स्वकृतपुरेष्वमीष्वबहिरन्तरसंवरणं
तव पुरुषं वदन्त्यखिलशक्तिधृतोंऽशकृतम् ।
इति नृगतिं विविच्य कवयो निगमावपनं
भवत उपासतेऽङ्घ्रिमभवं भुवि विश्वसिता: ॥
sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ
tava puruṣaṁ vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto’ṁśa-kṛtam |
iti nṛ-gatiṁ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaṁ
bhavata upāsate’ṅghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.20)
“They [i.e., the Vedas] say that the puruṣa without external or internal coverings [i.e., the jīva whose nature is not covered by anything except adjuncts (upādhis) manifest by māyā] in these abodes [i.e., bodies] of your own making is an [eternally] established part of you [i.e., Paramātmā] who are the bearer of all potencies. Having in this way understood the shelter of a person [i.e., of the puruṣa], the wise on the earth—the faithful—worship your feet, which are the field of the Nigamas [i.e., the source of all the śāstras, alt., the object described by all the śāstras] and the negation of material existence [i.e., the cause of the cessation of saṁsāra].”
Commentary
abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ bahir bahiraṅgāṇi kāryāṇi antar antaraṅgāni kāraṇāni tair asaṁvaraṇaṁ kārya-kāraṇair asaṁspṛṣṭam | aṁśa-kṛtam aṁśam ity arthaḥ | akhila-śakti-dhṛtaḥ sarva-śakti-dharasyeti viśeṣaṇam | jīva-śakti-viśiṣṭasyaiva tava jīvo’ṁśo na tu śuddhasyeti gamayitvā jīvasya tac-chakti-rūpatvenaivāṁśatvam ity anenaivāṁśatvam ity etad vyañjayanti |
(Paramātma Sandarbha: 39)
“’Without external or internal coverings’ (abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ) means uncovered by external (bahiḥ) effects and internal causes, that is, [the puruṣa is] untouched by effects and causes [that exist externally to the puruṣa or internally in the puruṣa]. ‘Established part’ (aṁśa-kṛtam) [simply] means a part (aṁśa) [since the puruṣa’s existence as a part of Paramātmā is beginningless and endless irrespective of whether the puruṣa is conditioned by māyā or not]. ‘Bearer of all potencies’ (akhila-śakti-dhṛtaḥ), meaning, possessor of all potencies (śaktis), is a qualifier (viśeṣaṇa) [the word tava, ‘of you,’ meaning, it is qualifier of the Paramātmā]. Having made known that the jīva is a part (aṁśa) only of you who are qualified by the jīva-śakti [i.e., of Paramātmā], and not, rather, of the Pure [i.e., of the Para-tattva who is free from such qualification, meaning, of Śrī Bhagavān himself], the Śrutis [i.e., the speakers of SB 10.87.20] indicate that the jīva’s being a part (aṁśa) [of Paramātmā] is specifically because of [the jīva’s] being a part (aṁśa) on account of [the jīva’s] being a form of [alt., of the nature of] his śakti.”
iti etat prakārāṁ nur jīvasya gatiṁ svabhāvata eva tvad-āśrayakas tvad-eka-jīvanaś cāsau jīva iti tattvaṁ vivicya jñātvā kavayaḥ paṇḍitāḥ viśvasitāḥ śraddadhānā bhavata evāṅghrim upāsate | … ato nitya-tvad-āśrayaika-jīvanānām api teṣāṁ tvad-vaimukhyena yat saṁsāra-duḥkhaṁ bhavati, tad api svayam eva palāyata ity āhuḥ—abhavam iti, na vidyate bhavaḥ saṁsāro yatreti |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha 178)
“The shelter (gatim) of a person (nṛ), that is, a jīva, means that a jīva is, purely by nature, one whose shelter is you [i.e., Bhagavān] and whose very life is you. Having thus understood (vivicya) the reality, the wise (kavayaḥ), possessed of śraddhā (viśvasitāḥ), worship your feet alone. … Therefore, although their [i.e., the jīvas’] sole sustenance is your eternal shelter, they undergo the suffering of saṁsāra as a result of obliviousness of you. That, however, flees of its own accord [when the jīvas turn to you]. Thus, they say, ‘[Your feet are] The negation of material existence,’ that is, that in which saṁsāra (bhavaḥ) does not exist.”