तस्मै नमोऽस्तु निरुपाधिकृपाकुलाय
श्रीगोपराजतनयाय गुरूत्तमाय ।
यः कारयन्निजजनं स्वयमेव भक्तिं
तस्यातितुष्यति यथा परमोपकर्तुः ॥
tasmai namo’stu nirupādhi-kṛpākulāya
śrī-gopa-rāja-tanayāya gurūttamāya |
yaḥ kārayan nija-janaṁ svayam eva bhaktiṁ
tasyātituṣyati yathā paramopakartuḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.157)
“May [my] obeisance be [offered] unto him,
The blessed Son of the cowherds’ king,
The most exalted of gurus,
Who, being overcome with unconditional compassion,
Entirely of his own accord
Causes persons who are his own
To engage in bhakti [to himself]
And becomes greatly satisfied with them
Just as [one does] with a paramount benefactor.”
Commentary
evam upasaṁharan śrī-bhagavat-kṛta-paramopakāra-smaraṇenātyanta-bhaktyā tasmin sarvaṁ samarpayan namaskaroti—tasmai iti | nirupādher ahaitukāyāḥ kṛpāyāḥ kulaṁ samūho yasya, yad vā nirupādhi-kṛpayā ākulāya parama-hitācaraṇe vyagrāya, gopa-rājeti gauraveṇoktiḥ, gopī-bhāvena vā śrī-nandety anuktiḥ, guruṣa upadeṣṭṛṣu uttamāya śreṣṭhāya antaḥ paramātma-rūpeṇa bahiś cācārya-rūpeṇāśeṣa-jñānādi-pradānāt yathoktam uddhavenaikādaśa-skandhe—‘naivopayanty apacitiṁ kavayas taveśa brahmāyuṣāpi kṛtam ṛddha-mudaḥ smarantaḥ | yo’ntar-bahis-tanu-bhṛtām aśubhaṁ vidhunvann ācārya-caittya-vapuṣā sva-gatiṁ vyanakti ||’ iti | evaṁ ca yan mayā te kathitaṁ tat tasya preraṇād upadeśa-balāc ceti bhāvaḥ | itthaṁ cāntaryāmi-dṛṣṭyā samarpaṇaṁ paramottamaṁ jñeyam | nirupādhi-kṛpākulaṁ gurūttamatvaṁ ca darśayati—yaḥ śrī-gopa-rāja-tanayaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ janaṁ nija-sevakaṁ jīvaṁ vā svayam eva tadīyādhikāra-śakty-ādy-anapekṣayaiva bhaktiṁ nija-śravaṇa-kīrtanādi-lakṣaṇāṁ kārayan sarvendriya-pravartanena niṣpādayann api tasya bhaktiṁ kartur janasya atyantaṁ tuṣyati taṁ prati nitarāṁ prīto bhavati | atitoṣe dṛṣṭāntaḥ—paramopakārakasya janasya yathā loko’tituṣyati | yad vā, tathā bhajamānam api taṁ prati kathaṁ tuṣyati? yathāsau jano bhakty-ācaraṇena tasyaiva kṛṣṇasya paramopakāraṁ kṛtavān ity evam arthaḥ |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Thus concluding, he [i.e., Śrī Jaimini] pays obeisance and offers everything to him [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] with utmost bhakti in remembrance of the paramount benefit brought about by Śrī Bhagavān. [‘Overcome with unconditional compassion’ (nirupādhi-kṛpākulāya) means] He who is possessed of an abundance of unconditional compassion, or, alternately, [it means] he who is overcome with unconditional compassion, that is, [who is] eagerly intent upon supremely beneficial behavior [i.e., who is resolved to bring about the ultimate well-being of those whom he graces]. ‘The cowherds’ king’ (gopa-rāja) is an utterance [made] with reverence [for Śrī Nanda Mahārāja], or, the non-mention of Śrī Nanda [by name] is because of gopī-bhāva [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s father is spoken of as ‘the cowherds’ king’ (gopa-rāja) to show reverence for him, or, because the expression is made with the bhāva of a gopī, and it is customary for a wife or lover to refrain from mentioning the name of her father-in-law or lover’s father directly by name]. [‘The most exalted of gurus’ (gurūttamāya) means] He who is the best (uttama) among instructors (gurus) because of [his] bestowing all knowledge and so forth in an internal form as Paramātmā and an external form as an ācārya, as is stated by Uddhava in the Eleventh Canto [i.e., SB 11.29.6]: ‘O Īśa, abounding with joy remembering the accomplishment of you who with your form situated in the citta and [form] as the ācārya internally and externally dispel inauspiciousness and manifest your own state for the embodied, the wise do not attain acquittance [of their debt to you] even within the life-span of Brahmā.’ Therefore, furthermore, that which has been stated to you [i.e., Janamejaya] by me [i.e., Jaimini, throughout this entire discussion] is because of his [i.e., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] prompting and on the strength of [his] instruction. This is the purport. Furthermore, offering [everything] in this manner [to him] based on vision of the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī) [i.e., based on vision of Śrī Bhagavān acting as the Paramātmā sanctioning and enabling all of this to take place] is to be known to be best of all [i.e., the very best attitude in this respect]. Also, he shows [Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] being the most exalted of gurus who is overcome with unconditional compassion [in the second half of the verse]: Kṛṣṇa, who is the blessed Son of the cowherds’ king, causes persons who are his own, that is, his own servants, or jīvas [in general], to engage in bhakti in the form of hearing about himself, praising [himself], and so on, that is, he even causes [them to perform bhakti] by impelling all [their] senses [to do so], entirely of his own accord, that is, entirely without consideration of their eligibility (adhikāra), capability (śakti), and so on, and [then] becomes greatly satisfied (atituṣyati) with them, those performers of bhakti [to himself]. An illustration [is given] in regard to the great satisfaction [Śrī Kṛṣṇa feels]: just as (yathā) someone becomes greatly satisfied with a person who is a paramount benefactor. Alternately, [it can be interpreted that a question is raised,] ‘Why does he become greatly satisfied with they who also worship [him] in that way [i.e., they who worship him at his own prompting and by his enabling of them to do so]?’ [In response, it said] Since (yathā) that person [i.e., one whom he has prompted and enabled to worship himself] has brought about paramount benefit (paramopakāra) specifically for him, Kṛṣṇa, by means of their performance of bhakti.”