स्वयं समुत्तीर्य सुदुस्तरं द्युमन्
भवार्णवं भीममदभ्रसौहृदा: ।
भवत्पदाम्भोरुहनावमत्र ते
निधाय याता: सदनुग्रहो भवान् ॥
svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman
bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ |
bhavat-padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te
nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.31; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 93; Bhakti Sandarbha: 180)
“O luminous One, after having fully crossed over the fearsome and difficult to traverse ocean of material existence and reached [the shore] themselves, they of abundant affection [alt., friendliness, i.e., the sat] have left the boat of your lotus feet here [for others of the future to take shelter in and so also reach the shore], since you are he whose grace is the sat [alt., he whose grace comes to those in the ocean of material existence only through the sat].”
Commentary
nanu tena potena pūrve cet pāraṁ gatās tarhīdānīntanānāṁ kā gatiḥ? tatrāhuḥ—svayam iti | ayam arthaḥ—he dyuman sva-prakāśa! tvat-pāda-pota-sāmīpya-mātreṇa bhavāmbudhau vatsa-pada-mātre jāte, atas tan-nirapekṣaṁ svayam evānyeṣāṁ bhīmaṁ dustaram api bhavārṇavaṁ samuttīrya bhavat-padāmbhoruha-rūpāṁ nāvam atraiva nidhāya | bhakti-mārga-saṁpradāyaṁ pravartyety arthaḥ | pāraṁ yātāḥ | tat kiṁ? yato’dabhra-sauhṛdāḥ sarva-bhūteṣv atiprīti-yuktāḥ | atas te’nyeṣāṁ taraṇāya nidhāyeti | kathaṁ mat-pāda-pota-śrayaṇa-mātreṇa tīrṇāḥ? ata uktam—bhavān sad-anugrahaḥ sato bhaktān anugṛhṇātīti |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“‘Well, if they [i.e., exalted Vaiṣṇavas] reached the shore [of the ocean of material existence] with that boat [of your lotus feet] in the past, then what is the means of those present now [in the ocean of material existence to cross over it]? To this [question], they speak this verse (svayaṁ …). ‘O luminous One’ (dyuman), that is, ‘O you who are self-manifest,’ when the ocean of material existence becomes [like] merely the hoofprint of a calf just by the presence of the boat of your lotus feet, then they [i.e., those who have boarded that boat] reach the shore after fully crossing over (samuttīrya) the ocean of material existence (bhavārṇavaṁ), even though it is fearsome (bhīmaṁ) and difficult to traverse (dustaram) for others who themselves remain indifferent to that [boat], and leaving (nidhāya) the boat of your lotus feet (bhavat-padāmbhoruha-rūpāṁ) here (atra) itself, meaning, after passing on the tradition (sampradāya) of the path of bhakti. Why did they do that? Because they are of ‘abundant affection’ (adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ), that is, they are possessed of great love for all living beings. Therefore, they have left the boat for others. [Bhagavān asks:] ‘How did they cross [the ocean of material existence] just by taking shelter in the boat of my feet?’ Thus [i.e, in response to this question], it is said, ‘You are he who has grace for the sat’ (sad-anugraho bhavān), that is, you bestow grace upon the sat, that is, [your] bhaktas.”
sadbhir eva dvāra-bhūtair anyān anugṛhṇāti yaḥ, sa sad-anugraho bhavān iti | yad vā, santa evānugraho yasya saḥ | tavānugraho yaḥ prāpañcike carati, sa tad-ākāratayaiva carati, nānya-rūpatayety arthaḥ | … satsv anugraho yasyeti vyākhyāne’pi tad-vimukheṣv asatsu tavānugraho nāstīti prāpteḥ sad-dvāraiva tat prakāśanam ucitam ity evāyāti |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 180)
“[Sad-anugraho bhavān means] You are sad-anugrahaḥ, that is, he who graces others only through the medium of the sad. Alternately, [sad-anugraho means] he whose grace is the sat themselves. Your grace which moves about in the visible world moves only in that form [i.e., only as and through the sat], and not in any other form. This is the meaning. … Even in the explanation of [sad-anugrahaḥ as he] whose grace is upon the sat, because it is gathered that your grace is not upon the asat, those who are oblivious of you, it certainly follows that manifestation thereof [i.e., of Bhagavān’s grace] only through the sat is befitting.”