FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.60.38

त्वं वै समस्तपुरुषार्थमय: फलात्मा यद्वाञ्छया सुमतयो विसृजन्ति कृत्‍स्‍नम् । तेषां विभो समुचितो भवत: समाज: पुंस: स्‍त्रियाश्च रतयो: सुखदु:खिनोर्न ॥ ३८ ॥
tvaṁ vai samasta-puruṣārtha-mayaḥ phalātmā
[tvam vai samasta-purushaartha-mayah phalaatmaa]
yad-vāñchayā su-matayo visṛjanti kṛtsnam
[yad-vaanchayaa su-matayo visrijanti kritsnam]
teṣāṁ vibho samucito bhavataḥ samājaḥ
[teshaam vibho samuchito bhavatah samaajah]
puṁsaḥ striyāś ca ratayoḥ sukha-duḥkhinor na
[pumsah striyaash cha ratayoh sukha-duhkhinor na]
tvam — You vai — indeed samasta — all puruṣa — of human life artha — of the goals mayaḥ — comprising phala — of the ultimate goal ātmā — the very Self yat — for whom vāñchayā — out of desire su - matayaḥ — intelligent persons visṛjanti — discard kṛtsnam — everything teṣām — for them vibho — O omnipotent one samucitaḥ — appropriate bhavataḥ — Your samājaḥ — association puṁsaḥ — of a man striyāḥ — and a women ca — and ratayoḥ — who are attracted to each other in mutual lust sukha - duḥkhinoḥ — who experience material happiness and distress na — not .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tvaṁ vai samasta-puruṣārtha-mayaḥ phalātmā
tvam
You
vai
indeed
samasta
all
puruṣa
of human life
artha
of the goals
mayaḥ
comprising
phala
of the ultimate goal
ātmā
the very Self
yad-vāñchayā su-matayo visṛjanti kṛtsnam
yat
for whom
vāñchayā
out of desire
su - matayaḥ
intelligent persons
visṛjanti
discard
kṛtsnam
everything
teṣāṁ vibho samucito bhavataḥ samājaḥ
teṣām
for them
vibho
O omnipotent one
samucitaḥ
appropriate
bhavataḥ
Your
samājaḥ
association
puṁsaḥ striyāś ca ratayoḥ sukha-duḥkhinor na
puṁsaḥ
of a man
striyāḥ
and a women
ca
and
ratayoḥ
who are attracted to each other in mutual lust
sukha - duḥkhinoḥ
who experience material happiness and distress
na
not .
  • puruṣa-artha-mayaḥ — comprising the goals of human life
    Compound: puruṣa (human) + artha (goal) + maya (consisting of). The four puruṣārthas (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) — Bhagavān encompasses them all. Gauḍīyas add a fifth: prema. Rukmiṇī's verse is doctrinally ranking Him above the standard tetrad.
  • phala-ātmā — the very Self of the ultimate goal
    Compound: phala (fruit, goal) + ātmā (Self). The phala-svarūpa — the goal is not external to Him; He IS the goal. Cf. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu's prayojana-tattva: kṛṣṇa-prema, with Kṛṣṇa as both means and end.
  • su-matayaḥ — intelligent persons
    Compound: su (good) + mati (intelligence). The truly intelligent — those who can read past the surface of His tease (and the world's). She names her own class: the su-matis who abandon everything for Him.
  • ratayoḥ sukha-duḥkhinoḥ — of those (a man and woman) attracted to each other in mutual lust, who experience material happiness and distress
    Compound: rati (attraction) + sukha-duḥkhin (pleasure-and-pain-experiencing). The very pair He pretended in vv. 10–20 to be — He and she as ordinary lustful couple. She names that pretense and refuses it.
You are the embodiment of all human goals and are Yourself the final aim of life. Desiring to attain You, O all-powerful Lord, intelligent persons abandon everything else. It is they who are worthy of Your association, not men and women absorbed in the pleasure and grief resulting from their mutual lust.

Here Queen Rukmiṇī refutes Lord Kṛṣṇa’s statement in text 15: yayor ātma-samaṁ vittaṁ janmaiśvaryākṛtir bhavaḥ tayor vivāho maitrī ca nottamādhamayoḥ kvacit “Marriage and friendship are proper between two people who are equal in terms of their wealth, birth, influence, physical appearance and capacity for good progeny, but never between a superior and an inferior.” In fact, only those who have given up all such material conceptions of sense gratification and have taken exclusively to the Lord’s loving service can understand who their real friend and companion is — Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
You are the embodiment of all human goals and are Yourself the final aim of life. Desiring to attain You, O all-powerful Lord, intelligent persons abandon everything else. It is they who are worthy of Your association, not men and women absorbed in the pleasure and grief resulting from their mutual lust.
Commentary

"You have said that one should marry only a person equal in wealth. That is possible for others, but not for you. You are the end goal ( phala atma) of all human endeavors. The association ( samajah) or relation is between the served and servitor , between Narayana and Laksmi, between yourself and myself. It is not an equal relation between material men and women based on lust."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

It is well known that you are deeply endowed with all the puruṣarthas and also the different type of bhakti. Sarva-gandhaḥ sarva-rasaḥ: the Lord is all fragrance and all taste. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad) 4.15 etaṁ saṁyad vāma ity ācakṣate etaṁ sarvāṇi vāmāny abhisaṁyanti, eṣa u eva vāmanīḥ, eṣa hi sarvāṇi vāmāni nayati, eṣa u eva bhāmanīḥ, eṣa sarveṣu vedeṣu bhāti The Lord is called the yielder of all pleasures. All desires are at once fulfilled. He alone brings all wealth. He fulfills all wealth. He brings all light. He illuminates all the Vedas. Chāndogya Upaniṣad ayam ātmāpahata-pāpmā The Lord is the ātmā, devoted of all sin. Chāndogya Upaniṣad bṛhad-dhāmaṁ bṛhat-pārthivaṁ bṛhad-antarīkṣaṁ bṛhad divaṁ bṛhad vāmaṁ bṛhadbhyo vāmaṁ vāmebhyo vāmam The Lords is the supreme abode. He is beyond the earth, beyond the sky, and beyond the material heavenly worlds. He is the most beautiful. He is more handsome than the greatest. He is more beautiful than the most beautiful. Bṛhat Sāma He is the ātmā of Brahman. He is the most attractive of all beings. He is the final result (phalātmā): raso vai saḥ hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṣād yad eṣa ākāśa ānando na syāt The Lord is rasa. Gaining this rasa one attains bliss. Who could live without this rasa? Without the Lord there is not bliss. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7 tasmai vā etasmai prāṇāya brahmaṇa etāḥ sarvā devatā ayācamānāya baliṁ haranti All the devatās offer tribute unto the Lord who is the prāṇa called Brahman. Kauśitaki Āraṇyaka Therefore desiring you, the intelligent give up everything—things related to the body, pride in body and wealth, aspirations in this life and the next, and even liberation. Therefore they are without anything. You alone are dear to them. That is proper. This is an elaboration of the previous verse’s commentary on niṣkiñcana. Then she answers verse 15. O supreme Lord (vibho)! They are completely (sam—ucitaḥ) suitable for you. You are detached from wealth and so are they. Other devotees are only somewhat compatible. Men and women who cannot give up enjoyment (ratayoh), who obtain happiness as a remedy for suffering, who deserve that happiness and suffering, are not suitable

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

It is well known that you are deeply endowed with all the puruṣarthas and also with bhakti, because you are the end result, bliss (phalātmā). You are the cause of bliss for some, and the very form of direct bliss for some. They all obtain bliss from you. Or you give results. You are the means to the result and the result. Thus the intelligent (sumatayaḥ) give up all other means. Or the result of the four vargas is bhakti or prema. You are the soul of prema. Just by desiring you, they give up everything. What to speak of giving up everything on attaining you. They become indifferent to everything related to the body, to the body, to wealth, to life in this world and the next, and to liberation, since it is all trifling, giving suffering. They have everything since you are dear to them. She answers verse 15: marriage and friendship are proper between two people who are equal in terms of their wealth, birth, influence, physical appearance and capacity for good progeny. O Kṛṣṇa, pervading everywhere (vibho)! O Lord of the universe! You are suitable for them since you have no desire for wealth. You are similar to them. Or O complete Lord (vibho)! You have no need for wealth. Though they have given up everything, in worshipping with various desires, you respond by giving them results. Thus you are suitable for them completely (samucitaḥ). Men and women who do not renounce everything (ratayoḥ) are suitable to experience happiness which is simply an escape from suffering, and experience suffering. Or those who experience suffering even in their happiness but are absorbed in that pursuit (ratayoḥ) are not qualified for your association.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
You are the embodiment of all human goals and the final aim of life; intelligent persons abandon everything for You. Those absorbed in carnal pleasure are not worthy of Your association. The unsuitability runs the other way.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you imagine yourself as the one judging suitability rather than as the one being assessed?
  • How does this verse reverse the dynamic of choosing?

A traveler who has spotted the true destination drops every intermediate stop. Wise persons, desiring You, abandon everything else; they are fit for Your association. Couples joined by mutual kāma — sukha-duḥkhinau, twin victims of pleasure-and-pain — are not.

📝 My note

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