Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.23.42
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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aho-paśyata
—
just see
Exclamation: aho (oh!) + paśyata (look!). The brāhmaṇas turn to one another in wonder. Gauḍīyas note the inversion: they who taught others now urge each other to look at women's bhakti.
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kṛṣṇe-jagat-gurau
—
for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the spiritual master of the entire universe
Compound: kṛṣṇe (locative) + jagat-gurau (locative of jagat-guru). Kṛṣṇa is named jagad-guru — recognising what their own guru-status has missed. The brāhmaṇas are now students again.
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duranta-bhāvam
—
unlimited devotion
Compound: duranta (without end) + bhāvam (bhāva). Limitless bhāva. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu's category of bhāva that cannot be measured — the brāhmaṇas name what they see in their wives in proper Gauḍīya register.
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mṛtyu-pāśān
—
the bonds of death
Compound: mṛtyu (death) + pāśān (nooses). The chains of saṁsāra are named as Yamarāja's pāśa. Bhakti is the one knife sharp enough for these — Gītā 12.7: aham samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt.
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gṛha-abhidhān
—
known as family life
Compound: gṛha (home) + abhidhān (called). The chains have a respectable name: 'family.' The brāhmaṇas now see what was holding them — the very institution they were honoured for upholding.
Superficially, the husbands, fathers, fathers-in-law and so on were the ladies’ gurus, or teachers. Yet the women had become perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereas the men had fallen into the darkness of ignorance. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, upon returning home the ladies showed transcendental ecstatic symptoms, such as trembling of the body, shedding of tears, standing of the bodily hairs on end, discoloration of the complexion, crying out “O pleasure of my life, O Kṛṣṇa!” with faltering words, and so forth. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī goes on to state that while one may object that it is not fitting for a woman to love anyone other than her husband, here the husbands themselves point out that they are gurus only in imitation of the Supreme Lord, who is jagad-guru, the universal teacher and spiritual master. The husbands noted that the women, having perfected their transcendental attachment for Kṛṣṇa, did not have even a trace of attachment left for home, husband, children and so forth. Therefore from that day on the husbands accepted those ladies as their worshipable spiritual masters and no longer thought of them as their wives or property.
We are much inferior to these women. In this way they lament in three verses. Aho indicates astonishment. “It is wrong from women to be attracted to other men.” But they have love for the guru of the universe, who is far superior to their husbands. Their prema (bhāvam) has cut off bondage of death. This means that they surpassed attraction to family life immediately.
- Which person in my life is the real spiritual teacher, regardless of formal role?
- Where am I waiting for credentialed instruction while ignoring lived-out devotion?
A jeweller marvels at a stone the apprentice tossed aside — see how it cuts through the iron chain. The brāhmaṇas marvel at their own wives' bhakti, calling it the diamond that cuts mṛtyu-pāśa. Recognition late is still recognition.
My note
Source: vedabase.io