स्वदयितनिजभावं यो विभाव्य स्वभावा-
त्सुमधुरमवतीर्णो भक्तरूपेन लोभात् ।
जयति कनकधामा कृष्णचैतन्यनामा
हरिरिह यतिवेशः श्रीशचीसूनुरेषः ॥
sva-dayita-nija-bhāvaṁ yo vibhāvya sva-bhāvāt
sumadhuram avatīrṇo bhakta-rūpena lobhāt |
jayati kanaka-dhāmā kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmā
harir iha yati-veśaḥ śrī-śacī-sūnur eṣaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3)
“Bearing a golden luster,
The name Kṛṣṇa Caitanya,
And the garb of an ascetic,
He who has descended here [amongst us]
With the form of a bhakta
Out of intense desire
After reflecting on the fine sweetness
Of the bhāva for himself
Of his own beloveds
In comparison to his own bhāva [for them]—
[He,] Hari, the Son of Śrī Śacī,
Triumphs!”
Commentary
nanu kathaṁ tarhi tad varṇayitum upakramyate? ity ukta-rītyaiva punar āśaṅkya tatra ca pūrvoktam evottaram abhipretya nikhila-dīna-hīna-janaikoddhārakasya nija-nāma-saṅkīrtana-prāya-bhakti-rasa-vistārakasya śrī-bhagavat-priyatamāvatārasya parama-mahāguroḥ śrī-caitanya-devasya prasāda-prāptaye tasya paramotkarṣam āha—sva-dayiteti |
“Expecting again in the [afore] stated manner [the question], ‘Well, how then is one to [even] begin to describe that [prema of Bhagavān and the gopīs for one another, when it has just been stated that even Hari himself cannot describe it]?’ And in regard [to this question] referring [back] to the aforementioned answer [which was given in BB 1.1.1 as to how that prema can become describable by virtue of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s descent as Śrī Caitanya], for the sake of attaining the grace of Śrī Caitanyadeva—the foremost deliverer of all distressed and lowly persons, the distributor of bhakti-rasa primarily through saṅkīrtana of his own name, the avatāra of Śrī Bhagavān’s dearmost [bhakta, i.e., Śrī Rādhikā], and the supremely paramount guru—the author describes his [i.e., Śrī Caitanya’s] supreme excellence with this verse (sva-dayita …).
svasya harer bhāvaḥ nija-bhakta-janeṣu yaḥ premā, tasmāt sakāśāt sva-dayitānāṁ nija-bhaktānāṁ bhāvaṁ svasmin asādhāraṇa-premāṇaṁ sumadhuraṁ paramotkṛṣṭaṁ vibhāvya ālocya tādṛśa-bhāve lobhād dhetoḥ yo bhakta-rūpeṇa priya-sevaka-svarūpeṇāvatīrṇaḥ iha bhū-loke gauḍe navadvīpe, sa śacī-sūnur harir jayati |
“After reflecting on (vibhāvya), that is, considering, the fine sweetness (sumadhuraṁ), that is, the supreme excellence, of the bhāva—the extraordinary prema—for himself (nija) of his beloveds (sva-dayita), that is, his own bhaktas, in comparison to the bhāva (bhāvāt), that is, prema, of himself (sva), Hari, for his own bhaktas, he who (yaḥ) has descended (avatīrṇaḥ) here (iha), that is, on the earth (bhū-loka) in Navadvīpa in Gauḍa, with the form of a bhakta (bhakta-rūpena), that is, with the nature of a dear servant [of himself] out of, that is, because of, intense desire (lobhāt), for such bhāva [i.e., for experience of the bhāva that his bhaktas, and specifically the gopīs, hold at heart for him]—[he,] Hari, the Son of Śacī, triumphs!
kathambhūtaḥ? kanakavad dhāma kāntir yasya saḥ, gaurāṅga-sundara ity arthaḥ | eṣa iti sākṣād-anubhūtatāṁ tadānīṁ tasya vartamānatāṁ ca bodhayati | evaṁ purā yat svayaṁ harir nirvaktuṁ na śaśāka, adhunā bhakta-rūpāvatāre’smin svānām anubhava-padam api prāpayāmāsa ity asyāvatārasya mahān utkarṣaḥ siddhaḥ |
“Of what nature [is he]? [He is described as] He whose luster (dhāma) resembles gold, meaning, [he] who is of beautiful golden figure (gaurāṅga-sundara). ‘He’ (eṣa) [lit., ‘this (person),’ i.e., the usage of the pronoun for a referent that is in one’s immediate midst] conveys [his] being directly experienced [by the author] and his being present then [as the author writes]. In this way, that which previously Hari himself could not describe [i.e., the prema of Hari and the gopīs for one another], now, in this avatāra [of his] in the form of a bhakta, has been brought even to the position of experience (anubhava-padam) of those who are his own [i.e., his bhaktas, meaning, not only has he himself now come to experience this in full but he has enabled those who have taken shelter in him to have direct personal experience of it as well]. Thus the great excellence of his avatāra is established.
kiṁ ca, nirapekṣaṁ muniṁ śāntaṁ nirvairaṁ sama-darśanam | anuvrajāmy ahaṁ nityaṁ pūyeyety aṅghri-reṇubhiḥ || ity-ādi-vacanaiḥ svasmād api sva-bhaktānām utkarṣaṁ śrī-bhagavān svayaṁ sarvatra yat pratipādayati, tac ca vyaktībhūtam | tathā pūrva-śloka-varti nitarām ity asyāpy ukto’rthaḥ susaṅgataḥ |
“Furthermore, as per statements such as [SB 11.14.16], ‘I [i.e., Kṛṣṇa] always follow one who is indifferent [i.e., a bhakta who is disinterested in the mundane], thoughtful [i.e., absorbed in thought of me], peaceful, free from enmity, and of equal vision, so that I may be purified by the dust of his feet,’ that Śrī Bhagavān himself everywhere establishes the excellence of his bhaktas even above [that of] himself is also shown [by his avatāra as Śrī Caitanya]. Thus, the stated meaning of this [word] ‘eternally’ (nitarām) present in the previous verse too is most appropriate [i.e., it was very rightly stated that the gopīs led by Śrī Rādhikā triumph “eternally,” since Bhagavān himself in his form as Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his form as Śrī Caitanya has proclaimed that the gopīs’ greatness, and specifically their prema, exceeds that of his own and he himself seeks to adopt their bhāva and experience their prema].
pakṣe ca bhaktaḥ sva-priya-bhṛtyo yo rūpaḥ karṇāṭa-deśa-vikhyāta-vipra-kulācārya-śrī-jagad-guru-vaṁśa-jāta-śrī-kumārātmajo gauḍa-deśīya-śrī-rūpa-nāmā vaiṣṇava-varaḥ, tena sahety arthaḥ |
“Also, from another perspective [in regard to the compound bhakta-rūpena], ‘With he who is the bhakta, that is, the dear servant of himself [i.e., of Hari], [named] Rūpa, that is, the exalted Vaiṣṇava named Śrī Rūpa of the land of Gauḍa, the son of Śrī Kumāra born in the renowned family of brāhmaṇa-class ācāryas and śrī-jagad-gurus of the land of Karnataka’ is the meaning.
tataś ca prasaṅga-sāmarthyād yati-veśa ity-ādi-viśeṣaṇa-vaśād bhakta-rūpa evāvatīrṇa iti bodhavyam | yataḥ sannyāsi-vara-veśa-dhāriṇaḥ śrī-śacī-nandanasya sva-bhakti-rasa-vistāraṇārthaṁ bhaktavat svayam eva kriyamāṇaṁ nāma-saṅkīrtana-vandanādikaṁ bhaktatāṁ prathayaty eva, parama-durlabhatara-bhagavat-prema-bhakteḥ kalau sarvatra vistāraṇādikaṁ ca bhagavad-avatāratām iti dik |
“Furthermore, on account of the modifiers (viśeṣaṇas) such as “the garb of an ascetic” (yati-veśa) [being used] on the basis of circumstance, he [i.e., Hari] descended only in the form of a bhakta [i.e., only Hari’s manifesting in the form of a bhakta is to be considered intrinsic to Hari’s purpose for his avatāra as the Son of Śrī Śacī; his observing the duties of sannyāsī and adopting the name ‘Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’ are to be considered incidental]. This is to be understood, since, bearing the garb of an exalted sannyāsī, the Son of Śrī Śacī’s personally performing nāma-saṅkīrtana, obeisances, and so forth like a bhakta for the sake of spreading the rasa of bhakti for himself certainly make known [his] being a bhakta, and [his] spreading and so forth of the most greatly difficult to attain prema-bhakti for Bhagavān [i.e., the prema that the gopīs of Vraja have for him] everywhere in [the Age of] Kali also [make known his] being an avatāra of Bhagavān [i.e., because his actions themselves fully establish his nature of being both Bhagavān and a bhakta, his name and his dress need not be considered inherent distinguishing characteristics of his avatāra as the Son of Śrī Śacī]. This is the direction.
tad uktaṁ śrī-sārvabhauma-bhaṭṭācārya-pādaiḥ—
kālān naṣṭaṁ bhakti-yogaṁ nijaṁ yaḥ
prāduṣkartuṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmā |
āvirbhūtas tasya pādāravinde
gāḍhaṁ gāḍhaṁ līyatāṁ citta-bhṛṅgaḥ ||
“Thus, it has been stated by Śrī Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācāryapāda: ‘May the bee of my heart be deeply, deeply absorbed in the lotus feet of he bearing the name Kṛṣṇa Caitanya who has appeared to manifest the practice of bhakti to himself that had been lost in the course of time.’”