मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु ।
मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे ॥
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru |
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo’si me ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 18.65)
“Be of mind fixed on me, [be] my bhakta, [be] my worshipper. Offer obeisance to me. You will come to me alone. Truly, I promise you this, for you are dear to me.”
Alternate translation:
“Be of mind fixed on me, [be] my bhakta, [be] my worshipper. Offer obeisance to me. You will come to me alone I promise. I make an oath to you, for you are dear to me.”
Commentary
tad evāha—man-manā iti | man-manā mac-citto bhava | mad-bhakto mad-bhajana-śīlo bhava | mad-yājī mad-yajana-śīlo bhava | mām eva namaskuru | evaṁ vartamānas tvaṁ mat-prasādāt labdha-jñānena mām evaiṣyasi prāpsyasi | atra ca saṁśayaṁ mā kārṣīḥ | tvaṁ hi me priyo’si | atha satyaṁ yathā bhavaty evaṁ tubhyam ahaṁ pratijāne pratijñāṁ karomi |
(Subodhinī-ṭīkā)
“He states that [i.e., his supreme, most confidential advice] specifically: man-manā … [i.e., he speaks this verse]. Be (bhava) of mind fixed on me (man-manā), that is, of thought [alt., heart] fixed upon me. Be (bhava) my bhakta, that is, one whose conduct [alt., nature] is service (bhajana) to me. Be (bhava) my worshipper, that is, one whose conduct [alt., nature] is worship of me. Offer obeisance to me alone. Living in this way, you will come (eṣyasi), that is, you will attain, me alone by means of the knowledge attained by my grace. And in this regard, do not foster any doubt, for you are dear to me. Thus, truly (satyam), as it is, I promise (pratijāne) you [that you will attain me by following the supreme advice I have given you and am now giving you again].”
‘man-manā bhava’ iti mad-bhaktaḥ sann eva māṁ cintaya, na tu jñānī yogī vā bhūtvā mad-dhyānaṁ kurv ity arthaḥ | yad vā, ‘man-manā bhava’ mahyaṁ śyāmasundarāya susnigdhākuñcita-kuntalakāya sundara-bhrū-valli-madhura-kṛpā-kaṭākṣāmṛta-varṣi-vadana-candrāya svīyaṁ deyatvena mano yasya tathābhūto bhava | athavā śrotrādīndriyāṇi dehīty āha—‘mad-bhakto bhava’, śravaṇa-kīrtana-man-mūrti-darśana-man-mandira-mārjana-lepana-puspāharaṇa-man-mālālaṅkāra-cchatra-cāmarādibhiḥ sarvendriya-karaṇakaṁ mad-bhajanaṁ kuru | athavā mahyaṁ gandha-puṣpa-dhūpa-dīpa-naivedyāni dehīty āha—‘mad-yājī bhava’, mat-pūjanaṁ kuru | athavā mahyaṁ namaskāra-mātraṁ dehīty āha—‘māṁ namaskuru’ bhūmau nipatya aṣṭāṅgaṁ pañcāṅgaṁ vā praṇāmaṁ kuru | eṣāṁ caturṇāṁ mac-cintana-sevana-pūjana-praṇāmāṇāṁ samuccayam ekataraṁ vā tvaṁ kuru | mām evaiṣyasi prāpsyasi, manaḥ-pradānaṁ śrotrādīndriya-pradānaṁ gandha-puṣpādi-pradānaṁ vā tvaṁ kuru, tubhyam aham ātmānam eva dāsyāmīti satyaṁ, te tavaiva nātra saṁśayiṣṭhā iti bhāvaḥ | ‘satyaṁ śapatha-tathyayoḥ’ ity amaraḥ | nanu māthura-deśodbhūtā lokāḥ prativākyam eva śapathaṁ kurvanti satyaṁ, tarhi pratijāne pratijñāṁ kṛtvā bravīmi—tvaṁ me priyo’si, na hi priyaṁ ko’pi vañcayatīti bhāvaḥ |
(Sārārtha-varṣinī-ṭīkā)
“‘Be of mind fixed on me’ (man-manā bhava) means being [first of all] solely my bhakta, think of me, and not, rather, having become a jñānī or a yogī, perform meditation on me. This is the meaning. Alternately, ‘Be of mind fixed on me’ (man-manā bhava) means be one whose mind is one’s own gift to me, Śyāmasundara, who am possessed of finely glistening wavy locks and a moon face that showers the nectar of sweet, side-long glances of grace in the midst of the creepers of my beautiful brows. Alternately, give [your] senses of hearing and so forth [to me]. Thus, he says, ‘Be my bhakta’ (mad-bhakto bhava), that is, perform service (bhajana) to me with all the senses by means of hearing [about me], praising [me], beholding my figure, cleaning my abode, anointing [me], collecting flowers [for me], and [offering me] garlands, ornaments, parasols, cāmaras, and so on. Alternately, give me fragrances, flowers, incense, lamps, and foods. Thus, he says, ‘Be my worshipper’ (mad-yājī bhava), that is, perform worship of me. Alternately, give me obeisances alone. Thus, he says, ‘Offer obeisance to me’ (māṁ namaskuru), that is, falling to the ground, offer an eight-limb or five-limb obeisance. Of these four—thinking of me, serving [me], worshiping [me], and offering obeisance [to me]—you should perform all or one of them. You will come to, that is, attain, me alone. You should make an offering of [your] mind, an offering of your senses beginning with [that of] hearing, or an offering of fragrances, flowers, and so on, and I will give my very self to you. I promise this to you. Have no doubt in this regard. This is the purport, as [the word] satyam means a promise (śapatha) or truth according to Amara [i.e., the Amara-kośa].
“[Still, a doubt is raised:] ‘Well, people born in the region of Mathurā make promises in every single sentence [i.e., their promises are not so reliable].’ [To that, he replies:] ‘True. Therefore, taking an oath (pratijāne), I say, ‘You are dear to me, and no one cheats one who is dear.’ This is the purport.”
etad-vacaḥ prāha—‘man-manā bhava’ iti | vyākhyātaṁ prāk, man-manastvādi-viśiṣṭo mām eva nīlotpala-śyāmalatvādi-guṇakaṁ tvad-atipriyam devakī-nandanaṁ kṛṣṇam eva manuṣya-sanniveśitam eṣyasi | na tu mama rūpāntaraṁ sahasra-śīrṣatvādi-lakṣaṇam aṅguṣṭha-mātram antaryāmiṇaṁ vā nṛsiṁha-varāhādi-lakṣaṇaṁ vety arthaḥ | tubhyam aham ātmānam eva tvat-sakhaṁ dāsyāmīti te tava satyaṁ śapathaḥ ‘satyaṁ śapatha-tathyayoḥ’ iti nānārtha-vargaḥ | atra na saṁśayiṣṭhā iti bhāvaḥ | nanu māthuratvāt tava śapatha-karaṇād api me na saṁśaya-vināśas tatrāha pratijāne pratijñāṁ kṛtvāham abruvam, yat tvaṁ me priyo’si, snigdha-manasā hi māthurāḥ priyaṁ na pratārayanti, kiṁ punaḥ preṣṭham iti bhāvaḥ | yasya mayy atiprītis tasmin mamāpi tathā | tad-viyogaṁ soḍhum ahaṁ na śaknomīti pūrvam eva mayoktaṁ priyo hi ityādinā | tasmān mad-vāci viśvasihi mām eva prāpsyasi ||
(Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā)
“He declares this advice: man-manā bhava … [i.e., he speaks this verse]. This [statement] was explained previously [in the commentary on BG 9.34]. Being one possessed of having fixed the mind on me and so forth [as described in BG 9.34 and here in BG 18.65], you will come to me alone—Kṛṣṇa specifically, the Son of Devakī, who is situated in human form, exceedingly dear to you, and possessed of the qualities of being swarthy like a blue lily and so forth—and not, rather, another form of mine, such as that characterized by having thousands heads and so on, or the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī) only a thumb [in height], or those known as Nṛsiṁa, Varāha, and so on. This is the meaning. I, your friend, will give my very self to you. To you (te), this is my promise (satyam), as [the word] satyam means a promise (śapatha) or truth according to the Nānārtha-varga [i.e., the section on polysemic words in the Amara-kośa]. Have no doubt in this regard is the purport.
“[Still, a doubt is raised:] ‘Well, destruction of my doubt does not occur even by your making a promise because of [your] being from Mathurā.’ To this, he says, ‘I am speaking having taken an oath (pratijāne) since you are dear to me, and people from Mathurā, who are of tender mind, do not cheat one who is dear, much less one who is most dear [like you]. This is the purport. For one who has great love (prīti) for me, so too do I [have great love (prīti) for him]. I am unable to tolerate separation from him, and thus previously it was stated by me [in BG 7.17], ‘I am extremely dear to the jñānī, and he is dear to me.’ Therefore, trust my words: you will attain me alone.”