किं वर्णये तव विभो यदुदीरितोऽसु:
संस्पन्दते तमनु वाङ्मनइन्द्रियाणि ।
स्पन्दन्ति वै तनुभृतामजशर्वयोश्च
स्वस्याप्यथापि भजतामसि भावबन्धु: ॥
kiṁ varṇaye tava vibho yad-udīrito’suḥ
saṁspandate tam anu vāṅ-mana-indriyāṇi |
spandanti vai tanu-bhṛtām aja-śarvayoś ca
svasyāpy athāpi bhajatām asi bhāva-bandhuḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.8.40)
“O Vibhu [i.e., O omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal Master], how can I describe you? The prāṇa [i.e., vital air] of all embodied beings, of Brahmā and Śiva, and of myself as well, moves propelled by you, and following that [prāṇa], the speech, the mind, and the senses [of all] attain functionality. Still, you are the bhāva-bandhu [i.e., the affectionate friend, by virtue of bhāva,] of those who serve [you].”
Commentary
antaryāmiṇas tasyaiva prāṇādi-pravartakatvād ātmanaḥ stutāv asvātantryaṁ paśyann āha, kimiti | … evaṁ yady api na kasyāpi svātantryam athāpi dāru-yantra-vat tvat-pravartitair api vāg-ādibhir bhajatāṁ puṁsāṁ bhāva-bandhur ātma-bandhur asi, na tu pitrādi-vad deha-mātra-bandhuḥ | aho kṛpālutā tavety arthaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“Seeing an absence of independence [even] in his own praising [of Bhagavān] on account of the internal regulator’s, that is, his [i.e., Bhagavān’s], being the impeller of the prāṇas and so forth [of all living beings], the speaker [i.e., Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi] speaks this verse (kim …). … Thus, although no one has independence [from you], still of persons who engage in service [to you] even with speech and so forth impelled by you like a wooden puppet, you are the bhāva-bandhu, that is, the ātmā-bandhu [i.e., the affectionate friend of their very self], and not, rather, the bandhu only of their body, like a father and so forth. Aho! Your graciousness! This is the meaning.”
he vibho! tava kim ahaṁ varṇaye? tvat-kṛpālutāyāḥ kiyantam aṁśaṁ varṇayeyam ity arthaḥ | … evaṁ yadyapi na kvacid api kasyāpi svātantryam, tathāpi dāru-yantravat tvat-pravartitair api vāgādibhir bhajatāṁ puṁsāṁ bhāvena svadattayaiva prema-bhaktyā bandhuḥ snigdho’sīti |
(Excerpt from the Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā; Bhakti Sandarbha: 144)
“O Vibhu! How can I describe you? How can I describe even a minute fraction of your graciousness? This is the meaning. … Although in this way [i.e., since you are the underlying cause of the functioning of everyone’s prāṇa, mind, senses, speech, and so forth] no one anywhere has independence [from you, Bhagavān], still, you are the bandhu, that is, affectionate friend, of persons who engage in service [to you], even with speech and so forth impelled by you like a wooden puppet, by virtue of bhāva, that is, by virtue of the prema-bhakti bestowed by you yourself [upon them, which they then express back to you and thereby compel you to act as their friend].”
yadyapy evaṁ tathāpi bhajatāṁ janānāṁ bhāvena premnā bandhur bandhur iva vaśyo’si | prāṇa-buddhīndriyādibhis tvam eva sva-bhajanaṁ kārayasi punas tādṛśa-bhajanasya pratyupakāre’samartho ṛṇīva bhūtvā tat-prema-vaśyo bhavasīty adbhutaṁ tava kṛpā-vaibhavam iti bhāvaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Although you are such [i.e., although you are the underlying cause of the functioning of everyone’s prāṇa, mind, senses, speech, and so forth], still of persons who engage in service [to you], you are the bandhu, that is, you are captivated [by them] like a bandhu, by virtue of bhāva, that is, prema [i.e., the prema they express to you]. You yourself cause worship of yourself with [their] prāṇas, intellects, senses, and so forth, and then you become unable, like a debtor, to remunerate such worship [which they offer you] and so become captivated by their prema. Thus the greatness of your grace is astonishing. This is the purport.”