नैकात्मतां मे स्पृहयन्ति केचि-
न्मत्पादसेवाभिरता मदीहाः ।
येऽन्योन्यतो भागवताः प्रसज्य
सभाजयन्ते मम पौरुषाणि ॥
naikātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti kecin
mat-pāda-sevābhiratā mad-īhāḥ |
ye’nyonyato bhāgavatāḥ prasajya
sabhājayante mama pauruṣāṇi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.440; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.43 ; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.27; Bhakti Sandarbha: 340; Prīti Sandarbha: 21, 51, 73)
“Some bhāgavatas, who are deeply engaged in service to my feet, whose actions are for me, and who devoutly honor my feats, do not covet oneness with me.”
Alternate translation
“Some bhāgavatas, who are possessed of deep attachment to the service (sevā) of my feet, whose desire is for me, and who devoutly honor my feats, do not covet oneness with me.”
Commentary
The first translation is based on the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā and the second on the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā.
bhakter gariṣṭhatvam evopapādayati, naikātmatām iti pañcabhiḥ | ekātmatāṁ sāyujya-mokṣam | mad-artham īhā kriyā yeṣām | prasajyāsaktiṁ kṛtvā | pauruṣāṇi vīryāṇi |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“He [i.e., Bhagavān Kapila] shows bhakti’s superiority [to mokṣa] with five [verses]: [beginning with] naikātmatām …. ‘Oneness’ (ekātmatām) refers to sāyujya-mokṣa. Mad-īhāḥ means [they] whose actions (īhā) are for my sake. ‘Devoutly’ (prasyajya) means fostering attachment. ‘Feats’ (pauruṣāṇi) means heroic deeds.”
mokṣād api bhakter gariṣṭhatvam evopapādayati—naikātmatām iti | ekātmatāṁ sāyujya-mokṣam, pāda-sevābhiratatvam evāha—mad-īhā mad-artham eva īhāḥ śravaṇa-vāg-indriyādi-vyāpārā yeṣām | tām evābhivyañjayati—ye iti | prasajyāsaktiṁ kṛtvā pauruṣāṇi vīryāṇi sabhājayante śravaṇa-kīrtanādinā sammānayanti | prasajyety anena anyo’nya-prīti-hetuḥ pauruṣa-bhājanasya svābhāviko rasa-viśeṣo darśitaḥ, ata eva gariṣṭhatvaṁ siddham iti dik |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa)
“He [i.e., Bhagavān Kapila] shows bhakti’s superiority even to mokṣa: naikātmatām … [i.e., he states this verse]. ‘Oneness’ (ekātmatām) refers to sāyujya-mokṣa. He describes the nature of being ‘deeply engaged in service to [my] feet’ [by further qualifying the bhaktas being described in the verse as]: mad-īhāḥ, that is, [they] whose actions (īhā), that is, the functions of the senses and so forth, such as hearing and speech, are solely for my sake. He shows discloses them [i.e., their nature, further, by stating the second half of the verse]: ye …. ‘Devoutly’ (prasyajya), that is, fostering attachment, they ‘honor’ (sabhājayante) [my] ‘feats’ (pauruṣāṇi), that is, they offer homage to [my] heroic deeds by hearing [of them], praising [them], and so forth. By this [mention of] ‘devoutly honor my feats,’ a particular natural rasa of the vessel [i.e., agent] of the feats [viz., Bhagavān] which is a cause of mutual prīti [i.e., of prīti on the part of bhaktas for Bhagavān and on the part of Bhagavān for bhaktas] is shown. Thus, the superiority [of bhakti to mukti] is established. This is the direction.”
ekātmatāṁ sāyujya-mokṣam | mad-artham īhā kriyā yeṣāṁ te prasajya premṇā āsaktiṁ kṛtvā sabhājayante śravaṇādinā sammānayanti pauruṣāṇi vīryāṇīti |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.43)
“‘Oneness’ (ekātmatām) refers to sāyujya-mokṣa. They whose actions (īhā) are for my sake (mat) ‘devoutly’ (prasajya), that is, fostering attachment with prema, honor (sabhājayante), [my] ‘feats’ (pauruṣāṇi), that is, they offer homage to [my] heroic deeds by hearing [of them], praising [them], and so forth.”
nanu pūrvaṁ muktiḥ phalatvenoktā; kathaṁ tasyā garīyasītvam? tatrāha—naikātmatām ity ādi | kecid asādhāraṇa-bhakti-rasikāḥ | īhā abhilāṣaḥ | tasmād bhakty-ābhāsa eva pūrveṣāṁ jāyata iti bhāvaḥ |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“[An objection is raised:] ‘Well, previously mukti was described as being the result [of bhakti]. How [then] can it have superiority [to mukti]?’ To this, he speaks this verse (naikātmatām … ). ‘Some’ refers to extraordinary relishers of bhakti-rasa. Īhā means desire. Thus, arising of the former [i.e., mukti] occurs as a result of only a semblance of bhakti. This is the purport.”
ekātmatāṁ brahma-sāyujyaṁ bhagavat-sāyujyam api |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā)
“‘Oneness’ (ekātmatām) refers to Brahma-sāyujya and Bhagavat-sāyujya.”
lakṣaṇam uktvā udāharaṇam āha—saptabhis tatra prathamaṁ svābhāvikyā bhāva-bhakter udāharaṇaṁ caturbhir vadann evānimittety etat sa-hetukaṁ spaṣṭayati—neti | ekātmatāṁ brahmaikya-rūpāyai muktyai na spṛhayantīti siddheḥ sakāśād garīyastvam | nanu kena sukhena pūrṇās te brahma-sukhaṁ na rocayanti? tatrāha—mama pādayoḥ sarvendriyair yā sevā tasyām eva, na tu jñānādiṣu, abhi śāstrābhimukhyena ratā atyāsaktimantaḥ | anena bhakter bhagavad-viṣayatvaṁ sarvendriya-vṛtti-rūpatvaṁ karma-jñānādi-rāhityaṁ śāstrānusāritvaṁ svābhāvikatvaṁ coktam | mayy eva mat-saundarya-mādhuryādy-āsvādana eva īhā vāñchā yeṣāṁ te ity anyābhilāṣa-śūnyatvam | prasajyāsajya pauruṣāṇi govardhanoddharaṇādi-līlāmṛtāni sabhājayante sa-stutikam āsvādayanti | tena caraṇa-sevānandābhāvāt saundarya-saurabhyādy-anubhavābhāvāl līlāmṛtāsvādanābhāvāc ca brahma-sukhaṁ na rocayatīti muktāv aspṛhāyāṁ hetu-trayam uktam |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā; Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī-ṭīkā)
“Having stated the definition of bhakti to Bhagavān, he states an illustration with seven [verses]. Therein, he first states an illustration of bhāva-bhakti being ‘natural’ (svābhāvikī) with four [verses, stating with naikātmatāṁ …] and then clarifies this to be ‘causeless’ (animittā) with reasoning in na karhicin mat-parāḥ śānta-rūpe [i.e., SB 3.25.38 and onwards]. ‘Some do not covet “oneness” (ekātmatāṁ), that is, mukti in the form of oneness with Brahman.’ Thus, there is a superiority [of bhakti] in comparison to siddhi [i.e., mukti].
“[An objection is raised:] ‘Well, by what happiness are they who do not take pleasure in the happiness of Brahman fulfilled?’ To this, he says, [mat-pāda-sevābhiratā, that is, they are] possessed of exceeding attachment (rata) with attentiveness to śāstra (abhi) solely to service (sevā) with all the senses to my feet (mat-pada), and not, rather, to jñāna and so on. By this [description of bhaktas being mat-pāda-sevābhiratā], bhakti’s having Bhagavān for its object [rather than mukti], being a form of engagement of all the senses, being free from karma, jñāna, and so forth, being adherent to śāstra, and being natural are [all] stated. [Furthermore, bhaktas are mad-īhāḥ, which means] They whose desire (īhā) is solely for me, that is, solely for relishing my beauty, sweetness, and so forth. Thus, they have an absence of desire for anything else (anyābhilāṣa-śūnyatvam). They ‘devoutly’ (prasajya) that is, fostering attachment, honor (sabhājayante), that is, they relish and offer praises to, [my] ‘feats’ (pauruṣāṇi), that is, the nectars of [my] līlās, such as lifting Govardhana. Thus, they take no pleasure in the happiness of Brahman (1) because of the absence of the bliss of service to [my] feet, (2) because of the absence of experience of [my] beauty, aroma, and so forth, and (3) because of the absence of relishing the nectars of [my] līlās [therein]. Thus, three reasons for [their] not coveting mukti are stated.”