FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.19

वयं तु न वितृप्याम उत्तमश्लोकविक्रमे । यच्छृण्वतां रसज्ञानां स्वादु स्वादु पदे पदे ॥ १९ ॥
vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma
[vayam tu na vitripyaama]
uttama-śloka-vikrame
[uttama-shloka-vikrame]
yac-chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ
[yach-chrinvataam rasa-jnaanaam]
svādu svādu pade pade
[svaadu svaadu pade pade]
Word-for-word
vayam — we tu — but na — not vitṛpyāmaḥ — shall be at rest uttama-śloka — the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by transcendental prayers vikrame — adventures yat — which śṛṇvatām — by continuous hearing rasa — humor jñānām — those who are conversant with svādu — relishing svādu — palatable pade pade — at every step.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma
vayam
we
tu
but
na
not
vitṛpyāmaḥ
shall be at rest
uttama-śloka-vikrame
uttama-śloka
the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by transcendental prayers
vikrame
adventures
yac-chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ
yat
which
śṛṇvatām
by continuous hearing
rasa
humor
jñānām
those who are conversant with
svādu svādu pade pade
svādu
relishing
svādu
palatable
pade pade
at every step.
We never tire of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by hymns and prayers. Those who have developed a taste for transcendental relationships with Him relish hearing of His pastimes at every moment.
Purport

There is a great difference between mundane stories, fiction, or history and the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. The histories of the whole universe contain references to the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord. The Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages recorded in connection with the pastimes of the incarnations of the Lord and therefore remain fresh even after repeated readings. For example, anyone may read Bhagavad-gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam repeatedly throughout his whole life and yet find in them new light of information. Mundane news is static whereas transcendental news is dynamic, inasmuch as the spirit is dynamic and matter is static. Those who have developed a taste for understanding the transcendental subject matter are never tired of hearing such narrations. One is quickly satiated by mundane activities, but no one is satiated by transcendental or devotional activities. Uttama-śloka indicates that literature which is not meant for nescience. Mundane literature is in the mode of darkness or ignorance, whereas transcendental literature is quite different. Transcendental literature is above the mode of darkness, and its light becomes more luminous with progressive reading and realization of the transcendental subject matter. The so-called liberated persons are never satisfied by the repetition of the words ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Such artificial realization of Brahman becomes hackneyed, and so to relish real pleasure they turn to the narrations of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Those who are not so fortunate turn to altruism and worldly philanthropy. This means the Māyāvāda philosophy is mundane, whereas the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
We are not fully satisfied with the exploits of the Lord whose fame is the highest, because at every moment those exploits become more relishable for the hearers who have knowledge of rasa.
Commentary

Uttama-śloka means “he whose fame or good qualities are the best.” Or it came mean “he who is praised by the best persons.” We are not completely satisfied in hearing about the exploits of Uttama-śloka. We do not consider that it is sufficient. In other words, we are completely satisfied with whatever we have done in performing sacrifices and yoga. Let us continue to hear about the activities of the Lord. Or the sentence can mean “Let others be satisfied, but we are not.” That is indicated by the word tu. The meaning is this. In three ways one knows that one has had enough of something and is satisfied: by sufficiency of quantity (as with food in the belly), by lack of awareness of the taste, and by lack of relishing the object. In this verse, there is insufficiency for the hearers (śṛṇvatām) because the exploits are not directly present, being present only as sound in the ether contacting the ear. Satisfaction is negated for a person who is not capable of appreciating the taste or rasa, for a person who is just like an animal. However the sages have appreciation of rasa (rasa-jṇānām). But still they are not satisfied. Unlike chewed sugarcane which loses its taste and becomes detestable, the topics of the Lord are most excellent because of the increase in taste at every moment (pade pade) after tasting. The sages have not lost taste, but are still dissatisfied. The locative termination on pada pada (pade pade) indicates “at every moment.”

Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Those who have developed a real taste for the Lord never tire of His stories — at every moment, there is more to relish. Spiritual taste, unlike material taste, only grows.
Reflection Questions
  • What spiritual taste in me has actually deepened over the last year — and what fed it?
  • Where do I confuse novelty (new content) with depth (deeper hearing)?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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