to the non-desirous practice of bhakti that Uddhava mentioned in the previous verse]. By this it is understood that jñāna and so forth, as well as [bhakti’s] being mixed with jñāna and so forth, the results of all of which are distinct from absorption in me, are not esteemed by me. ‘At the beginning’ (ādau) means at the beginning of the epoch (kalpa) related to Brahmā. ‘Based on me’ (mad-ātmakaḥ) means manifested from my essential nature (svarūpa) because of [this dharma‘s, that is, the practice (yoga) of bhakti’s] being manifested from the essence of [the functional mode (vṛtti) of my svarūpa-śakti known as] hlādinī.”
bho uddhava! sarva-matāni vedād evotthitāni | tasya tasya vedasya tu mad-bhakti-yoga eva tātparyam ity āha—kāleneti | mad-ātmakaḥ mat-svarūpa-bhūtaḥ, bhakti-yogasya hlādinī-sāra-bhūtatvāt | yad vā mayy eva ātmā cittaṁ yataś cittasya mad-āviṣṭatā mad-bhaktyaiva bhavet | ‘bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ’ iti mad-vacanād bhaktyaivāham indriyair grahītuṁ śakyo nānyatheti tatrārtho draṣṭavyaḥ | brahma-vādibhir uktānāṁ mad-bhakti-yogād anyeṣāṁ śreyasāṁ mat-prāpakatvābhāvāt śreyastvam evaṁ vastuto nāstīty atas teṣāṁ vikalpataḥ prādhānyena, ekasya mukhyatvena vā jijñāsyena tava kiṁ prayojanam? iti bhāvaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“O Uddhava! All views are arisen only from the Veda. Only the practice (yoga) of bhakti to me, however, is the purport (tātparya) of the various Vedas. Thus, he says kālena … [i.e., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaks SB 11.14.3]. ‘Based of me’ (mad-ātmakaḥ) means manifested from my essential nature (svarūpa) because of the practice (yoga) of bhakti’s being manifested from the essence of [the functional mode (vṛtti) of my svarūpa-śakti known as] hlādinī. Alternately, [‘based of me’ (mad-ātmakaḥ) means] that by which the mind (ātmā) remains upon me alone since absorption in me of the mind shall come about only by means of bhakti to me. As per my statement [in SB 11.14.21], ‘I am attainable by means of one-pointed bhakti,’ I am able to be grasped by the senses only by means of bhakti, and not otherwise. Thus, in this regard this meaning is to be observed [i.e., thus the second interpretation of the compound ‘based of me’ (mad-ātmakaḥ) is fit to be considered here; this is to say, thus Śrī Cakravartīpāda considers that Śrī Svāmīpāda’s interpretation stands even though Śrī Jīvapāda offered an alternate interpretation]. Because of the non-existence of means of benefit (śreyas) stated by Brahmavādīs [i.e., expounders of the Vedas] other than the practice (yoga) of bhakti to me being causative of attaining me, there is no actual state of [their] being means of benefit (śreyas) [i.e., actually there is no means of benefit (śreyas) other than bhakti even though jñāna, karma, and so forth are conventionally said and thought to be means of benefit (śreyas)]. Therefore, [in reply to your question in SB 11.14.1] what need is there for you of their [i.e., those various means of benefit] being a principal object of inquiry as a result of irresolution, or of one [of them] being a primary [object of inquiry]? [There is none, since simply bhakti is the only true means of benefit and you already as understand that, since you have stated such in the previous verse]. This is the purport.”