सर्वप्रपञ्चातीतानां तेषां वैकुण्ठवासिनाम् ।
तस्य वैकुण्ठलोकस्य तस्य तन्नायकस्य च ॥
तानि माहात्म्यजातानि प्रपञ्चान्तर्गतैः किल ।
दृष्टान्तैर्नोपयुज्यन्ते न शक्यन्ते च भाषितुम् ॥
तथापि भवतो ब्रह्मन् प्रपञ्चान्तर्गतस्य हि ।
प्रपञ्चपरिवारान्तर्दृष्टिगर्भितचेतसः ॥
तद्दृष्टान्तकुलेनैव तत्तत्स्याद्बोधितं सुखम् ।
तथेत्युच्येत यत्किञ्चित्तदागः क्षमतां हरिः ॥
sarva-prapañcātītānāṁ teṣāṁ vaikuṇṭha-vāsinām |
tasya vaikuṇṭha-lokasya tasya tan-nāyakasya ca ||
tāni māhātmya-jātāni prapañcāntargataiḥ kila |
dṛṣṭāntair nopayujyante na śakyante ca bhāṣitum ||
tathāpi bhavato brahman prapañcāntargatasya hi |
prapañca-parivārāntardṛṣṭi-garbhita-cetasaḥ ||
tad-dṛṣṭānta-kulenaiva tat tat syād bodhitaṁ sukham |
tathety ucyeta yat kiñcit tad-āgaḥ kṣamatāṁ hariḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.4.40–43)
“The greatnesses of the residents of Vaikuṇṭha beyond the entire phenomenal world, of Vaikuṇṭhaloka, and of its master [i.e., Vaikuṇṭhanātha, who like Vaikuṇṭhaloka and its residents is so also beyond the entire phenomenal world] are certainly not fit, and not able, to be described with examples from within the phenomenal world. Still, O brāhmaṇa, for you who are within the phenomenal world and the inner vision [i.e., awareness] of whose mind is filled with the coverings of the phenomenal world, those [greatnesses] can be easily made known only through such examples [i.e., examples drawn from the phenomenal world]. ‘It may be said to be such.’ May Hari forgive the offense of whatever may be said as such [i.e., whatever may be said of those greatnesses by means of stating examples drawn from the phenomenal world, such as, ‘He [i.e., Bhagavān] is like an emperor’].”
Commentary
laukika-dṛṣṭāntopanyāsena aparādhād bibhyad bhagavantaṁ prārthayate … | … tāni māhātmya-jātāni svābhāvika-mahima-vṛndāni prapañcāntargatair dṛṣṭāntair bhāṣituṁ nirūpayituṁ nopayujyante, paramāsadṛśatvāt | bhāṣituṁ na śakyante ca samyag-bodhana-sāmarthyābhāvād … |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Fearing [he has made an] offence because of using worldly examples [to describe the greatness of Vaikuṇṭha and so forth], he prays to Bhagavān [for forgiveness]. … The greatnesses, that is, the natural glories [of Vaikuṇṭha, its residents, and its master] are not fit to be described, that is, characterized, with examples from within the phenomenal world because of the great dissimilarity [between Vaikuṇṭha and the phenomenal world], and are not able to be described [by them] because they lack the ability to fully convey [the greatnesses of Vaikuṇṭha].”