SB 10.23.48-49 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.23.48-49

देश: काल: पृथग्द्रव्यं मन्त्रतन्त्रर्त्विजोऽग्नय: । देवता यजमानश्च क्रतुर्धर्मश्च यन्मय: ॥ ४८ ॥ स एव भगवान् साक्षाद् विष्णुर्योगेश्वरेश्वर: । जातो यदुष्वित्याश‍ृण्म ह्यपि मूढा न विद्महे ॥ ४९ ॥

deśaḥ kālaḥ pṛthag dravyaṁ

[deshah kaalah prithag dravyam]

mantra-tantrartvijo ’gnayaḥ

[mantra-tantrartvijo ’gnayah]

devatā yajamānaś ca

[devataa yajamaanash cha]

kratur dharmaś ca yan-mayaḥ

[kratur dharmash cha yan-mayah]

sa eva bhagavān sākṣād

[sa eva bhagavaan saakshaad]

viṣṇur yogeśvareśvaraḥ

[vishnur yogeshvareshvarah]

jāto yaduṣv ity āśṛṇma

[jaato yadushv ity aashrinma]

hy api mūḍhā na vidmahe

[hy api moodhaa na vidmahe]

Word-for-word

deśaḥ — the place kālaḥ — time pṛthak dravyam — particular items of paraphernalia mantra — Vedic hymns tantra — prescribed rituals ṛtvijaḥ — priests agnayaḥ — and the sacrificial fires devatā — the presiding demigods yajamānaḥ — the performer ca — and kratuḥ — the offering dharmaḥ — the pious reaction ca — and yat — whom mayaḥ — constituting saḥ — He eva — indeed bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead sākṣāt — directly viṣṇuḥ — Lord Viṣṇu yoga - īśvara - īśvaraḥ — the Lord of all mystic controllers jātaḥ — taken birth yaduṣu — among the Yadu dynasty iti — thus āśṛṇma — we have heard hi — certainly api — nevertheless mūḍhāḥ — foolish na vidmahe — we could not understand .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

deśaḥ kālaḥ pṛthag dravyaṁ

deśaḥ

the place

kālaḥ

time

pṛthak dravyam

particular items of paraphernalia

mantra-tantrartvijo ’gnayaḥ

mantra

Vedic hymns

tantra

prescribed rituals

ṛtvijaḥ

priests

devatā yajamānaś ca

kratur dharmaś ca yan-mayaḥ

sa eva bhagavān sākṣād

agnayaḥ

and the sacrificial fires

devatā

the presiding demigods

viṣṇur yogeśvareśvaraḥ

jāto yaduṣv ity āśṛṇma

yajamānaḥ

the performer

and

kratuḥ

the offering

hy api mūḍhā na vidmahe

dharmaḥ

the pious reaction

and

yat

whom

mayaḥ

constituting

saḥ

eva

indeed

bhagavān

the Supreme Personality of Godhead

sākṣāt

directly

viṣṇuḥ

Lord Viṣṇu

yoga - īśvara - īśvaraḥ

the Lord of all mystic controllers

jātaḥ

taken birth

yaduṣu

among the Yadu dynasty

iti

thus

āśṛṇma

we have heard

certainly

api

nevertheless

mūḍhāḥ

foolish

na vidmahe

we could not understand .

Important Words

viṣṇuḥ — Lord Viṣṇu
From √viś — 'all-pervading.' The brāhmaṇas name Kṛṣṇa as Viṣṇu — Gauḍīyas note this is the same identification Bhāgavatam 1.3.28 affirms (kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam), with Viṣṇu/Bhagavān-tattva fully present in the cowherd-boy.
yoga-īśvara-īśvaraḥ — the Lord of all mystic controllers
Compound: yoga (mystic power) + īśvara (master) + īśvaraḥ (Lord). Re-stated from verse 43-44. The brāhmaṇas keep returning to this superlative — Bhagavān above all who control.
yaduṣu — having taken birth among the Yadu dynasty
Compound: yaduṣu (locative plural of Yadu) + jātaḥ (born). The Yadu-vaṁśa birth is a public, scriptural fact. The brāhmaṇas had heard — āśṛṇma — and yet failed to recognise. Hearing without realisation is the chapter's diagnosis.
āśṛṇma-hi-api — we have indeed heard, nevertheless
Compound: āśṛṇma (we heard) + hi (indeed) + api (nevertheless). The damning concession. Knowledge of the right answer is not the same as recognition of the Person. The whole epistemology of bhakti hangs on this distinction.
mūḍhāḥ-na-vidmahe — we, being foolish, could not understand
Compound: mūḍhāḥ (foolish) + na (not) + vidmahe (we know). Self-named mūḍhāḥ — the brāhmaṇas use the word Gītā 9.11 applies to those who dishonour Bhagavān as ordinary. They identify themselves with the avajānanti class.

All the aspects of sacrifice — the auspicious place and time, the various items of paraphernalia, the Vedic hymns, the prescribed rituals, the priests and sacrificial fires, the demigods, the patron of the sacrifice, the sacrificial offering and the pious results obtained — all are simply manifestations of His opulences. Yet even though we had heard that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, the Lord of all mystic controllers, had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, we were so foolish that we could not recognize Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be none other than Him.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

All the aspects of sacrifice—the auspicious place and time, the various items of paraphernalia, the Vedic hymns, the prescribed rituals, the priests and sacrificial fires, the demigods, the patron of the sacrifice, the sacrificial offering and the pious results obtained—all are simply manifestations of His opulences. Yet even though we had heard that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, the Lord of all mystic controllers, had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, we were so foolish that we could not recognize Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be none other than Him.

Commentary

The bewilderment is further explained in this verse. They pay their respects to Krsna feeling pained by the offense they committed towards him.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

They show how the mistake takes place. He is directly Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. Everything is part of his body because he pervades everything (viṣṇuḥ). He is to be worshipped by all: he is the lord of liberated souls (yogeśvareśvaraḥ). Thus he is to be worshipped by our sacrifices. Or, he has directly manifested (sa eva). Therefore he is full of all powers (bhagavān). He spreads everywhere with the manifestation of unlimited powers as Viṣṇu. Thus he should be worshipped by all (yogeśvareśvaraḥ). Or, for what purpose did he appear? He appeared to give joy to his devotees (yogeśvareṣvaraḥ—lord of the devotees). The word hi indicates that this conclusion is supported by scripture. That is famous with statements like mad bhaktānāṁ vinodārtham: I perform various pastimes to please my devotees. (Padma Purāṇa). We were ignorant of the meaning of the scriptures. They now concluded what Śukadeva stated in verses 10-11.

Related values & verses

Related values

Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Bhakti (Devotion)Vinaya (Humility / Modesty)Prema (Divine Love)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)

Concepts

Dharma

Related lectures

IDS SB 10-23-48-52 - 2022-09-14 ISKCON Vrindavan
His Holiness Indradyumna Swami· 2022-09-14· English
Bhanu Sw SB 10-23-49 - 2006-03-17
His Holiness Bhanu Swami· 2006-03-17· English

Personal Guidance

All sacrifice's parts — place, time, mantras, priests, fires, demigods, sacrificer, offering, results — are manifestations of His opulences. Even knowing He was born as Yadu-dynasty Kṛṣṇa, we couldn't see. Knowing facts is not the same as recognizing.

Reflection Questions

What fact about Kṛṣṇa do I know intellectually that I have not yet recognized in real time?
Where am I waiting to feel something before I will accept what I already know?

Analogy

Like guests at a wedding being told the bridegroom is the king and still searching the room for him, the brāhmaṇas had been told for years that Viṣṇu had taken birth in the Yadu line — but kept looking past Kṛṣṇa. The chapter is the long correction of that misseeing.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io