FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.84.24-25

యథా శయాన: పురుష ఆత్మానం గుణతత్త్వద‍ృక్ । నామమాత్రేన్ద్రియాభాతం న వేద రహితం పరమ్ ॥ ౨౪ ॥ ఏవం త్వా నామమాత్రేషు విషయేష్విన్ద్రియేహయా । మాయయా విభ్రమచ్చిత్తో న వేద స్మృత్యుపప్లవాత్ ॥ ౨౫ ॥
yathā śayānaḥ puruṣa
[yathaa shayaanah purusha]
ātmānaṁ guṇa-tattva-dṛk
[aatmaanam guna-tattva-drik]
nāma-mātrendriyābhātaṁ
[naama-maatrendriyaabhaatam]
na veda rahitaṁ param
[na veda rahitam param]
evaṁ tvā nāma-mātreṣu
[evam tvaa naama-maatreshu]
viṣayeṣv indriyehayā
[vishayeshv indriyehayaa]
māyayā vibhramac-citto
[maayayaa vibhramach-chitto]
na veda smṛty-upaplavāt
[na veda smrity-upaplavaat]
yathā — as śayānaḥ — sleeping puruṣaḥ — a person ātmānam — himself guṇa — secondary tattva — of reality dṛk — whose vision nāma — with names mātra — and forms indriya — through his mind ābhātam — manifest na veda — he does not know rahitam — separate param — rather evam — similarly tvā — You nāma - mātreṣu — having names and forms viṣayeṣu — in objects of material perception indriya — of the senses īhayā — by the activity māyayā — because of the influence of Your illusory energy vibhramat — becoming bewildered cittaḥ — whose consciousness na veda — one does not know smṛti — of his memory upaplavāt — due to the disruption .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yathā śayānaḥ puruṣa
yathā
as
śayānaḥ
sleeping
puruṣaḥ
a person
ātmānaṁ guṇa-tattva-dṛk
ātmānam
himself
guṇa
secondary
tattva
of reality
dṛk
whose vision
nāma-mātrendriyābhātaṁ
nāma
with names
mātra
and forms
na veda rahitaṁ param
evaṁ tvā nāma-mātreṣu
viṣayeṣv indriyehayā
indriya
through his mind
ābhātam
manifest
māyayā vibhramac-citto
na veda smṛty-upaplavāt
na veda
he does not know
rahitam
separate
param
rather
evam
similarly
tvā
You
nāma - mātreṣu
having names and forms
viṣayeṣu
in objects of material perception
indriya
of the senses
īhayā
by the activity
māyayā
because of the influence of Your illusory energy
vibhramat
becoming bewildered
cittaḥ
whose consciousness
na veda
one does not know
smṛti
of his memory
upaplavāt
due to the disruption .
  • smṛti-upaplavāt — due to the disruption of memory
    smṛti (memory) + upaplava (overflow, disruption). The forgetting of one's eternal relationship with Bhagavān. Gauḍīyas treat smṛti as a technical term: nityaḥ kṛṣṇa-smṛti is the goal; the disease is its disruption.
  • nāma-mātreṣu — in things having only names
    nāma (name) + mātra (only, mere). The objects perceived by the dreaming jīva are name-only — they have no substance independent of Bhagavān. Gauḍīyas read this not as Buddhist śūnyatā but as acintya-bhedābheda: real but not standalone.
  • indriya-īhayā — by the activity of the senses
    indriya (sense) + īhā (activity). The senses act and the world appears. Gauḍīyas note that bhakti redirects the senses (hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate, Nārada-pañcarātra), turning indriya-īhā from world-making into Kṛṣṇa-service.
  • guṇa-tattva-dṛk — whose vision is of secondary reality
    guṇa (secondary, modifying) + tattva (reality) + dṛś (vision). The dreamer's eye sees the secondary. Gauḍīyas treat the goal as the recovery of paramārtha-dṛṣṭi — seeing the Person who underlies the guṇas.
A sleeping person imagines an alternative reality for himself and, seeing himself as having various names and forms, forgets his waking identity, which is distinct from the dream. Similarly, the senses of one whose consciousness is bewildered by illusion perceive only the names and forms of material objects. Thus such a person loses his memory and cannot know You.

Just as a person’s dream is a secondary reality created from the stock of his memories and desires, so this universe exists as the inferior creation of the Supreme Lord, in no real way separate from Him. And just as the person who awakens from sleep experiences the higher reality of his waking life, so the Supreme Lord also has His distinct, higher reality beyond everything we know of this world. In His own words, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogam aiśvaram bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ “By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them. And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all living entities and although I am everything, I am not part of this cosmic manifestation, for My Self is the very source of creation.” (Bg. 9.4-5)

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
A sleeping person imagines an alternative reality for himself and, seeing himself as having various names and forms, forgets his waking identity, which is distinct from the dream. Similarly, the senses of one whose consciousness is bewildered by illusion perceive only the names and forms of material objects. Thus such a person loses his memory and cannot know You.
Commentary

People do not know that you are one with the universe with its many names and forms and also superior to it. This is explained using an example in two verses. Just as a man dreaming sees as real the objects in the dream, and knows many names and forms of tiger, snake and king appearing with senses such as the ear, tan matras such as form an sound, and names, but does not know himself who has become those forms, and rather knows something other than his real form, so the ignorant man bewildered by maya through action of the senses like the ear, knows you by the names of deva or man, and with material form and qualities. He does not know your true form, separate from the many names and forms that you assume as the universe, because of loss of intelligence.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Others do not know you. Two verses explain. Verses 22 onwards can be explained in another way. How does the Lord act is this way? He is not covered by māyā. We offer respects to the Lord who is not covered (acchanna) by his extraordinary āvaraṇa-śakti (material māyā), since he manifests unlimited powers. Or, we offer respects to the Lord who covers his powers by his mercy (māyayā) so that he can have intimate relationships (yoga) with his devotees (sva). Therefore he is most dear to all (paramātmane). The persons present at this place are more fortunate than us. That is explained in verse 23. Those who have gathered here and the intimate Vṛṣṇis who are superior to the others, do not see the Lord to be covered by a screen of māyā. Rather they see him uncovered, because he manifests his svarūpa to them. Realizing his uncovered form, they do not see his form as impersonal Brahman (ātmanam). Surpassing that, realizing his personal form, they do not even see his form as Paramātmā (kālam). Surpassing that, realizing the form of Bhagavān, the source of all other forms, they do not see his form as the Supreme Lord. Surpassing all those realization of bliss in those forms one after the other, they realize him as the lord of his affectionate friends. itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puṣjāḥ In this way with an abundance of splendor caused by Kṛṣṇa, they played with him, though he is pure consciousness or happiness known as Brahman for the jṣānīs, the Supreme Lord for the devotees with dāsya-bhāva and an ordinary human child for those covered by material illusion.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The devotee is unbewildered by māyā, which incites the senses to objects and forms, because of absorption in scriptures. Others do not know you. That is explained in these two verses. A sleeping person sees himself as names, which are false (nāma-mātra), because the image appears through the senses (indriyābhātam). Or some person among the Vṛṣṇis, even while sleeping, knows you, the Lord (ātmānam), correctly (yathā), and not anything else (rahitam param), because he directly realizes (paśyati) your qualities like mercy, which are real and eternal (guṇa-tattva-dṛk). He knows you who reveal yourself (ābhātam) in the senses, objects (mātra) and all your names. Or he knows you, manifested as Śyamasundara, with senses, forms and names, not devoid of these as Brahman. People are not bewildered about you (vibhama-cittaḥ) because of māyā, which activates (īhayā) the senses in perceiving objects and forms visibly (nāma). Rather they constantly realize you through Vedas and smṛtis (veda-smṛtyupaplavāt).

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)
Related verses
Concepts
PunyaYoga

A dreaming man wears a different name and walks a different street and forgets his real bed. Daybreak doesn't argue him out of the dream; it simply ends it. The conditioned soul perceives only names-and-forms because his consciousness is dreaming; only smṛti — the breaking of the dream — restores Kṛṣṇa to view.

Bharata as a deer

Bharata Mahārāja, again (SB 5.7–14), forgets his identity entirely and lives as a deer — the dream is total. When he is reborn as Jaḍa Bharata, the dream's smṛti-upaplava (the disruption of memory) begins to mend; he refuses to call the body or its relations 'mine.'

Gauḍīyas treat his trajectory as the case-study of this verse: the soul forgets, then by Bhagavān's grace remembers.

Ajāmila on his deathbed

Ajāmila (SB 6.1–3) is the dreaming man who, by uttering the name 'Nārāyaṇa' in the last hour, briefly wakes up. Smṛti returns; the dream breaks; the Viṣṇu-dūtas claim him.

Gauḍīyas read his story as the operational hope inside this verse — even the longest dream can be ended by the name.

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