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Bhakti-rasayana by Madhusudana Sarasvati

(Study and translation of first chapter)

by Lance Edward Nelson | 2021 | 139,165 words

This is a study and English translation of the Bhakti-rasayana by Madhusudana Sarasvati (16th century)—one of the greatest and most vigorous exponents of Advaita after Shankara-Acharya who was also a great devotee of Krishna. The Bhaktirasayana attempts to merge non-dualist metaphysics with the ecstatic devotion of the Bhagavata Purana, by assertin...

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1 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 11, 44. 2 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 261-269. 3 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 488. 4 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 11, 43. 5 s. N. Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966) IV, 1. 6 See chap. 4, note 6. 71. J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition, p. 118. Hardy gives ca. 600-950 as the period of the Alvars ("Madhavendra Purl: A Link Between Bengal Vaisnavism and South Indian Bhakti Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society [ of Great Britain and Ireland], 1974, p. 23). 8 writing in the forward to Milton Singer, p. iv. 9 aho bhagyam aho bhagyam nandagopavrajaukasam / yanmitram paramanandam purnam brahma sanatanam, Bhagavata-purana 10.14.32; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, Il 15. 10 ekadese 'khilasargasaustavyam tvadiyam adraksma vayan madhudvisah, Bhagavata-purana 10.39.2 lb (Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1218); aksavatam phalam idam na param vidamah, Bhagavata-purana 10.21.7 (Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1146). 11 See Bhagavata-purana 10.39.20; 10.21; 10.35; 10.44.14. 12 paramo dharmah, 1.2.6; see 1.2.8, 2.2.33-34, 3.25.44, 4.9.10, 10.47.24, quoted in Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. IX. For all references to Bhakti-rasayana 1, see the translation in chap. 7. 13 ekantino yasya na kancanarthan vancchanti ye vai bhagavatprapannah / atyadbhutam taccaritam sumangalam gayanta anandasamudramagnah, Bhagavata-purana 8.3.20; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 830. 14 cp. 14 Cp. the extension of this principle in Hemadri's dictum that devotion is the experience of bliss, while moksa is only the state of bliss. Below, chap. 4, note 105. 413

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414 15 sreyahsrutin bhaktim udasya te vibho klisyanti ye kevalabodhalabdhaye tesam asau klesala eva sisyate nanyad sthulatusavaghatinam, Bhagavata-purana 10.14.4; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1111. 16 na kincit sadhavo dira bhakta hy ekantino mama vanchanty api maya dattam kaivalyam apunarbhavam, Bhagavata-purana 11.20.34; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1589. 17 naivecchaty asisah kvapi brahmarsir moksam apy uta / bhaktin param bhagavati labdhavan puruse 12.10.6; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1694. vyaye, Bhagavata-purana 18 na yogasiddhir apunarbhavam va, Bhagavata-purana 6.11.25, 10.16.37, 11.14.14. 19 See Bhagavata-purana 11.20.31-34, quoted by Madhusudana in Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. V; see also Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. XXIV. In his discussion of this subject in the BRS, Rupa Gosvamin quotes Bhagavata-purana 3.4.15; 3.25.34, 36; 3.29.13; 4.9.10; 4.20.24; 5.14.44; 6.11.25; 6.17.28; 6.18.74; 7.6.25; 7.8.42; 8.3.20; 9.4.67; 10.16.37; 10.87.21; 11.14.14; 11.20.34; 12.10.6 (BRS 1.2.22-57; Bon, pp. 81- 105). This attitude towards moksa found widespread acceptance in the devotional traditions. Cp. Janesvari 9.191: "In them the spirit of devotion is so fervent that they even dismiss liberation [as worthless]" (V. G. Pradhan, trans., Janesvari [London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1967], I, 229; see chap. 4, note 39). In Tulsi Das's Ramacartiamanasa we read: O "This supreme state of final beatitude is most difficult to attain, so declare the saints as well as the Puranas(,) Vedas and Agamas (Tantras). By worshipping Sri Rama, my lord, the same beatitude comes unsolicited even against our will. Water cannot stay except on land notwithstanding our best efforts; even so, mark you, o king of the birds, the joy of final beatitude cannot stay apart from Devotion to Sri Hari. Realizing this, the wise devotees of Sri Hari spurn final emancipation and remain enamoured of Devotion" (Uttarakanda, doha 118, caupai 2-4, trans. by the editor, Kalyana Kapataru, XVII [August, 1951], 273; reprint edition, Shree Ramacharitamanasa [Chandigarh: Shree Geeta Press, n.d.], pt. III, p. 273). 20 atmaramas ca munayo nirgrantha apy urukrame kurvanty ahaitukin bhaktim ithambhutaguno harih, Bhagavata-purana 1.7.10; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana I, 25. See the discussion of jivanmukti at Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. XI; on the importance of this verse to the Vaisnava tradition, see chap. 9, note 21.

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415 21 prayena munayo rajan nivrta vidhisedhatah / nairgunyastha ramante sma gunanukathane hareh, Bhagavata-purana 2.1.7; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana I, 95. See also Bhagavata-purana 1.8.20; 2.1.9. 22 madgunasrutimatrena mayi sarvaguhasaye / manogatir avicchina yatha gangambhaso mbudhau // laksanam bhaktiyogasya nirgunasya hy udahrtam / ahaituky avyavahita ya bhaktih purusottame, Bhagavata-purana 3.29.11-12; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana I, 300. X. 23 Bhagavata-purana 7.5.23; see chap. 7, note 30. 24 See the translation of Bhakti-rasayana 1 in chap. 7. 25 Bhagavata-purana 1.3.31-33, quoted and discussed in Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. 26 Shandilya-bhakti-sutras 56-57, 59; Swami Harshananda, trans., Sandilya Bhakti Sutras with Svapnesvara Bhasya (Mysore: Prasaranga, University of Mysore, 1976), pp. 124-134. See Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. IV, note 32; sec. X, with note 85. The date of the Shandilya-bhakti-sutras is uncertain; I follow Hardy (Viraha-Bhakti, p. 563, note 22) in assigning the text to the century following the Bhagavata-purana But it should be kept in mind that, as Harshananda (p. xviii) points out, there is no direct reference to that purana in the sutras. 27 Bhagavata-purana 1.4-7. The story is also designed to show that even knowers of Brahman are unfulfilled without bhakti. ends with 1.7.10, just discussed above. It 28 J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1920), p. 229; quoted by Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 38. 29 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 38-39. 30 Gonda, J., "Het begrip bhakti, " in Tijdschrift voor Philosophie, vol. 10 (Louvain), p. 640; quoted and translated by Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 38. 31 katham vina romaharssam dravata cetasa vina / vina ''nandasrukalaya sudhyed bhaktya vina sayah // vag gadgada dravate yasya citta rudaty abhiksanam hasati kvacicca vilajja udgayati nrtyate ca madbhaktiyukto bhuvanam punati, Bhagavata-purana 11.14.23-24; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1555. Madhusudana quotes and comments upon verse 23 under Bhakti-rasayana 1.31 (chap. 7, sec. XXII). 32 see, e.g., Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. XXVIII. 33 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, passim. 34 Bhagavata-purana 10.29.40; 10.30-31.

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416 35 Bhagavata-purana 10.21, 35. 36 Bhagavata-purana 10.39, 47. See Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 530-531; Edward Dimmock, The Place of the Hidden Moon (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1966), pp. 1-13. 37 Dasgupta, IV, 33; Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 154; Hardy, p. 154; Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 494-496, 538. 38 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 494. 243. swan. 39"Song of the Swan"; see Bhakti-rasayana 1, see Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. XXIII and note 40 At 11.13 the Lord, in order to teach Brahma and his mind-born sons, appeared before them in the form of a When they asked him who he was, he replied: "Verily, since the Self is unitary, what could be the relevance of your question, O wise ones, and on what basis could I answer it? In truth, when the five elements are the common constituents of [all] beings [and they have but one Self], your question, 'Who are you, revered Sir,' is a useless verbal exercise. It is I alone who am apprehended by the mind, by speech, by vision, and the other faculties. Know truly that there is nothing other than Me" (vastuno yady ananatvam atmanah prasna Idrsah / katham ghateta vo vipra vaktur va me asrayah // pancatmakesu bhutesu samaesu ca vastutah ko bhavan iti vah prasno vacarambho hy anarthakah // manasa vacasa drstaya grhyate 'nyair api ndriyaih aham eva no matto nyad iti budhyadhvam, Bhagavata-purana 11.13.22-24; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1549). 41 Bhagavata-purana 11.13.24, 27-33; Bhakti-rasayana 1, sec. XXIII. 42 Ikseta vibhramam idam manaso vilasam drstam vinastamatilolam alatacakram / vijfianam ekam urudheva vibhati maya svapnas tridha gunavisargakrto vikalpah // drstim tatah pratinivartya nivrttatrsnas tusnim bhaven nijasukhanubhavo nirihah / samdrsyate kva ca yadidam avastubuddhya tyaktam bhramaya na bhavet smrtir a nipatat, Bhagavata-purana 11.13.34-35; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1551. Cp. Bhagavata-purana 11.22.10-11: "It is not possible for a soul (purusa) conjoined with beginningless ignorance to attain knowledge of the Self by itself; there should be another who is a knower of reality to impart knowledge. In this respect there is not the slightest difference between the soul and God, and any supposition that it is distinct from Him is futile" (anadyavidyayuktasya purusasyatmavedanam / svato na sambhavad anyas tattvajno jhanado bhavet // purusesvarayo atra na vailaksanyam anv

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417 api / tadanyakalpanapartha, Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1597). Also 11.2.22: Those [sages] wandered over the earth, seeing the whole universe, consisting of being and non-being, as God Himself, non-different from the Self" (ta ete bhagavadrupam visvam sadasadatmakam / atmano 'vyatirekena pasyanto vyacaran mahim, Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1493. See also Bhagavata-purana 2.1.39; 11.2.38. 43 Dasgupta, IV, 33. Noting the fact that Buddhism was strong in South India at least as late as the seventh century, and also the presence in the Bhagavata-purana of passages expressing a bodhisattva ethic of self-sacrifice for the spiritual welfare of others (7.9.40-44, 9.21.12), R. Mukerjee argues that verses such as this show the influence of Mahayana idealism. See The Lord of the Autumn Moons (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1957), pp. 31-32, 36-38. 44 Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins, p. 154. 45 param parasyah prakrter anadim ekan nivistam bahudha guhasu / sarvalayam sarva-caracara-stham tvam eva Visnum saranam prapadye, quoted and translated by Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 496, note 56. Hardy notes that the commentator glosses guha as maya. In his own Paramarthasara (vs. 2), the great Saiva non-dualist Abhinavagupta acknowledges his debt to Adisesa. Cp. the following verses from the Atmabodha: "All the multiformed manifestations are projected in the eternal, all-pervading Visnu, whose nature is bliss and consciousness, like bracelets and etc. are [fabricated] in gold. . On the destruction of the limiting adjuncts, the sage is merged in Visnu without any remainder, like water into water, space into space, light into light" (saccidatmany anusyute nitye visnau prakalpitah / vyaktayo vividhas sarva hatake katakadivat // upadhivilayad visnau nirvisesan visen munih / jale jalam viyad vyomani tejas tejasi va yatha, Atmabodha 9, 53; Chinmayananda, Atmabodha of Bhagawan Sri Sankaracharya [Madras: The Chinmayananda Publications Trust, 1977], pp. 16, 103). Though the Atmabodha was probably not written by Sankara himself (see chap. 2.2), it certainly does come from within his � tradition, where it is regarded with considerable veneration as an epitome of the great acarya's teaching. 46 Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 154. 47 Bhagavata-purana 10.21.20; 10.29.15. 48 Bhagavata-purana 10.14.43; 10.30.2-3.

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418 49" They, constantly holding [an attitude of] erotic desire, anger, fear, affection, oneness, or friendship toward Hari, attain union with Him" (kamam krodham bhayam sneham aikyam sauhrdam eva ca / nityam harau vidadhato yanti tanmayatam hi te, Bhagavata-purana 10.29.15; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1175. 50 gatismitapreksanabhasanadisu priyah priyasya pratirudhamurtayah / asav aham ty ity abalas tadatmika nyavedisuh krsnaviharavibhramah, Bhagavata-purana 10.30.3; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1179. I am indebted to Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 540, for this and the previous three references. 51 bhavatinam viyogo me na hi sarvatmana kvacit yatha bhutani bhutesu kham vayvagnir jalam mahi / tathaham ca manahpranabhutendriyagunasrayah // atmany evatmana `tmanam srje hanmy anupalaye / atmamayanubhavena bhutendriyagunatmana, Bhagavata-purana 10.47.29-30; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1260. 52 See Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 541. 53 Author of the Bhagavatabhavarthadipika, which continues to be the most authoritative and well-known commentary on the Bhagavata-purana Sridhara, who also composed widelyrespected commentaries on the Gita and the Visnupurana, was a member of the Puri order of Samkara samnyasins and was thus nominally an Advaitin, though he had strong theistic and devotional tendencies. His commentary on the Bhagavata-purana was so universally esteemed that commentators of other schools were often content, on points regarding which there was no doctrinal disagreement, to merely recommend his interpretation, either by referring reader to his work by name, or simply incorporating portions of his commentary verbatim. Caitanya is reported to have had a high estimation of the Bhavarthadlpika. See chaps. 2, note 6, 4.2; Sinha, p. 1; N. Raghunathan, trans., Srimad Bhagavatam (Madras: Vighneswara Publishing House, 1976), I, 654. 54 See chap. 4, note 7. "in 55 Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, p. 539. Hardy attempts to suggest what sense the BhP may be considered an ideological opus universal: its treatment of the gopi episodes spans the whole spectrum from Hv [Harivamsa] sensuality and Alvar emotionalism, via the yoga of the ViP [Visnu Purana], to the extreme of advaita and illusionism" (Viraha-Bhakti, p. 541). 56 Hardy remarks: "It is difficult to imagine what kind of a person the author could have been, maintaining in himself this incredible tension between intense emotionalism and monistic and theistic illusionism. But, however

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419 incongruous this enormous edifice may appear to us, it contains stimuli and inspiration which remained operative for the following thousand years" (Viraha-Bhakti, p. 541). See also Daniel P. Sheridan, "Devotion in the Bhagavata Purana and Christian Love: Bhakti, Agape, Eros," Horizons, VIII (1981), 273-275. � � 57 iti te bhagavadyancam srnvanto 'pi na susruvah ksudrasa bhurikarmano balisa vrddhamaninah // tam brahma paraman saksad bhagavantam adhoksajam / manusyadrstya duspraja martyatmano na menire, Bhagavata-purana 10.23.9, 11; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1153. 581.18.18. 591.5.23; 7.15.72-74. 60 etah param tanubhrto bhuvi gopavadhvo govinda eva nikhilatmani rudhabhavah / vanchanti yat bhavabhiyo munayo vayam ca kim brahmajanmabhir anantakatharasasya // vande nandavrajastrinam padarenum abhiksnasah / yasam harikathodgitam punati bhuvanatrayam, Bhagavata-purana 10.47.57, 63; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana II, 1263. 61 See Bhagavad Gita 9.32. 62 T. J. Hopkins, "The Social Teaching of the " Bhagavata Purana, in Milton Singer, p. 19. 63 yannamadheyasravananukirtanad yatprahvanad yat smaranad api kvacit / svado svado 'pi sadyah savanaya kalpate kutah punas te bhagavan nu darsanat, Bhagavata-purana 3.33.6; Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana, I, 317. 64 T. J. Hopkins, "Social Teaching," p. 22.

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