FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.10.3

तस्यानुचरितं राजन्नृषिभिस्तत्त्वदर्शिभि: । श्रुतं हि वर्णितं भूरि त्वया सीतापतेर्मुहु: ॥ ३ ॥
tasyānucaritaṁ rājann
[tasyaanucharitam raajann]
ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ
[rishibhis tattva-darshibhih]
śrutaṁ hi varṇitaṁ bhūri
[shrutam hi varnitam bhoori]
tvayā sītā-pater muhuḥ
[tvayaa seetaa-pater muhuh]
tasya — of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Rāmacandra and His brothers anucaritam — transcendental activities rājan — O King (Mahārāja Parīkṣit) ṛṣibhiḥ — by great sages or saintly persons tattva-darśibhiḥ — by persons who know the Absolute Truth śrutam — have all been heard hi — indeed varṇitam — as they have been so nicely described bhūri — many tvayā — by you sītā-pateḥ — of Lord Rāmacandra, the husband of mother Sītā muhuḥ — more than often.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tasyānucaritaṁ rājann
tasya
of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Rāmacandra and His brothers
anucaritam
transcendental activities
rājan
O King (Mahārāja Parīkṣit)
ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ
ṛṣibhiḥ
by great sages or saintly persons
tattva-darśibhiḥ
by persons who know the Absolute Truth
śrutaṁ hi varṇitaṁ bhūri
śrutam
have all been heard
hi
indeed
varṇitam
as they have been so nicely described
bhūri
many
tvayā sītā-pater muhuḥ
tvayā
by you
sītā-pateḥ
of Lord Rāmacandra, the husband of mother Sītā
muhuḥ
more than often.
O King Parīkṣit, the transcendental activities of Lord Rāmacandra have been described by great saintly persons who have seen the truth. Because you have heard again and again about Lord Rāmacandra, the husband of mother Sītā, I shall describe these activities only in brief. Please listen.

Modern Rākṣasas, posing as educationally advanced merely because they have doctorates, have tried to prove that Lord Rāmacandra is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead but an ordinary person. But those who are learned and spiritually advanced will never accept such notions; they will accept the descriptions of Lord Rāmacandra and His activities only as presented by tattva-darśīs, those who know the Absolute Truth. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.34) the Supreme Personality of Godhead advises:

tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” Unless one is tattva-darśī, in complete knowledge of the Absolute Truth, one cannot describe the activities of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore although there are many so-called Rāmāyaṇas, or histories of Lord Rāmacandra’s activities, some of them are not actually authoritative. Sometimes Lord Rāmacandra’s activities are described in terms of one’s own imaginations, speculations or material sentiments. But the characteristics of Lord Rāmacandra should not be handled as something imaginary. While describing the history of Lord Rāmacandra, Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Mahārāja Parīkṣit, “You have already heard about the activities of Lord Rāmacandra.” Apparently, therefore, five thousand years ago there were many Rāmāyaṇas, or histories of Lord Rāmacandra’s activities, and there are many still. But we must select only those books written by tattva-darśīs ( jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ ), not the books of so-called scholars who claim knowledge only on the basis of a doctorate. This is a warning by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ. Although the Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki is a huge literature, the same activities are summarized here by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in a few verses.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O King Parīkṣit! The transcendental activities of Rāmacandra have been described by great saintly persons who have seen the truth, and you have heard again and again about them. The pastimes of Rāma which Śeṣa and Ganeśa cannot fully describe or record and which will be explained in two chapters are glorified in this verse.
Modern skeptics try to demote Lord Rāmacandra to an ordinary man. Knowledge comes from tattva-darśīs — those who have seen the truth — not from academic credentials alone.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose authority am I currently weighting more — credentialed skeptics or seers of the truth?
  • How do I sort the voices I let shape my view of the Lord?
📝 My note

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