Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam --- Verse Eight - Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā
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
namas te ’stu dāmne sphurad dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ’nanta--līlāya devāya tubhyam
SYNONYMS
namaḥ – respectful obeisance; te – Your; astu – let it be so; dāmne –
to the celebrated rope binding Your belly; sphurat – splendorous; dīpti-dhāmne
– an abode of spiritual effulgence; tvadīya-udarāya – unto Your belly; atha –
furthermore; viśvasya – of the entire universe [of moving and non-moving
entities]; dhāmne – to the support; namaḥ – I bow down; rādhikāyai – unto
Śrīmatī Rādhikā; tvadīya-priyāyai – unto Your most beloved; namaḥ – respectful
obeisance; ananta--līlāya – to Your unlimited pastimes; devāya – to the divine
Lord; tubhyam – to You.
TRANSLATION
O Dāmodara, I offer my respectful obeisances to the celebrated rope
binding Your belly, for it is an abode of brilliant effulgence. I offer my respectful obeisances to Your belly,
which supports the entire universe of moving and non-moving entities. I offer
my respectful obeisances again and again to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Your most beloved,
and I offer my respectful obeisances to You, my divine Lord who performs
unlimited transcendental pastimes.
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā
evaṁ stutiṁ samāpayan
sva-prārthita-siddhaye bhakti-viśeṣeṇa vā tadīyāsādhāraṇa-parikarāvayava-parivārādīn
api pratyekaṁ pṛthak praṇamati – namaste ’stviti. te tava, dāmne
udara-bandhana-mahāpāśāya namo ’stu. katham bhūtāya? sphurantyā dīptestejaso
dhāmne āśrayāya. evaṁ tasyāpi brahma-ghana-rūpatābhipretā.
athānantaraṁ tvadīyāya
udarāya namo ’stu. pāśa-bandhane tenaiva saundaryādervātsalya-līlādeśca viśeṣataḥ
prakāśanāt. katham bhūtāya? viśvasya carācara-prapañca-jātasya, dhāmne
ādhārāya. tata eva caturdaśa-bhuvanātmaka-kamalotpatteḥ. tatraiva ca mātaraṁ
prati vāra-dvayaṁ viśva-rūpa-pradarśanāditi dik. evam udara-bandhanena
viśvasyāpi bandhanāpatteḥ. śrī-yaśodayā viśvam api vaśī-kṛtam iti dhvanitaṁ.
tathā īśasya
bandhanāsambhave ’pi bandhana-svīkāreṇa bhakta-vātsalya-viśeṣas tathā
bandhanena prapañcāsaṅkocāvasthityādi-samāveśasya tarkāgocaratvat aiśvarya-viśeṣaśca
dhvanita iti dik.
dāma-namaskārānantaram
udara-namaskāraścodaropari-dāmno varttamānatvāt, yathottaram utkarṣa-vivakṣayā
vā.
idānīṁ tadīya
priyatama-jana-kṛpayaiva vāñchitaṁ vāñchātītam api sarvam eva su-siddhyed
ityāśayena bhagavatīṁ śrī-rādhāṁ praṇamati nama iti. tathā ca sarvā eva gopikā
upalakṣyante, kimvā tāsu mukhyata-mātra saivaikoktā. rādhiketi sarvadaiva
śrī-bhagavad-ārādhana-viśeṣādanvartha-saṅjñā. ataeva tvadīya-priyeti.
yad-vā – rādhiketi rūḍhi-saṅjñā.
tataścārādhanādy-anapekṣayā sā nitya-priyaiveti. tatra ca tvadīyā api sarve
janāḥ priyāstvatprītyā yasyāḥ kimuta vaktavyaṁ tvamiti. evaṁ tasyās-tasmin
prema-viśeṣaḥ sūcitaḥ. tasyai namaḥ, yadvā, tvat-priyāyai iti tataś-ca yasya
tvam priyo ’si so’pi jagad-vandyaḥ syāt. eṣā ca tavaiva priyā atas-tasyai
namo’stu.
tataśca tayā saha rāsa-krīḍādikaṁ
parama-stutitvenānte varṇayitum icchan tac ca parama-gopyatvenānabhivyañjayan –
‘madhureṇa samāpayediti’ nyāyena kiñcideva saṅketenoddiśan praṇamati.
devāya lokottarāyeti.
līlānām api lokottaratābhipretā. yadvā, śrī-rādhikayā saha nirantara-kṛīḍāparāya,
ataevānanta-līlāya tubhyaṁ nama iti. evaṁ gokula-viṣayikā sarvāpi līloddiṣṭā,
tasmai ca nama iti. bhāva ityeṣā dik.
iti śrī-dāmodarāṣṭake aṣtama-śloke
śrī-sanātana gosvāmi-kṛtā dig-darśinī-nāmnī ṭīkā samāptā
~ Thus ends the Dig-Darśinī ṭīkā
on the eighth verse ~
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā
Bhāvanuvāda
Now, in this verse beginning
with namas te ’stu, Śrī Satyavrata Muni concludes his prayers. Either for the
purpose of attaining his cherished goal, or else due to the exuberance of the
uncommonly excellent form of bhakti that has arisen in his heart, he offers
separate respectful obeisances to the extraordinary rope binding Śrī Bhagavān’s
waist, to His bodily limbs and to His associates.(1)
The sage says:
“I offer my respectful
obeisances to the wondrous rope binding Your waist.”
What is that rope like?
Considering this question, he adds:
“It is the abode or refuge of all splendid effulgence.”
Here, he intends to establish that [due to being replete with unlimited
effulgence] this extraordinary rope consists of the very nature of concentrated
brahma.
The sage continues:
“Next, I offer my obeisances to Your belly because Your beauty and Your
vātsalya-līlā only manifest in matchless magnificence when Your belly is bound
by rope in this way.”
What is Your belly like?
The sage says:
“Your belly is the basis of the entire universe consisting of all
created beings both moving and non-moving. In fact, the lotus of the fourteen
planetary systems arose from the lotus-like navel in the centre of Your belly.”
Furthermore, on two occasions, Śrī Kṛṣṇa showed His mother, Śrī
Yaśodā-devī, His viśva-rūpa, or universal form (2), while enacting His
childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana. It is therefore clearly understood that simply
by binding Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s belly, the entire universe becomes bound. In other
words, the sage declares that by binding Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Yaśodā-devī had in fact
brought the entire cosmos under her control.
Furthermore it is impossible to bind the all-pervading unlimited Lord,
but He allowed Himself to be bound, thereby displaying His bhakta-vātsalya, or
His exceptional affection for His devotees. By logic, it cannot be understood
how all the unlimited universes are encompassed within Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s belly, yet
even this wonderful belly of His was bound! Thus, the sage implies here that by
allowing Himself to be bound, and thereby allowing all the universes to be
bound – a pastime completely beyond all logical considerations – Śrī Bhagavān
displayed His unparalleled opulence and grandeur (aiśvarya).
After the sage offers obeisances to the rope, He next offers obeisances
to the Lord’s belly, thus implying that the rope is resting there. Also, it is
implied that he is offering obeisances in order of increasing superiority.
At this point, the sage understands that only by the mercy of Śrī
Bhagavān’s loved ones can he attain his cherished goal and that which he cannot
even conceive of. With this understanding, he offers obeisances to Śrī
Bhagavān’s most beloved, bhagavatī Śrīmatī Rādhikā, by the words namo
rādhikāyai. In fact, by offering obeisances to Śrī Rādhikā, the sage actually
conveys his obeisances to all the gopīs. Or, a different understanding is that
the sage is offering his praṇāma to Śrīmatī Rādhikā alone because he regards
Her as the foremost of all the gopīs.
[Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī now sheds light on why the sage uses the word
rādhikā:] Śrī Rādhā is constantly immersed in Śrī Bhagavān’s worship
(ārādhanā). That is, She is forever
rapt in arousing His pleasure. It is through this word alone, ārādhanā, that
one can understand the profound meaning of Śrī Rādhikā’s name. Therefore, the
sage says to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:
“Śrī Rādhikā is
tvadīya-priyāyai – Your most beloved.”
Alternatively, “Rādhikā” can
be understood by its conventional sense without any consideration of etymology.
In that case, it is understood that the sage says:
“Even without considering
Her worship (ārādhanā) of You, She is simply Your nitya-priyā (eternal
beloved).”
Furthermore, the sage says:
“Due to the love that all
Your devotees (tvadīya) have for You, they are very dear to Her, so what can be
said about how dear You must be to Her!?
In other words, You are Her
Nitya-priya (eternal beloved).”
In this way, the sage is
proclaiming Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s exceptional love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
His words can be understood
in two ways: “I offer my respectful obeisances to You, the beloved of Rādhikā.”
Or, “I offer my obeisances to Your most beloved, Śrī Rādhikā. Whoever loves You
is worthy of adoration by the whole universe. Therefore, since Śrī Rādhikā is
Your most beloved, I offer my most respectful obeisances to Her.”
At the end of his prayers,
he wanted to describe Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s pastimes with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, such as
rāsa-līlā, which are most worshipful. However, recognising that such pastimes
are extremely confidential, he did not describe them explicitly.(3) Instead,
according to the popular adage “madhureṇa samāpayet – all should conclude
sweetly,” he submitted his obeisances to madhura rasa through a slight hint,
with the words namo ’nanta līlāya.
Next, Śrī Satyavrata Muni
says “devāya – I offer my respectful obeisances to the playful divinity or to
He who is supra-mundane – Śrī Bhagavān.” By mentioning Śrī Dāmodara-Kṛṣṇa’s
divinity, the sage implies that all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are similarly aprākṛta
(transcendental).
Otherwise, [since the word
deva is derived from div, “he who is ever rejoicing in playful sports”] the
sage says, “O Deva, because You are eternally engaged in playful pastimes with
Śrī Rādhikā, I offer my obeisances to You, the performer of unlimited pastimes
(ananta-līlā).”
Here the word ananta-līlā
certainly refers to all of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes in Gokula as well. Thus, yet
another meaning of the sage’s words is illuminated: “I offer my respectful
obeisances to each and every one of Your transcendental pastimes.”
~ Thus ends the English
rendition of the Dig-Darśinī-Ṭīkā on the eighth verse ~
(1) Editor’s footnote:
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has indicated these three (the rope binding Śrī Kṛṣṇa,
His limbs and His associates) with the words parikara, avayava, and parivāra,
respectively.
(2) Editor’s footnote:
See Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.7.35–6 and 10.8.37–9.
(3) Annotation by Śrīla
Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja:
Generally, the statement
namo ’nanta -līlāya is understood to mean “I offer my obeisances exclusively to
ananta-līla Bhagavān – that Śrī Kṛṣṇa whose pastimes have no end.” However,
directing his attention towards Śrī Satyavrata Muni’s inner intention, and
driven by his own personal bhāva, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has revealed a
confidential meaning of the above phrase. He explains that the sage is
actually offering his obeisances directly to Śrī Rāsa-līlā.
The word ananta means “that which has no limit, or end”, or in other
words, “eternal, unending, or innumerable.” According to Sanskrit grammar, the
word līlāya is the singular fourth case of the word līla because it is conjunct
with namaḥ. The syllable lī means “to embrace”, and la means “to accept”. Thus
with the word līla, it is understood that the sage is saying, “I offer my
obeisances to Rāsa-līlā and other pastimes in which Śrī Kṛṣṇa accepts the
gopīs’ embraces.”
Therefore, in his above explanation, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains
that ananta-līlāya also refers to all of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes in Gokula, and
thus it is understood that the sage is offering his obeisances to all of Śrī
Bhagavān’s pastimes. In this way, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has also made
meaningful his own statement, “madhureṇa samāpayet – all should end sweetly.”
Here, one more point must be
carefully noted. In this final verse of Dāmodarāṣṭakam, Śrīla Sanātana
Gosvāmīpāda is informing that although Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes such as Rāsa-līlā
are the most exalted of all His līlās, they are highly confidential and
therefore not to be described directly. For this reason, Śrī Satyavrata
Muni has offered his obeisances to such pastimes by just hinting at them. By
this it is clearly understood that it is completely improper to hear and sing
rāsa-līlā here and there, wherever and whenever one pleases. Moreover, if on
the pretence of eradicating their lust, unqualified persons contemplate or
imitate rāsa-līlā, even if only within their minds, they will commit the
offence of diminishing its honour and sanctity and will surely become degraded.
Then, like the immature prākṛta-sahajiyās, they will become lusty and attached
to a sensuous lifestyle.
In order to determine whether a person who desires to hear and sing
Rāsa-līlā has the proper motive and eligibility, one must carefully study what
has been explained at the end of the description of rāsa-līlā itself found in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
naitat samācarej jātu
manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ
vinaśyaty ācaran mauḍhyād
yathārudro ’bdhi-jaṁ viṣam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.30)
Those who are not īśvaras, who are powerless and helplessly controlled
by the laws of karma, should never imitate the Lord’s pastimes even within
their minds. Like a person who foolishly imitates Lord Śiva by drinking poison
generated from the churning of the ocean, they will certainly be destroyed.
This means that if a person is not truly qualified and competent, he
should never contemplate, perform or imitate Rāsa-līlā even within his mind.
For example, when the demigods and demons were churning the ocean of
milk and poison rose to its surface, only lord Śiva himself was capable of
consuming that poison.”
So, if an ineligible person pretends to be extremely qualified and
hears and sings Rāsa-līlā which will act just like poison for him, he will
immediately die. That is, he will surely become entangled in the deadly grip of
worldly life.
Since rāsa-līlā is the crown jewel of all of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes,
the fruit of hearing about it, singing it and remembering it is the crest jewel
of all attainments. Therefore, those who are eligible to devotedly honour it
must undoubtedly be the crest jewels of all exalted devotees. Someone who is
diseased at heart, who is lusty and unqualified, should not, in any way,
indulge in discussing Rāsa-līlā. For example, in order to dispel nescience it
is compulsory to attain complete knowledge by seeking the highest education in
a university. A kindergarten student, however, will not be allowed admission
directly into the highest level of study. Similarly, it is inappropriate to
impart the foremost transcendental teaching – the description of Rāsa-līlā – to
an ignorant person who is attached to gratifying his senses.
Here, one more point must be
carefully noted. In this final verse of Dāmodarāṣṭakam, Śrīla Sanātana
Gosvāmīpāda is informing that although Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes such as Rāsa-līlā
are the most exalted of all His līlās, they are highly confidential and
therefore not to be described directly. For this reason, Śrī Satyavrata
Muni has offered his obeisances to such pastimes by just hinting at them. By
this it is clearly understood that it is completely improper to hear and sing
rāsa-līlā here and there, wherever and whenever one pleases. Moreover, if on
the pretence of eradicating their lust, unqualified persons contemplate or
imitate rāsa-līlā, even if only within their minds, they will commit the
offence of diminishing its honour and sanctity and will surely become degraded.
Then, like the immature prākṛta-sahajiyās, they will become lusty and attached
to a sensuous lifestyle.
In order to determine whether a person who desires to hear and sing
Rāsa-līlā has the proper motive and eligibility, one must carefully study what
has been explained at the end of the description of rāsa-līlā itself found in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
naitat samācarej jātu
manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ
vinaśyaty ācaran mauḍhyād
yathārudro ’bdhi-jaṁ viṣam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.30)
Those who are not īśvaras, who are powerless and helplessly controlled
by the laws of karma, should never imitate the Lord’s pastimes even within
their minds. Like a person who foolishly imitates Lord Śiva by drinking poison
generated from the churning of the ocean, they will certainly be destroyed.
This means that if a person is not truly qualified and competent, he
should never contemplate, perform or imitate Rāsa-līlā even within his mind.
For example, when the demigods and demons were churning the ocean of
milk and poison rose to its surface, only lord Śiva himself was capable of
consuming that poison.”
So, if an ineligible person pretends to be extremely qualified and
hears and sings Rāsa-līlā which will act just like poison for him, he will
immediately die. That is, he will surely become entangled in the deadly grip of
worldly life.
Since rāsa-līlā is the crown jewel of all of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes,
the fruit of hearing about it, singing it and remembering it is the crest jewel
of all attainments. Therefore, those who are eligible to devotedly honour it
must undoubtedly be the crest jewels of all exalted devotees. Someone who is
diseased at heart, who is lusty and unqualified, should not, in any way,
indulge in discussing Rāsa-līlā. For example, in order to dispel nescience it
is compulsory to attain complete knowledge by seeking the highest education in
a university. A kindergarten student, however, will not be allowed admission
directly into the highest level of study. Similarly, it is inappropriate to
impart the foremost transcendental teaching – the description of Rāsa-līlā – to
an ignorant person who is attached to gratifying his senses.
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