Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.51.37
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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rajāṁsi
—
dust particles
Plural of rajas — dust. The homely word for the universe's countable surface. The Bhāgavata loves earthy analogies; Bhagavān's qualities exceed even the earth's dust-count.
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pārthivāni
—
earthly
From pṛthivī — earth. The adjective specifies dust-of-earth, not abstract particles. Earth itself is a Bhagavān-product (avara prakṛti, Gītā 7.4); Kṛṣṇa's qualities exceed His own creation's surface.
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uru-janmabhiḥ
—
in many lifetimes
Compound: uru (many) + janmabhiḥ (with births). Even cosmic-scale effort, over many janmas, cannot enumerate Him. Gauḍīyas read this against impersonalist 'one-life-to-merger' claims — the bhakta has eternally many janmas, all in His service.
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guṇa
—
qualities
Bhagavān's transcendental attributes — sat-cit-ānanda and the unlimited rasa-bearing qualities the Bhāgavatam catalogues. Gauḍīyas distinguish Bhagavān's guṇas (eternally transcendental) from prakṛti's guṇas (sattva-rajas-tamas, conditioning).
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karhicit
—
ever
Particle — 'at any time.' The temporal locator of the impossibility. Not 'rarely' but 'never.' Vaiṣṇava theology's confidence: counting Bhagavān is not a difficult task, it is the kind of task that does not finish.
Someone has at some time counted (vimame) all the particles of dust on the earth.
Vimame should be vimami. One may count the particles of dust, but not my births which have names according to my qualities and activities. Śrīdhara Svāmī says that janmāṇi in this verse also indicates “activities” since this is referred to in the next verse.
Vimame should be vimami. Though his qualities were not in question, in this verse he explains that his qualities like his activities are unlimited. One may count the particles of dust, but not my births which have names according to my qualities and activities.
- Where do you treat Kṛṣṇa as a finite subject of study?
- How does this verse shape the humility of your inquiry?
A man might one day count the dust-grains on the earth — but not Bhagavān's qualities. The image is the Bhāgavata's preferred form of infinity: not abstract zero or unbounded ocean, but the homely impossibility of counting dust on a road.
My note
Source: vedabase.io