yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād

यन्नामधेयश्रवणानुकीर्तनाद्
यत्प्रह्वणाद्यत्स्मरणादपि क्वचित् ।
श्वादोऽपि सद्यः सवनाय कल्पते
कुतः पुनस्ते भगवन्नु दर्शनात् ॥

yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād
yat-prahvaṇād yat-smaraṇād api kvacit |
śvādo’pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate
kutaḥ punas te bhagavan nu darśanāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.33.6)

“O Bhagavān by hearing and repeating whose name, by bowing down to whom, and by even occasionally remembering whom, even a dog-eater immediately becomes eligible for savana, what more occurs by [having] the sight of you?”

Commentary

“Therefore, I am successful by [having attained] the sight of you. She [viz., Devahūti] states this with a fortiori reasoning (kaimutya-nyāya) [in this verse]. [Yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanāt means] By hearing and repeating whose name. Kvacit api means even sometimes. Śvādaḥ means one who eats dog, that is, a dog-cooker. Even he becomes eligible (kalpate) for savana, that is, for [performing] the soma-yāga. By this [statement that a dog-cooker becomes eligible to perform the soma-yāga], respectability is indicated [i.e., the statement is not meant to be taken literally and imply that a dog-cooker can or should actually attempt to learn and conduct a soma-yāga].”

nāradīye—‘śvapaco’pi mahīpāla viṣṇor bhakto dvijādhikaḥ’ iti | itihāsa-samuccaye—‘śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktaṁ niṣādaṁ śvapacaṁ tathā | vīkṣate jāti-sāmānyāt sa yāti narakaṁ dhruvam ||‘ iti | pādme ca—‘na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktās te tu bhāgavatā matāḥ | sarva-varṇeṣu te śūdrā ye na bhaktā janārdane ||’ iti | etad-ādikaṁ cāgre vaiṣṇava-māhātmye vistareṇa vyaktaṁ bhāvi | kiṁ ca bhagavad-dīkṣā-prabhāvena śūdrādīnām api vipra-sāmyaṁ siddham eva | tathā ca tatra—‘yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti’ ity ādi | etac ca prāg dīkṣā-māhātmye likhitam eva | ata eva tṛtīya-skandhe devahūti-vākyam—‘yan-nāma-dheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād yat-prahvaṇād yat-smaraṇād api kvacit | śvādo’pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate kutaḥ punas te bhagavan nu darśanāt ||’ iti | savanāya yajanāya kalpate yogyo bhavatīty arthaḥ | ata eva vipraiḥ saha vaiṣṇavānām ekatraiva gaṇanā | … īdṛśāni ca vacanāni śrī-bhāgavatādau bahūny eva santi | itthaṁ vaiṣṇavānāṁ brāhmaṇaiḥ saha sāmyam eva sidhyati | kiṁ ca ‘viprād dviṣaḍ-guṇa-yutāt’ ity ādi-vacanair vaiṣṇava-brāhmaṇebhyo nīca-jāti-jātānām api vaiṣṇavānāṁ śraiṣṭhyaṁ nirdiśyatetarām |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.455)

“In Nāradīya Purāṇa [it is said], ‘O King, even a dog-cooker who is a Viṣṇu-bhakta is more [exalted] than a twice-born.’ In Itihāsa-samuccaya [it is said], ‘One who sees a bhakta of Bhagavān to be a śūdra, tribesman (niṣāda), or dog-cooker [i.e., outcaste] because of commonality in caste (jāti) certainly goes to Naraka.’ Also, in Padma Purāṇa [it is said], ‘Bhaktas of Bhagavān are not śūdras. Rather, they are accepted as Bhāgavatas [i.e., to belong to Śrī Bhagavān and not to any caste]. Among all the varṇas, they are śūdras who are not bhaktas of Janārdana.’ This [subject] and more will also be explained ahead in detail in the [section on] the greatness of Vaiṣṇavas [in the Tenth Vilāsa]. Furthermore, equality (sāmya) with brāhmaṇas even on the part of śūdras and others is verily established by the power of Bhagavad-ḍīkṣā [i.e., dīkṣā into a mantra related to Śrī Bhagavān, meaning, even śūdras and those of even lower caste, e.g., dog-cookers, can attain equality with brāhmaṇas by receiving Bhagavad-dīkṣā]. Accordingly, also, in this regard [it is said], ‘As by means of mercury bell metal acquires goldness [i.e., as an alchemical process involving mercury is believed to turn bell metal into gold], so by means of dīkṣā the twice-bornness of human beings arises.’ This [verse] was also certainly stated earlier in the [section on] the greatness of dīkṣā. Therefore, there is a statement of Devahūti in the Third Canto [i.e., SB 3.33.6], ‘O Bhagavān by hearing and repeating whose name, by bowing down to whom, and by even occasionally remembering whom, even a dog-eater immediately becomes eligible for savana, what more occurs by [having] the sight of you?’ ‘Becomes eligible for savana’ (savanāya kalpate) means becomes qualified for [performance] of sacrifice. Therefore, there is reckoning of the Vaiṣṇavas indeed in the same place with brāhmaṇas [i.e., Vaiṣṇavas are regarding as being on the same level, or of equal status, as brāhmaṇas]. …

“There are indeed many similar statements in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and other texts. In this way, the Vaiṣṇavas’ veritable equality (sāmya) with the brāhmaṇas is established. Furthermore, [in a comparison] between Vaiṣṇavas and brāhmaṇas, the superiority [to brāhmaṇas] even of Vaiṣṇavas born in low castes is proclaimed by statements such as [that of Prahlāda Mahārāja in SB 7.9.10], ‘I consider a dog-cooker whose mind, words, actions, wealth, and life are dedicated to him [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] superior to a brāhmaṇa possessed of [all] twelve [brahminical] qualities who is averse to the lotus feet of he of lotus navel.’”

kvacit kadācid api prārabdha-pāpa-hāritvam apy āha dvābhyām … | śvādatvam atra śva-bhakṣaka-jāti-viśeṣatvam eva śvānam attīti nirukter vartamāna-prayogāt, kravyādavat tac-chīlatva-prāpteḥ | kādācitka-bhakṣaṇe prāyaścitta-vivakṣāyāṁ tv atīta-prayogaḥ kriyeta ‘rūḍhir yogam apaharati’ iti nyāyena ca tad virudhyate | ata eva ‘śvapacaḥ’ iti ṭīkā-kārāḥ | sadyaḥ savanāya kalpata iti—‘sakṛd uccāritaṁ yena harir ity akṣara-dvayam | baddhaḥ parikaras tena mokṣāya gamanaṁ prati ||’ itivat | tatra yogyatāyāṁ labdhārambho bhavatīty arthaḥ | tad-anantara-janmany eva dvijatvaṁ prāpya tad-ādy-adhikārī syād iti bhāvaḥ |
(Excerpt from Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)

“He describes [bhakti’s] sometimes (kvacit) also being a remover of commenced (prārabdha) sin with two [verses, viz., SB 3.33.6–7]. … Being a dog-eater (śvādatva) here refers specifically to belonging to a particular caste of dog-eaters because of indication [by the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda)] of that custom [of habitually eating dog meat] on account of the usage of the present tense in the etymology [of the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda)], ‘One who eats dog,’ as [also is understood] in [the case of] the word kravyāda [i.e., ‘carnivore,’ lit., ‘flesh-’ (kravya-) ‘eater’ (āda)]. In the [hypothetical] case of an intention of [referring to] atonement [by means of hearing and repeating Śrī Bhagavān’s name, bowing down to him, or remembering him] in regard to occasional consumption [of dog meat], however, the past tense would be used [in the etymology of the word chosen to refer to an occasional consumer of dog meat, rather than the present tense, which the standard, well-established tense used in the etymology of the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda)], and that [supposedly intended meaning of one who has only on some occasion eaten dog meat rather than one who habitually eats dog meat as a member of a caste of persons who regularly do so] is contradicted by the principle, “Conventional meaning (rūḍhi) supersedes etymological meaning (yoga)” [i.e., the well-known conventional meaning of the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda) is a person who belongs to a caste of people who habitually eat dog meat and not a person who has only on occasion eaten dog meat; thus there is no intention in the verse under discussion to refer only to someone who has only on occasion eaten dog meat and rather only an intention to refer to a member of a low caste who habitually does so since both the etymological and conventional meanings of the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda) convey this meaning specifically]. Therefore, ‘dog-cooker’ (śvapaca) [was stated to be the meaning of the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda)] by the commentator [viz., Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda, i.e., therefore Śrī Svāmīpāda interpreted the word ‘dog-eater’ (śvāda) to refer a ‘dog-cooker’ (śvapaca), which is a term that is also well-known to refer by convention primarily to a low caste of persons who are so named because of their habit of cooking and eating dog meat]. [The statement in the verse that even a dog-eater] ‘immediately becomes eligible for savana’ (sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate) is akin to [the following statement in Skanda Purāṇa], ‘One by whom the two syllables ha-ri are uttered [even] once becomes of bound girdle [i.e., loosely, ‘saddled up and ready’] for moving towards mokṣa.’ In this regard [i.e., in regard to the statement in the verse that even a dog-eater immediately becomes eligible for savana], ‘He becomes one by whom the beginning in regard to eligibility is attained’ is the meaning [i.e., it is not that he attains eligibility to perform savana in full but rather that he has now commenced the process by which one becomes fully eligible for that]. Only in another birth thereafter [i.e., after his present birth in a caste of dog-eaters] shall he attain twice-bornness [i.e., only after he takes birth in a family of one of the three upper varṇas—the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, or vaiśya—and undergoes the requisite saṁskāras shall he also receive the upanayana-saṁskāra, that is, initiation into the gāyatrī-mantra and investiture with the sacred thread, and thereby become a twice-born (dvija)] and become [then in full] a bearer of eligibility (adhikārī) for that [i.e., for performance of the savana—the soma-yāga] and so on [i.e., other rites that only the twice-born are eligible to perform]. This is the purport.”

tvad-darśanāl lokaḥ kṛtārthībhavatīti kaimutya-nyāyenāha—yad iti | prahvaṇaṁ namaskāraḥ | kvacid iti kādācitkād api smaraṇād ity arthaḥ | śvādo’pi śvapaco’pi sadyas tat-kṣaṇa eva savanāya soma-yāgāya kalpate yogyo bhavati, soma-yāga-kartā brāhmaṇa iva pūjyo bhavatīti durjāty-ārambhaka-prārabdha-pāpa-nāśo vyañjitaḥ | yad uktaṁ śrī-rūpa-gosvāmi-caraṇaiḥ—‘durjātir eva savanāyogyatve kāraṇaṁ matam | durjāty-ārambhakaṁ pāpaṁ yat syāt prārabdham eva tat ||’
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)

“A person becomes successful by [having] the sight of you. She [viz., Devahūti] states this with a fortiori reasoning (kaimutya-nyāya): yat … [i.e., he speaks SB 3.33.6]. Prahvaṇaṁ means obeisance. By even occasionally remembering [Śrī Bhagavān] is the meaning [of yat-smaraṇād api kvacit]. Even a dog-eater, that is, even a dog-cooker, indeed immediately (sadyas) becomes eligible (kalpate) for savana, that is, for [performing] the soma-yāga, that is, he becomes worthy of respect like a brāhamaṇa who is a performer of the soma-yāga [i.e., the statement that he ‘immediately becomes eligible for savana’ is not meant to be taken literally and imply that a dog-cooker can or should actually attempt to learn and conduct a soma-yāga]. Thus, the destruction of commenced (prārabdha) sin causative of the onset of [having] a low caste (durjāti) is suggested, as stated by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda [in BRS 1.1.22], ‘A low caste specifically is considered the cause in regard to ineligibility for savana. That sin which is causative of the onset of [having] a low caste shall certainly be commenced (prārabdha) [sin].’”

Commentary

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