FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.9.4

तद्वा इदं भुवनमङ्गल मङ्गलाय ध्याने स्म नो दर्शितं त उपासकानाम् । तस्मै नमो भगवतेऽनुविधेम तुभ्यं योऽनाद‍ृतो नरकभाग्भिरसत्प्रसङ्गै: ॥ ४ ॥
tad vā idaṁ bhuvana-maṅgala maṅgalāya
[tad vaa idam bhuvana-mangala mangalaaya]
dhyāne sma no darśitaṁ ta upāsakānām
[dhyaane sma no darshitam ta upaasakaanaam]
tasmai namo bhagavate ’nuvidhema tubhyaṁ
[tasmai namo bhagavate ’nuvidhema tubhyam]
yo ’nādṛto naraka-bhāgbhir asat-prasaṅgaiḥ
[yo ’naadrito naraka-bhaagbhir asat-prasangaih]
tat — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa vā — or idam — this present form bhuvana-maṅgala — O You who are all-auspicious for all the universes maṅgalāya — for the sake of all prosperity dhyāne — in meditation sma — as it were naḥ — unto us darśitam — manifested te — Your upāsakānām — of the devotees tasmai — unto Him namaḥ — my respectful obeisances bhagavate — unto the Personality of Godhead anuvidhema — I perform tubhyam — unto You yaḥ — which anādṛtaḥ — is neglected naraka-bhāgbhiḥ — by persons destined for hell asat-prasaṅgaiḥ — by material topics.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tad vā idaṁ bhuvana-maṅgala maṅgalāya
tat
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa
vā
or
idam
this present form
bhuvana-maṅgala
O You who are all-auspicious for all the universes
maṅgalāya
for the sake of all prosperity
dhyāne sma no darśitaṁ ta upāsakānām
dhyāne
in meditation
sma
as it were
naḥ
unto us
darśitam
manifested
tasmai namo bhagavate ’nuvidhema tubhyaṁ
te
Your
upāsakānām
of the devotees
tasmai
unto Him
yo ’nādṛto naraka-bhāgbhir asat-prasaṅgaiḥ
namaḥ
my respectful obeisances
bhagavate
unto the Personality of Godhead
anuvidhema
I perform
tubhyam
unto You
yaḥ
which
anādṛtaḥ
is neglected
naraka-bhāgbhiḥ
by persons destined for hell
asat-prasaṅgaiḥ
by material topics.
This present form, or any transcendental form expanded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is equally auspicious for all the universes. Since You have manifested this eternal personal form upon whom Your devotees meditate, I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Those who are destined to be dispatched to the path of hell neglect Your personal form because of speculating on material topics.

Regarding the personal and impersonal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth, the personal forms exhibited by the Lord in His different plenary expansions are all for the benediction of all the universes. The personal form of the Lord is also worshiped in meditation as Supersoul, Paramātmā, but the impersonal brahmajyoti is not worshiped. Persons who are addicted to the impersonal feature of the Lord, whether in meditation or otherwise, are all pilgrims to hell because, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) , impersonalists simply waste their time in mundane mental speculation because they are addicted more to false arguments than to reality. Therefore, the association of the impersonalists is condemned herewith by Brahmā.

All the plenary expansions of the Personality of Godhead are equally potent, as confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.46) :

dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya dīpāyate vivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

The Lord expands Himself as the flames of a fire expand one after another. Although the original flame, or Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is accepted as Govinda, the Supreme Person, all other expansions, such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and Varāha, are as potent as the original Lord. All such expanded forms are transcendental. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is made clear that the Supreme Truth is eternally uncontaminated by material touch. There is no jugglery of words and activities in the transcendental kingdom of the Lord. All the Lord’s forms are transcendental, and such manifestations are ever identical. The particular form of the Lord exhibited to a devotee is not mundane, even though the devotee may retain material desire, nor is it manifest under the influence of material energy, as is foolishly considered by the impersonalists. Impersonalists who consider the transcendental forms of the Lord to be products of the material world are surely destined for hell.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O lord of auspiciousness for the whole world! This personal form is for the benefit of the world, and it was shown to me, your worshipper, by meditation. Therefore I offer respects to that personal form. Let me only serve you, who are not respected by those who will go to hell, proclaiming that your personal form is false. You are auspicious for the whole world! The materialists do not respect the form that you show for giving auspiciousness to us. I offer respects to you repeatedly. “Why do you not take shelter of the impersonal Brahman?” The form with qualities is for the giving benefit of artha, dharma, kāma and mokṣa to the people of the fourteen planetary systems. Worship of the personal form produces these benefits. Doing otherwise is useless. Worship of the impersonal form will not give these results. That personal form was revealed to me in my meditation. I did not see the impersonal Brahman. Therefore the personal form is much more merciful. I thus offer respects to you, the personal form, an ocean of spiritual qualities. Let me serve only you (anuvidhema). What service can I do for you? “But some persons say that this form is not full of eternity, knowledge and bliss, but material, and do not respect it.” It is not respected by those who will fall to hell (nakara-bhāgbhiḥ) and who indulge in thinking (prasaṅgaiḥ), “That form is false (asat),” or by those who associate with materialists.
Prayer here is not performance — it is the soul speaking honestly to the Lord. The verse models a posture of dependence that strips away pretense. The pivot here is Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • What honest sentence would you say to the Lord right now if no one else could hear?
  • What would your worship look like if no one were ever going to know you did it?
📝 My note

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