तस्माद्भारत सर्वात्मा भगवानीश्वरो हरिः ।
श्रोतव्यः कीर्तितव्यश्च स्मर्तव्यश्चेच्छताभयम् ॥
tasmād bhārata sarvātmā bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ |
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś cechatābhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.5; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.7; Bhakti Sandarbha: 25, 125; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.110)
“[Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Mahārāja Parīkṣit:] O descendant of Bharata! The Self of all, Bhagavān, Īśvara, Hari, is to be heard about, to be praised, and to be remembered by one desirous of fearlessness.”
Commentary
evaṁ viparyaya-praśnottaram uktvā, śrotavyādi-praśnasyottaram āha—tasmād iti | he bhārata bharata-vaṁśya | sarvātmeti preṣṭhatvam āha | bhagavān iti saundaryam | īśvara ity āvaśyakatvam | harir iti bandha-hāritvam | abhayaṁ mokṣam icchatā |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“Having thus stated [in the previous verses] the answer to the question [in SB 1.19.38] about the opposite [i.e., what is not to be heard about, not to be praised, not be remembered, and so on], he [i.e., Śrī Śuka] states the answer to the question about what is to be heard about and so forth: tasmād … [i.e., he speaks this verse]. He describes dearness (preṣṭhatva) with ‘the Self of all’ (sarvātmā), beauty with ‘Bhagavān,’ obligatoriness with ‘Īśvara,’ and being a remover of bondage with ‘Hari.’ ‘By one desirous of fearlessness’ refers to [one desirous of] mokṣa.”
abhayaṁ sarva-duḥkha-nivāraka-sarvānanda-maya-puruṣārtham | ‘gatavān abhayaṁ hariṁ’ iti vakṣyamāṇāt ‘martyo mṛtyu-vyāla-bhītaḥ’ ity ādeś ca |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“‘Fearlessness’ refers to the [ultimate] puruṣārtha, which is constituted of all bliss and the cessation of all suffering, as per the forthcoming statement gatavān abhayaṁ Hariṁ [in SB 2.1.13], as well as martyo mṛtyu-vyāla-bhītaḥ [i.e., SB 10.3.21] and so on.”
abhayaṁ nāsti saṁsārādi-janya-bhayaṁ yasmāt bhagavatas tam icchatā puruṣeṇa bhagavān śrotavyaḥ | tena saṁsārādi-bhaya-nivṛtti-pratipādaka-śāstra-śāsanād eva pravṛttiḥ, na tu lobhād iti bhāvaḥ |
(Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī-ṭīkā)
“Bhagavān is to be heard about by a person desirous of fearlessness (abhayam), that is, he on account of whom there is no fear produced by saṁsāra and so forth, viz., Bhagavān. Thus, the inclination (pravṛtti) [i.e., the inclination to engage in hearing about Bhagavān and so forth as described in this verse] is only because of the ruling of the śāstra advocating the cessation of fear of saṁsāra and so forth, and not, rather, because of intense desire (lobha) [for bhajana]. This is the purport.”
ataḥ kṛtārthībhavituṁ karmādikam akurvāṇā bhaktim eva kurvīrann ity āha tasmād iti | he bhārata! bharata-vaṁśya! abhayaṁ sva-parābhavābhavam icchatā puṁsā hariḥ śrotavyaḥ | atra harir iti viśeṣya-padam | sarvātmety ādi-viśeṣaṇa-trayeṇa mokṣābhisandhinī rāgānugā vaidhī ca bhaktir vyañjitā | tatra prathamāyāṁ—abhayaṁ mokṣam icchatā sarveṣām ātmā paramātmā hariḥ śrotavya iti | dvitīyāyām abhayaṁ niṣkampaṁ yathā syāt tathā icchatā lobhavatā puṁsā bhagavān atisundaro nanda-sūnuḥ śrotavya iti | bhagaṁ śrī-kāma-māhātmya-vīrya-yatnārka-kīrtiṣu ity amaraḥ | tṛtīyāyāṁ na bibhety asmād ity abhayo harir eva ‘muhūrtāt sarvam utsṛjya gatavān abhayaṁ harim’ ity agrima-śloka-dṛṣṭes tam icchatā, abhayam ātma-trāṇam icchatā vā, īśvaro harir īśitavyena puṁsā śrotavya ity ādi kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś ceti ca-kārābhyāṁ śravaṇānantaraṁ kīrtana-smaraṇayor eka-kālatvaṁ vihitam iti śrotavyādi praśnasyottaram uktam |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Therefore, to become successful, one should not perform karma and so forth and [instead] perform only bhakti. Thus, he speaks this verse (tasmād …). ‘O Bhārata’ (Bhārata) means ‘O descendant of Bharata!’ Hari is to be heard about by a person desirous of fearlessness (abhayam), that is, of the non-existence of one’s [having to undergo] defeat. Here, ‘Hari’ is the qualificand (viśeṣya-pada), and by the three qualifiers (viśeṣaṇas) beginning with ‘the Self of all’ (sarvātmā) [i.e., along with ‘Bhagavān’ and ‘Īśvaraḥ’], (1) bhakti the object of which is mokṣa, (2) rāgānugā [-bhakti], and (3) vaidhī [-bhakti] are suggested. In the case of the first [i.e., bhakti the object of which is mokṣa], the Self (Ātmā) of all, that is, the Paramātmā, Hari, is to be heard about by one desirous of fearlessness, that is, mokṣa. In the second [i.e., in the case of rāgānugā-bhakti], Bhagavān, the exceedingly beautiful Son of Nanda, is to be heard about by one who is desirous of, that is, a person possessed of intense desire (lobha) for, fearlessness, that is, for being unwavering [in one’s fixity in the object of one’s bhakti]. [The word] Bhaga [present in the word Bhagavān, lit., ‘one possessed of bhaga’] can mean beauty [alt., wealth] (śrī), desire (kāma), greatness (māhātmya), virility (vīrya), effort (yatna), the sun (arka), and fame (kīrti) according to Amara [i.e., the Amara-kośa]. In the third [i.e., in the case of vaidhī-bhakti], the Īśvara, Hari, is to be heard about by a person subject to regulation who is desirous of him, that is, of Hari himself, who is fearlessness, meaning, because of whom one does not fear [anything], as per the view [stated] in the forthcoming verse [in SB 2.1.13], ‘[The royal seer named Khaṭvāṅga, having come to know the extent of his lifespan] From that moment gave up everything and took shelter in fearlessness, [viz.,] Hari,’ or, [the Īśvara, Hari, is to be heard about a person subject to regulation who is desirous of] fearlessness, that is, the deliverance of the self (ātmā) [from saṁsāra]. By the two ‘ca’s in [the phrase in the verse] ‘[Hari is to be heard about] To be praised, and to be remembered,’ (kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś ca), the simultaneity of praising (kīrtana) and remembering (smaraṇa) after hearing (śravaṇa) is enjoined [i.e., after hearing about Hari, based on what one has heard one should engage in both kīrtana and smaraṇa of Hari at the same time]. In this way, the answer to the question regarding who is to be heard about and so forth [raised in SB 1.19.38] is stated.”