FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.77.31

క్వ‍ శోకమోహౌ స్‍నేహో వా భయం వా యేఽజ్ఞసమ్భవా: । క్వ‍ చాఖణ్డితవిజ్ఞానజ్ఞానైశ్వర్యస్త్వఖణ్డిత: ॥ ౩౧ ॥
kva śoka-mohau sneho vā
[kva shoka-mohau sneho vaa]
bhayaṁ vā ye ’jña-sambhavāḥ
[bhayam vaa ye ’jna-sambhavaah]
kva cākhaṇḍita-vijñāna-
[kva chaakhandita-vijnaana-]
jñānaiśvaryas tv akhaṇḍitaḥ
[jnaanaishvaryas tv akhanditah]
kva — where śoka — lamentation mohau — and bewilderment snehaḥ — material affection vā — or bhayam — fear vā — or ye — those which ajñā — out of ignorance sambhavāḥ — born kva ca — and where, on the other hand akhaṇḍita — infinite vijñāna — whose perception jñāna — knowledge aiśvaryaḥ — and power tu — but akhaṇḍitaḥ — the infinite Supreme Lord .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kva śoka-mohau sneho vā
kva
where
śoka
lamentation
mohau
and bewilderment
snehaḥ
material affection
vā
or
bhayaṁ vā ye ’jña-sambhavāḥ
bhayam
fear
vā
or
ye
those which
ajñā
out of ignorance
sambhavāḥ
born
kva cākhaṇḍita-vijñāna-
kva ca
and where, on the other hand
akhaṇḍita
infinite
vijñāna
whose perception
jñānaiśvaryas tv akhaṇḍitaḥ
jñāna
knowledge
aiśvaryaḥ
and power
tu
but
akhaṇḍitaḥ
the infinite Supreme Lord .
  • śoka-mohau — lamentation and bewilderment
    Compound: śoka (grief) + moha (delusion). The two emotions Kṛṣṇa famously dismisses in Gītā 2.11 (aśocyān anvaśocas tvam). Śukadeva applies the same Gītā logic here to the Bhāgavatam itself: do not project śoka-moha onto Bhagavān.
  • ajñā-sambhavāḥ — born of ignorance
    Compound: ajña (ignorance) + sambhava (origin). The technical claim: these emotions are products of ajñāna. Since Bhagavān is ajñāna-rahitaḥ, the emotions cannot inhere in Him; they can only be displayed as līlā.
  • akhaṇḍita — uninterrupted, undivided
    Compound: a (not) + khaṇḍita (broken). Used three times in the verse — Bhagavān's vijñāna, jñāna, aiśvarya are akhaṇḍita. Gauḍīyas treat this as the single most concise scriptural assertion of Bhagavān's pūrṇa-svabhāva.
  • aiśvaryaḥ — in lordship
    From īśvara. The sixth opulence of Bhagavān (cf. SB 1.1, Bhagavat-sandarbha). To attribute confusion to one who has akhaṇḍita-aiśvarya is, by definition, incoherent.
How can lamentation, bewilderment, material affection or fear, all born out of ignorance, be ascribed to the infinite Supreme Lord, whose perception, knowledge and power are all similarly infinite?

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Lamentation, aggrievement and bewilderment are characteristics of conditioned souls, but how can such things affect the person of the Supreme, who is full of knowledge, power and all opulence? Actually, it is not at all possible that Lord Kṛṣṇa was misled by the mystic jugglery of Śālva. He was displaying His pastime of playing the role of a human being.” All the great Bhāgavatam commentators conclude that grief, illusion, attachment and fear, which arise out of ignorance of the soul, can never be present in the transcendental dramatic pastimes enacted by the Lord. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gives many examples from Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes to illustrate this point. For instance, when the cowherd boys entered the mouth of Aghāsura, Lord Kṛṣṇa was apparently astonished. Similarly, when Brahmā took away Lord Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd boyfriends and calves, the Lord at first began to look for them as if He did not know where they were. Thus the Lord plays the part of an ordinary human being so as to relish transcendental pastimes with His devotees. One should never think the Personality of Godhead is an ordinary person, as Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains in this and the following verse.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
How can lamentation, bewilderment, material affection or fear, all born out of ignorance, be ascribed to the infinite Supreme Lord, whose perception, knowledge and power are all similarly infinite?
Commentary

Moreover, is it possible that Krsna could be bewildered by Salva’s illusions? How are the affection and lamentation for Vasudeva caused by this illusion possible? Nor is possible that he could have fear of Salva. And how is it possible for him to let go of his bow Sarnga by that illusion of Salva? Therefore Sukadeva speaks this verse. Lamentation and other emotions are of two types: caused by ignorance and caused by knowledge. The emotions described here are possible in people who are ignorant, or do not know everything, who are dependent on wrong sources of knowledge. But how is it possible in the supreme lord Krsna who has unlimited knowledge? The spiritual emotions such as lamentation possible in those who have knowledge, who are beyond illusion,. occur in the devotees and in the Lord who is the very form of all sweet rasa arising as sancari bhavas as part of rasa. This can be very clearly seen in Damodara pastimes (Krsna crying), and the purva raga of the gopis during the rasa lila. Fear mentioned in this verse refers to verse eight. That fear is impossible for Krsna. Fear which caused Krsna to flee is not actual fear as mentioned by Uddhava. If it were real fear then the intelligence of the wise would be erroneous, according to the bhagavatamrta. Such stories prevent the tasting of nectar, like restricting a horse with a halter.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Moha means ignorance. Actually the Lord is devoid of lamentation and ignorance and possesses continuous knowledge, since he is the Lord of śuddha-sattva.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Moha means ignorance or possessiveness. These emotions arise from ignorance. They actually arise from the special bhakti of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa. That is the hint. They are actually beyond the guṇas. This ignorance arises even in persons with knowledge. Though jṣāna and vijṣāna are included in aiśvarya (power), they are mentioned separately because they become especially prominent according to the occasion. Actually the Lord is devoid of lamentation and ignorance and possesses continuous knowledge, since he is the Lord of śuddha-sattva.

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Concepts
Lila

Where can lamentation, bewilderment, attachment, fear — all born of ignorance — find room in the infinite Lord whose perception, knowledge, and aiśvarya are likewise infinite? Śukadeva poses it as a question because the answer is plainly "nowhere" — the very mood that v. 23 displayed is here doctrinally evacuated.

📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 77