Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary)
by Śī Śīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja | 2005 | 440,179 words | ISBN-13: 9781935428329
The Brihad-bhagavatamrita Verse 2.3.124, English translation, including commentary (Dig-darshini-tika): an important Vaishnava text dealing with the importance of devotional service. The Brihad-bhagavatamrita, although an indepent Sanskrit work, covers the essential teachings of the Shrimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-purana). This is verse 2.3.124 contained in Chapter 3—Bhajana (loving service)—of Part two (prathama-khanda).
Verse 2.3.124
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.124:
तज�-ज्ञापक� � भज भगवताद�-शास्त्रं लीला-कथ� भगवत� शृणु तत्र नित्यम� �
ता एव कर्ण-विवर� प्रणयात् प्रविष्टाः सद्य� पद� भगवत� प्रभवन्त� दातुम् � १२� �taj-jñāpaka� ca bhaja bhagavatādi-śāstra� ī-첹ٳ ٲ� śṛṇ tatra nityam |
tā eva karṇa-vivara� ṇa ṣṭ� ⲹ� pada� ٲ� prabhavanti ٳܳ || 124 ||ٲ-ñ貹첹–to His glorification; ca–aԻ; bhaja–be devoted; 岵ٲ-徱–beginning with Śī-岵ٲ; śٰ–to the Vaiṣṇava scriptures; ī-첹ٳ–the narrations of Their pastimes; ٲ�–of the Lord; śṛṇ–h; tatra–t; nityam–rܱ; te–of you; eva–iԻ; 첹ṇa-–the ear holes; ṇa–with love; ṣṭ�–eԳٱ; ⲹ�–at once; padam–the abode; ٲ�–of the all-opulent Lord; prabhavanti–have the power; ٳܳ–to award.
Devote yourself to Śī-岵ٲ and other scriptures that teach loving devotion to the Lord, and regularly listen to the narrations of Śī ’s pastimes. When those descriptions enter the holes of your ears and you hear them with love, they will immediately bring you to the abode of Śī .
Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda
(By Śīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)
Śī Gopa-ܳ might ask, “What is the nature of the ninefold practice of devotional service, and how does one execute it?�
In reply, the ղṇṭ associates of the Lord speak this verse beginning with tat. They say, “You should continuously study Śīmad 岵ٲ and other bhakti scriptures, and regularly hear the narrations of the pastimes of . Of the nine practices of devotional service, the most excellent is hearing ’s pastimes. This is most beneficial because it greatly attracts the mind. As soon as those descriptions enter the heart through the medium of the ears, they immediately deliver one to the abode of Śī .�
Śī Śܰ첹𱹲 clearly states this in the Twelfth Canto (Śīmad 岵ٲ 12.4.40):
संसा�-सिन्धुम् अत�-दुस्तरम् उत्तितीर्षोर् नान्यः प्लव� भगवत� पुरुषोत्तमस्�
लीला-कथ�-रस-निषेवणम् अन्तरे� पुंस� भवेद� विवि�-दुःख-दवार्दितस्�saṃsāra-sindhum ati-dustaram uttitīrṣor nānya� plavo ٲ� puruṣottamasya
ī-첹ٳ-rasa-niṣevaṇam antareṇa puṃso bhaved vividha-duḥkha-davārditasyaFor those who have been burnt by the forest fire of distress and who desire to cross over the insurmountable ocean of material existence, the only boat that can deliver one is one’s taste for the nectarean rasa of the narrations of ’s pastimes. There is no other recourse.
It is stated in the Second Canto (Śī-岵ٲ 2.2.37):
पिबन्त� ये भगवत आत्मनः सतां कथामृत� श्रव�-पुटेषु सम्भृतम्
पुनन्त� ते विषय-विदूषिताशय� व्रजन्ति तच�-चर�-सरोरुहान्तिकम्pibanti ye bhagavata ātmana� satā� kathāmṛta� śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam
punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśaya� vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikamWhen those whose hearts are contaminated by mirage-like illusory sense objects, such as form and taste, drink deeply through their ears the nectar of the descriptions of Śī ’s pastimes, which are manifest from the spiritual nature of saintly personalities, their hearts become purified. Thus they happily obtain the personal association of the lotus feet of the Lord.