FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.37.22

विशुद्धविज्ञानघनं स्वसंस्थया समाप्तसर्वार्थममोघवाञ्छितम् । स्वतेजसा नित्यनिवृत्तमाया- गुणप्रवाहं भगवन्तमीमहि ॥ २२ ॥
viśuddha-vijñāna-ghanaṁ sva-saṁsthayā
[vishuddha-vijnaana-ghanam sva-samsthayaa]
samāpta-sarvārtham amogha-vāñchitam
[samaapta-sarvaartham amogha-vaanchitam]
sva-tejasā nitya-nivṛtta-māyā-
[sva-tejasaa nitya-nivritta-maayaa-]
guṇa-pravāhaṁ bhagavantam īmahi
[guna-pravaaham bhagavantam eemahi]
viśuddha — perfectly pure vijñāna — spiritual awareness ghanam — full of sva - saṁsthayā — in His original identity samāpta — already fulfilled sarva — in all artham — purposes amogha — never frustrated vāñchitam — whose desires sva - tejasā — by His own potency nitya — eternally nivṛtta — desisting māyā — of the illusory, material energy guṇa — of the manifest modes pravāham — from the flowing interaction bhagavantam — the Supreme Personality of Godhead īmahi — let us approach .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
viśuddha-vijñāna-ghanaṁ sva-saṁsthayā
viśuddha
perfectly pure
vijñāna
spiritual awareness
ghanam
full of
sva - saṁsthayā
in His original identity
samāpta
already fulfilled
samāpta-sarvārtham amogha-vāñchitam
sarva
in all
artham
purposes
amogha
never frustrated
vāñchitam
whose desires
sva-tejasā nitya-nivṛtta-māyā-
sva - tejasā
by His own potency
nitya
eternally
nivṛtta
desisting
māyā
of the illusory, material energy
guṇa-pravāhaṁ bhagavantam īmahi
guṇa
of the manifest modes
pravāham
from the flowing interaction
bhagavantam
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
īmahi
let us approach .
  • viśuddha-vijñāna-ghanam — full of perfectly pure spiritual awareness
    Viśuddha (pure) + vijñāna (realized knowledge) + ghana (dense, concentrated). Kṛṣṇa is dense pure consciousness. Gauḍīyas read ghana as the personalist refusal to dissolve the Lord into formless ākāśa — He is concentrated, not dispersed.
  • sva-saṁsthayā — situated in His own original form
    Sva (own) + saṁsthā (state, situation). The Lord rests in His own form, not borrowed from prakṛti. Gauḍīyas read this as the doctrinal foundation of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha: Kṛṣṇa's body is not material at all.
  • amogha-vāñchitam — whose desires are never frustrated
    A-mogha (un-failing) + vāñchita (desired). Kṛṣṇa wants nothing that does not happen. Gauḍīyas couple this with His desire to relish rasa with His devotees — His relishing is also amogha.
  • nivṛtta-māyā-guṇa-pravāham — eternally aloof from the current of māyā's modes
    The Lord stands outside the flow of guṇas even while producing them. This is the bheda half of acintya-bhedābheda — the Lord is one with His energies and yet not in their stream.
  • bhagavantam-īmahi — let us approach the Lord
    Bhagavantam (the six-opulence Lord, accusative) + īmahi (let us approach, Vedic 1st-pers. plural). Nārada speaks in we — the devotee never approaches alone, always with the paramparā. Gauḍīyas read īmahi as the prayerful plural of saraṇāgati: 'we, together, take shelter.'
Let us approach You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for shelter. You are full of perfectly pure spiritual awareness and are always situated in Your original identity. Since Your will is never thwarted, You have already achieved all possible desirable things, and by the power of Your spiritual energy You remain eternally aloof from the flow of the qualities of illusion.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Let us approach You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for shelter. You are full of perfectly pure spiritual awareness and are always situated in Your original identity. Since Your will is never thwarted, You have already achieved all possible desirable things, and by the power of Your spiritual energy You remain eternally aloof from the flow of the qualities of illusion.
Commentary

After describing the future pastimes of Krsna, Narada offers his respects in two verses. I offer my respects to you, the Lord, concentrated Brahman or spiritual essence, the object of pure realization. All the desires of the devotees reside completely in you who exist eternally along with your associates. You fulfill all those desires because of your mercy. By your or your devotees’ energy, all the influence of material gunas is daily destroyed.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that viśuddha-vijñāna-ghanam means exclusively (kevalam) the one form of knowledge. Śruti says na cakśuṣā gṛhayte rūpam asya: his form cannot be seen by the eye.(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad) Yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇote tanuṁ svām: the Lord can be attained only by his choice and then he reveals his form to that person. (Katha Upaniṣad) Because the form is self-revealing it is called a form of knowledge alone. Thought this form takes many forms Kṛṣṇa is the aṁśī. Akrūra also says bahu-mūrty-eka-mūrtikam: you are one form with many forms. (SB 10.40.7) The prefix vi in viśuddha means “one,” viśiṣṭa, special, or extraordinary. Therefore (ataeva in Śrīdhara’s commentary)-- because you are this form of knowledge, established by realization--by being firmly situated in your svarūpa, the form of the highest bliss, you completely possess all objects (sva-saṁsthayā samāpta-sarvārtham). Ātmā is the svarūpa which is the shelter of all things, of all causes of knowledge. Since you are ātmā, you are the form of highest bliss, the shelter of the highest, unconditional prema. Because of this, by your nature you have attained all objects since by being bliss itself, everything is yours. Etasyaivānandasyānyāni bhūtāni mātrām upajīvanti: all living being live because of his expansion of bliss. (Brhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.32) Ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyāt yad eṣa ākāśa aṇando na syāt: if the Lord were not blissful, how could any being exist? (Taittirīya Upaniṣad) Thus the meaning of samāpta-sarvārtham is “Because you are bliss, you have many forms by your nature.” Nārada realized that “form of knowledge” in the blissful pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Though all your desires are already fulfilled, you have desires (vāñchitam). Though you have attained all desires, you attain them in pastimes—actions to attain the desires. Those desires are always fulfilled (amogha), not being produced at some point in time. Those desires do not arise from material māyā. If they were material they would cause bondage. You are eternally free from the action of the guṇas by your śakti (sva-tejasā). This means that your form, qualities and pastimes are beyond māyā. Therefore I worship Bhagavān, who exists by his own support, not by the agency of Brahman. Or I worship that form which is superior to vijñānam, famous among the people. It is pure (śuddha). I surrender to Bhagavān, the condensed form of vijñānam, full of bliss or the condensed form the famous Brahman. “How can vijñānam be a form with hands and feet? How can Bhagavān have hands and feet?” His outstanding quality proved by scripture is stated: by his svarūpa-śakti his form has all qualities (sva-saṁsthayā samāpta-sarvārtham). Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śruyate: the śaktis of the Lord are many. (Ṣvetāsvatara Upaniṣad) Na cakṣuṣā gṛhate rūpam asya: his form cannot be seen by the material eye. His desires never go unfulfilled. By his iccha-śakti he can reveal or cause the disappearance of anything. “Well I have a śakti known as material māyā. Māyāṁ tu prakṛtiṁ vidyān māyinam tu maheśvaram (Know the material energy and its Lord, the cause of māyā). I am touched by that fault.” By your svarūpa-śakti (sva-tejasā) you are never influenced by the action of the guṇas.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

You are pure knowledge. What can be offered or communicated to you? Because you, not dependent on anything, show causeless mercy, you will do everything I have stated (sva-saṁsthayā). You never become tired from anything you do (amogha). Or “Why do you ask that I destroy fear of Kaṁsa for the devotees?” You destroy fear of saṁsāra. By your powers (sva-tejasā) you destroy the influence of the guṇas of māyā.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Concepts
Atma
Nārada says: we approach You for shelter, full of pure spiritual awareness, always in Your original identity, will never thwarted, eternally aloof from illusion's modes. The Lord stays Himself through every pastime — that consistency is the shelter.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you wish Kṛṣṇa would change to suit you, when His unchanging nature is the actual safety?
  • What does it mean to take shelter in His identity rather than in circumstances?

After foretelling everything, Nārada steps back into the eternal frame: 'Let us approach You for shelter.' The Lord who will do all those deeds is the same Lord who is, right now, untouched by any of them — full of vijñāna, standing in His own self-form, free of māyā's current. Future, present, past all converge on one śaraṇa.

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