FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.1.31

क्षेमं स कच्चिद्युयुधान आस्ते य: फाल्गुनाल्लब्धधनूरहस्य: । लेभेऽञ्जसाधोक्षजसेवयैव गतिं तदीयां यतिभिर्दुरापाम् ॥ ३१ ॥
kṣemaṁ sa kaccid yuyudhāna āste
[kshemam sa kachchid yuyudhaana aaste]
yaḥ phālgunāl labdha-dhanū-rahasyaḥ
[yah phaalgunaal labdha-dhanoo-rahasyah]
lebhe ’ñjasādhokṣaja-sevayaiva
[lebhe ’njasaadhokshaja-sevayaiva]
gatiṁ tadīyāṁ yatibhir durāpām
[gatim tadeeyaam yatibhir duraapaam]
kṣemam — all good saḥ — he kaccit — whether yuyudhānaḥ — Sātyaki āste — is there yaḥ — one who phālgunāt — from Arjuna labdha — has achieved dhanuḥ-rahasyaḥ — one who understands the intricacies of military art lebhe — also achieved añjasā — easily adhokṣaja — of the Transcendence sevayā — by service eva — certainly gatim — destination tadīyām — transcendental yatibhiḥ — by great renouncers durāpām — very difficult to achieve.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kṣemaṁ sa kaccid yuyudhāna āste
kṣemam
all good
saḥ
he
kaccit
whether
yuyudhānaḥ
Sātyaki
āste
is there
yaḥ phālgunāl labdha-dhanū-rahasyaḥ
yaḥ
one who
phālgunāt
from Arjuna
labdha
has achieved
dhanuḥ-rahasyaḥ
one who understands the intricacies of military art
lebhe ’ñjasādhokṣaja-sevayaiva
lebhe
also achieved
añjasā
easily
adhokṣaja
of the Transcendence
sevayā
by service
eva
certainly
gatiṁ tadīyāṁ yatibhir durāpām
gatim
destination
tadīyām
transcendental
yatibhiḥ
by great renouncers
durāpām
very difficult to achieve.
O Uddhava, does Yuyudhāna fare well? He learned the intricacies of the military art from Arjuna and attained the transcendental destination which is very difficult to reach even for great renouncers.

The destination of transcendence is to become the personal associate of the Personality of Godhead, who is known as adhokṣaja, He who is beyond the reach of the senses. The renouncers of the world, the sannyāsīs, give up all worldly connections, namely family, wife, children, friends, home, wealth — everything — to attain the transcendental bliss of Brahman happiness. But adhokṣaja happiness is beyond Brahman happiness. The empiric philosophers enjoy a transcendental quality of bliss by philosophical speculation on the Supreme Truth, but beyond that pleasure is the pleasure enjoyed by Brahman in His eternal form of the Personality of Godhead. Brahman bliss is enjoyed by living entities after liberation from material bondage. But Parabrahman, the Personality of Godhead, enjoys eternally a bliss of His own potency, which is called the hlādinī potency. The empiric philosopher who studies Brahman by negation of the external features has not yet learned the quality of the hlādinī potency of Brahman. Out of many potencies of the Omnipotent, there are three features of His internal potency — namely saṁvit, sandhinī and hlādinī. And in spite of their strict adherence to the principles of yama, niyama, āsana, dhyāna, dhāraṇā and prāṇāyāma, the great yogīs and jñānīs are unable to enter into the internal potency of the Lord. This internal potency is, however, easily realized by the devotees of the Lord by dint of devotional service. Yuyudhāna achieved this stage of life, just as he achieved expert knowledge in military science from Arjuna. Thus his life was successful to the fullest extent from both the material and spiritual angles of vision. That is the way of devotional service to the Lord.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Is Sātyaki, who learned the art of archery from Arjuna with its secrets and who, serving the Supreme Lord, gained the goal hardly attained by yogīs, in good health? Yuyudhāna is Sātyaki and Phalguna is Arjuna.
Beyond brahman-bliss is the joy of personal association with the Lord. Renunciation alone does not deliver this; only devotion does. Develop a relationship, not just a discipline.
Reflection Questions
  • Is your spiritual life more about reaching a state or reaching a Person, and how can you tell?
  • What 'transcendental destination' would you actually want, given the choice between merging and meeting?
📝 My note

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