FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.5.27

विपश्चितं प्राणमनोधियात्मना- मर्थेन्द्रियाभासमनिद्रमव्रणम् । छायातपौ यत्र न गृध्रपक्षौ तमक्षरं खं त्रियुगं व्रजामहे ॥ २७ ॥
vipaścitaṁ prāṇa-mano-dhiyātmanām
[vipashchitam praana-mano-dhiyaatmanaam]
arthendriyābhāsam anidram avraṇam
[arthendriyaabhaasam anidram avranam]
chāyātapau yatra na gṛdhra-pakṣau
[chaayaatapau yatra na gridhra-pakshau]
tam akṣaraṁ khaṁ tri-yugaṁ vrajāmahe
[tam aksharam kham tri-yugam vrajaamahe]
vipaścitam — unto the omniscient prāṇa — how the living force is working manaḥ — how the mind is working dhiya — how the intelligence is working ātmanām — of all living entities artha — the objects of the senses indriya — the senses ābhāsam — knowledge anidram — always awake and free from ignorance avraṇam — without a material body subject to pains and pleasures chāyā-ātapau — the shelter for all who are suffering from ignorance yatra — wherein na — not gṛdhra-pakṣau — partiality toward any living being tam — unto Him akṣaram — infallible kham — all-pervading like the sky tri-yugam — appearing with six opulences in three yugas (Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara) vrajāmahe — I take shelter.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vipaścitaṁ prāṇa-mano-dhiyātmanām
vipaścitam
unto the omniscient
prāṇa
how the living force is working
manaḥ
how the mind is working
dhiya
how the intelligence is working
ātmanām
of all living entities
arthendriyābhāsam anidram avraṇam
artha
the objects of the senses
indriya
the senses
ābhāsam
knowledge
anidram
always awake and free from ignorance
avraṇam
without a material body subject to pains and pleasures
chāyātapau yatra na gṛdhra-pakṣau
chāyā-ātapau
the shelter for all who are suffering from ignorance
yatra
wherein
na
not
gṛdhra-pakṣau
partiality toward any living being
tam akṣaraṁ khaṁ tri-yugaṁ vrajāmahe
tam
unto Him
akṣaram
infallible
kham
all-pervading like the sky
tri-yugam
appearing with six opulences in three yugas (Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara)
vrajāmahe
I take shelter.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead directly and indirectly knows how everything, including the living force, mind and intelligence, is working under His control. He is the illuminator of everything and has no ignorance. He does not have a material body subject to the reactions of previous activities, and He is free from the ignorance of partiality and materialistic education. I therefore take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, who is eternal, all-pervading and as great as the sky and who appears with six opulences in three yugas [Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara].

In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the Supreme Personality of Godhead is described in this way: janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ. The Lord is the origin of all emanations, and He directly and indirectly knows everything about all the activities within His creation. Therefore the Lord is addressed here as vipaścitam, one who is full of all knowledge or who knows everything. The Lord is the Supreme Soul, and He knows everything about the living entities and their senses.

The word anidram, meaning “always awake and free from ignorance,” is very important in this verse. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) , mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: it is the Lord who gives intelligence to everyone and who causes everyone to forget. There are millions and millions of living entities, and the Lord gives them directions. Therefore He has no time to sleep, and He is never in ignorance of our activities. The Lord is the witness of everything; He sees what we are doing at every moment. The Lord is not covered by a body resulting from karma. Our bodies are formed as a result of our past deeds ( karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa ), but the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not have a material body, and therefore He has no avidyā, ignorance. He does not sleep, but is always alert and awake.

The Supreme Lord is described as tri-yuga because although He appeared variously in Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga and Dvāpara-yuga, when He appeared in Kali-yuga He never declared Himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam

The Lord appears in Kali-yuga as a devotee. Thus although He is Kṛṣṇa, He chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra like a devotee. Still, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) recommends:

yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whose complexion is not black like that of Kṛṣṇa but is golden ( tviṣākṛṣṇam ), is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is accompanied by associates like Nityānanda, Advaita, Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa. Those who are sufficiently intelligent worship this Supreme Personality of Godhead by performing saṅkīrtana-yajña. In this incarnation, the Supreme Lord declares Himself not to be the Supreme Lord, and therefore He is known as Tri-yuga.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
We surrender to the knower of the living entities, prāṇa, mind, intelligence and ahaṅkāra, to the Lord who is not available to the senses and sense objects, who is constantly witnessing, but not affected, who has no vidyā and avidyā like the jīva, who is indestructible, and who is the form of happiness endowed with six great qualities. Then the Lord’s omniscience is described. He is the knower (vipaścitam) of the living entities, of their prāṇa, mind, intelligence and ahaṅkara (ātmā). Ātma can also mean the body or the jīva. He cannot be grasped (abhāsam) by the senses or sense objects (artha). He is without sleep, seeing everything. But he is unaffected (avraṇam), not suffering on seeing the jīva’s suffering. The reason for all of this is that in him avidyā and vidyā (chāyā ātapau) do not exist, as in the jīva (gṛdhra-pakṣau). Therefore he is indestructible and he has his own eternal form of happiness (kham). According to the dictionary kham means the senses, happiness and Svarga. This happiness is enumerated. It is three times two, or six. The Lord has six outstanding qualities. We surrender to that Lord.
The Lord knows everything directly and indirectly, has no material body or partiality, and appears in three yugas with six opulences. Take shelter of the One who is fully informed and fully unbiased. No human authority meets both criteria.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom am I treating as fully informed and unbiased that actually is not?
  • How does shifting that misplaced trust toward the Lord recalibrate my decisions?
📝 My note

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