Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam --- Verse Six
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā
by the crest jewel among Śrī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas
Śrīla Śrī-yukta Sanātana Gosvāmī
verse and ṭīkā translations and annotations
by nitya-līlā praviṣṭa-oṁ-viṣṇupāda-paramahaṁsa-svāmī
Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja
namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu
gṛhāṇeśa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ
SYNONYMS
namaḥ – respectful obeisance; deva – He who has a divine form; dāmodara – O bhakta-vatsala (You who are affectionate to Your devotees) Śrī Dāmodara; ananta – O Lord of inconceivable magnificent potencies; viṣṇo – O all-pervasive Lord; prasīda – be pleased; prabho – O my Master; duḥkha – sufferings ; jāla – a network; abdhi – in an ocean; magnam – drowning; kṛpā-dṛṣṭi – of Your compassionate glances; vṛṣṭyā – by the rain; atidīnam – extremely miserable; bata – alas!; anugṛhāṇa – treat me with kindness or enliven me by delivering me; īśa – O supremely independent controller; mām – me; ajñam – ignorant; edhi – please become; akṣi – my eyes; dṛśyaḥ – visible.
TRANSLATION
O Deva, O You who have a divine form, I offer my respectful obeisances to You. O You who are bhakta-vatsala, affectionate to Your devotees! Śrī Dāmodara, O Ananta, Lord of inconceivably magnificent potencies! O all-pervasive Viṣṇu, O Prabhu, my Master, be pleased with me. I am drowning in an ocean of incessant worldly miseries. Alas, I am extremely miserable and I do not know what to do. O Īśa, supremely independent controller, please deliver me by the nectarean shower of Your merciful glance and enliven me by becoming directly visible to my eyes.
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā
evaṁ stuti-prabhāvāt sadyaḥ samuditena prema-viśeṣeṇa sākṣād-didṛkṣamānas tatra caikaṁ nāma-saṅkīrtanam eva parama-sādhanaṁ – manyamānas tathaiva sakātaryaṁ prārthayate – nama iti. tubhyam – ity adhyāhāryam eva, tac ca bhaya-gauravādinā prema-vaikalyena vā sākṣān na prayuktam.
he prabho! – he mad-īśvara! prasīda – prasādam evāha, duḥkhaṁ – sāṁsārikaṁ tvad-darśana-jaṁ vā, tasya jālaṁ – paramparā, tad evābdhiḥ ānanty-ādinā, tasmin-magnaṁ māṁ, ataeva ati-dīnaṁ – paramārttaṁ.
yad vā – tatra sat-sahāya-sādhanādi-hīnatvāt paramākiñcanaṁ. yad vā – mumūrṣuṁ jīvan mṛtaṁ vā, tatra cājñaṁ tat-pratikārādy-anabhijñaṁ.
kṛpayā dṛṣṭir nirīkṣaṇaṁ, tasya vṛṣṭyā – paramparayā kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-rūpāmṛta-vṛṣṭyā vā, anugṛhāṇa – samuddhṛtya jīvayety arthaḥ. tad evābhivyāñjayati. akṣi-dṛśyo – mal-locana-gocavaḥ, edhi – bhava.
evaṁ prārthanā-krameṇa prārthanaṁ kṛtaṁ, prārthyasya parama-daurlabhyena sahasā prāg eva nirdeśārṇahatvāt. antar-darśanāt sākṣād-darśana-mahātmyañ ca śrī- bhagavat-pārṣadaiḥ sanyāyam uktaṁ śrī bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛtottara-khaṇḍato [3.179–182] viśeṣato jñeyam.
tatra deva – he divya-rūpeti, didṛkṣāyāṁ hetuḥ. dāmodareti – bhakta-vātsalya-viśeṣeṇākṣi-darśana-yogyatāyāṁ. ato nānto yasmād ity ananteti kṛpā-dṛṣṭy-anugrahaṇe. prabho! – he acintyānantādbhuta-mahā-śakti-yukteti, indriyāgrāhyasyāpy akṣi-dṛśyatā-sambhāvanayām. īśa! – he parama-svatantreti, ayogyaṁ prati tādṛśānugraha-karaṇe kasyacid anapekṣatāyāṁ jñeyaḥ. kiñca – viṣṇo! – he sarva-vyāpaka! yad vā – he vṛndāvana-nikuñja-kuharādi-praveśa-śīla! – iti cākṣi-dṛśyatārthaṁ dūrāgamana-śramādikaṁ nāstīti.
athavā, he ananta! – aparichinna! viṣṇo! – sarva-vyāpin! tathāpi he dāmodarety evaṁ parama-vātsalya-viśeṣeṇa tavākṛtaṁ kim api nāstīti dhvanitam. anyat samānam ity eṣā dik.
~ Thus ends the Dig-Darśinī ṭīkā on the sixth verse ~
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā Bhāvanuvāda
By the power of his prayers, an uncommon type of prema instantly arose within Śrī Satyavrata Muni’s heart and he now expresses his intense longing to see Śrī Bhagavān directly. Within his mind, he concluded that the best means to attain direct darśana of Śrī Bhagavān is indeed śrī nāma-saṅkīrtana and therefore, in this verse beginning with namo deva, he submits himself to his Lord through fervent prayers in the form of śrī nāma-saṅkīrtana.
One should understand that even though the sage intended to use the word tubhyam (unto You) after the word namaḥ to complete the grammatical construction, he left it out either because of apprehension, reverence, or because he simply lost control of himself due to the prema arising within his heart. Consequently, he was unable to address Śrī Bhagavān so directly.
Śrī Satyavrata Muni addresses his Lord, “O Prabhu, my Master! O Īśvara, O supreme controller!” He next says prasīda, “be pleased with me”. In other words, he explains what gracious favour he seeks from his Lord, if his Lord is pleased with him (prasīda). The reason he seeks the favour of his Lord is described in the words duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam. Śrī Satyavrata Muni says, “I am drowning (magna) in an unbroken series (jāla) of miseries (duḥkha).” The miseries, or duḥkha, described here may be considered either the miseries born of material existence in the form of repeated birth and death or else the suffering he feels by not being able to see his Lord. Such miseries are boundless and are therefore compared to an ocean (abdhi). He says ait-dīnam, “Tormented by such incessant misery, I am suffering greatly.” [“Therefore be pleased with me.”]
[Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī now illuminates further meanings of ati-dīnam:] Śrī Satyavrata Muni also indicates, “Because I am deprived of the support of saintly association, I cannot perform sādhana-bhajana. I therefore remain extremely wretched and destitute.” Or, “Although I am somehow still alive, I am nearly dead because of my intense hankering to see You. I have no idea how to alleviate such incessant suffering.”
“Therefore,” he continues, “kṛpā-dṛṣṭi – please cast upon me Your uninterrupted compassionate glance, which is like a downpour (vṛṣṭyā) of nectar. In this way, anugṛhāṇa – revive me by completely delivering me from this ocean of misery.”
With the words edhi akṣi-dṛśyaḥ, the sage explains exactly what gracious favour he seeks from his master. He prays, “Please become directly visible to my eyes.”
Since there is nothing more rarely achieved than direct darśana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, it would not have been appropriate for Śrī Satyavrata Muni to request it at the very beginning of his prayers. This is the reason for the sequence of his prayers. (1)
[Regarding direct darśana] With sound logic, Śrī Bhagavān’s associates have personally established how direct vision of Bhagavān is more glorious than vision of Him within the heart. The excellence of this goal is explained in Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta’s Uttara-khaṇḍa (3.179–182) (2).
At the beginning of this stanza, Śrī Satyavrata Muni addresses the Lord with various names, beginning with the name Deva. Now the sage’s inner intention for using these addresses is revealed:
Deva – “O You whose form is divine, O most beautiful Lord.” The sage addresses Śrī Bhagavān in this way with the desire to see Him directly.
Dāmodara – “O Bhagavān, You are known by the name Dāmodara because of Your exceptional quality of bhakta-vātsalyatā, deep affection for Your devotees. Because of this special quality, You agreed to be bound around Your waist by Your mother, and by this same quality You appear before the eyes of Your devotees and let them meet You face to face.” [Śrī Satyavrata Muni therefore considers, “Because of His bhakta-vātsalyatā, I too will be able to directly see Him with my own eyes.”]
Ananta – “O unlimited, endless Lord,” or, “O Lord, there is no end or limit to Your mercy.” The sage addresses Śrī Bhagavān with this name because he desires to attain His Lord’s favour in the form of His merciful glance.
Prabhu – “O Lord, Your inconceivable potencies are unlimited, astonishing and immensely powerful.” By addressing the Lord thus, the sage implies, “O Lord, by the influence of Your inconceivable potency, You can become visible to my eyes, even though You are beyond the grasp of the senses.”
Īśa – “O supremely independent controller.” By this, the sage implies, “You are the absolutely independent controller so You never rely on anyone or anything to exhibit mercy, even to such an unqualified person as me.”
Viṣṇu – “O all-pervasive One.” Or, “O You who are always inclined to enter the secluded caves and groves of Vṛndāvana.” Here the sage implies, “You are omnipresent so You do not have to undergo the difficulty of travelling a long distance to appear directly before my eyes.”
[Next, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī reveals another meaning implied by these names.] The sage says, “Although You are ananta (boundless) and viṣṇu (all-pervading) You are also dāmodara – You willingly became bound around Your waist by Your devotee.” The meaning is: “out of extreme affection for Your devotees, there is nothing You will not do.” Thus the sage has indicated that this special meaning is present when the names Ananta, Viṣṇu and Dāmodara are considered together. The meanings of the remaining names are the same as before.
~ Thus ends the English rendition of the Dig-Darśinī-Ṭīkā on the sixth verse ~
(1) Editor’s footnote adapted from the Bengali edition: In the first and second verse Śrī Satyavrata Muni offers praṇāma to Śrī Dāmodara, who is controlled by the prema of His devotees. In the third verse he offers repeated vandana, or prayers, unto Him. In the fourth and fifth verses, he condemns all the goals of life beginning with mokṣa, and prays for the Bāla-gopāla form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa to forever manifest within his heart. Only now, in the sixth verse, is he praying for direct darśana of Bhagavān. The sequence of prayers in this verse is as follows:
Prasīda – “kindly be pleased with me”;
Anugṛhāṇa – “by the shower of your compassionate glance upon me, completely deliver me from the ocean of sufferings”;
Akṣi-dṛśyaḥ edhi – “please become visible to my eyes.”
(2) Annotation by Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja: In the fourth verse of this aṣṭaka, verses 2.86 through 2.96 of Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta’s Uttara-khaṇḍa were cited. Therein, Śrī Pippalāyana Ṛṣi, a resident of Tapoloka, explained to Gopa-kumāra that seeing Śrī Bhagavān within the mind is more rewarding than seeing Him with one’s eyes. Inthe following verses however, Śrī Bhagavān’s personal associates, who are residents of Vaikuṇṭha, prove that directly seeing Śrī Bhagavān is actually superior to seeing Him in meditation for it grants the ultimate success of life.
Verses 3.179 through 3.182 of Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta’s Uttara-khaṇḍa are presented herein:
dṛg bhyāṁ prabhor darśanato hi sarvata
stut tat-prasādāvali-labdhir īkṣyate
sarvādhikaṁ sāndra-sukhañ ca jāyate
sādhyantad eva śravaṇādi-bhaktiḥ
Śrī Bhagavān’s personal associates addressed Gopa-kumāra: Only when one beholds Śrī Bhagavān directly, with his own eyes, does one attain His complete mercy without fail. [Kardama Ṛṣi, Dhruva and others who saw Śrī Bhagavān with their own eyes and won His abundant mercy are examples of this]. By this mercy alone, we are also directly realising that seeing Śrī Bhagavān with our eyes is the ultimate success of life. The most profound joy is only experienced when one sees Śrī Bhagavān in this way, directly, which can only be accomplished by performing navadhā-bhakti, the nine-fold system of devotional service beginning with śravaṇa (hearing) and kīrtana (chanting). (179)
Direct darśana of Śrī Bhagavān is the ultimate success of life for the following reason:
sarveṣāṁ sādhanānāṁ tat-sākṣātkāro hi sat-phalam
tadaivāmūlato māyā naśyet premāpi vardhate
The consummate result of all types of sādhana is to meet Śrī Bhagavān face to face. Thus meeting Him, one’s entanglement in māyā will be completely destroyed at the root and simultaneously prema will swell within one’s heart.
In the next verse, the personal associates of Śrī Bhagavān further establish the unrivalled excellence of meeting the Lord face to face by citing an incident from ancient times.
kāyādhavāder-hṛdi paśyato ’pi prabhuṁ sadākṣnā kil tad-didṛkṣa
tatra pramāṇaṁ hi tathāvalokanād anantaraṁ bhāva-viśeṣa-lābhaḥ
Even though devotees like Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja, the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu and Kayādhu, were able to behold the Lord within their heart, it is a fact that they always hankered to see Him, the master of all power, directly with their eyes. The evidence for this is that on the shore of the ocean one day, by seeing Śrī Bhagavān face to face Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja attained an extraordinary state of love for Him. (181)
One should refer to Śrī Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya for more details about this incident.
At this point, one may argue against this conclusion by quoting Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam (3.15.44):
“When Śrī Sanaka and the other Kumāras met Śrī Bhagavān face to face, they first looked upward at His smiling lotus face, and then cast their vision down to see the splendour of His toenails. When they realised that, due to the limitations of their eyes and other senses, they could not perceive the charm and splendour of all of Śrī Bhagavān’s limbs at one time, they closed their eyes and began meditating on His entire form; they meditated on all of His limbs at once, from His head to His lotus feet.”
This shows that after seeing Śrī Bhagavān directly with their eyes, the sages became absorbed in meditation.
Is this not proof that meditation is more excellent than direct visual perception?
This argument is countered by Śrī Bhagavān’s personal associates in the next verse beginning with kṛṣṇasya:
kṛṣṇasya sākṣād api jāyate yat keṣāñcid-akṣi-dvaya-milanādi
dhyānaṁ na tat kintu mūdāṁ bhareṇa kampādi-vat prema-vikāra eṣaḥ
If someone’s eyes close due to being overwhelmed by joy after directly seeing Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and his other senses become stunned or inactive, it should not be assumed that he is meditating. Rather, this behaviour should simply be recognised as identical to the extraordinary transformations of prema. These transformations include trembling, crying and horripilation and are known as the aṣṭa-sāttvika bhāvas, or the eight ecstatic symptoms of love of God. (182)
Considering these statements, the unquestionable conclusion is that the profound happiness of seeing Śrī Bhagavān directly or perceiving Him directly with one’s other senses is far greater than the happiness of perceiving Him within one’s mind through the process of meditation.
