prāduścakartha yad idaṁ puruhūta rūpaṁ
prāduścakartha yad idaṁ puruhūta rūpaṁ
teneśa nirvṛtim avāpur alaṁ dṛśo naḥ
tasmā idaṁ bhagavate nama id vidhema
yo ’nātmanāṁ durudayo bhagavān pratītaḥ
O Lord, called by the devotees! Our eyes have attained bliss by seeing you who have appeared with this form. We offer respects to the Lord who appears difficult to see for those who do not serve the Lord.
We prayed for indirect perception of you, through the bliss of hearing, chanting and remembering about you. But you have made us drink the nectar of direct association with you, though we have been offenders. Such great tolerance is your unlimited mercy. O Lord, called by many devotees (puruhūta) with names like Nārāyaṇa, Viṣnu, Govinda! Please give mercy! We have become successful by you who revealed your form, being under the control of unlimited mercy arising from devotees calling your name. By that vision of your form, our eyes (dṛṣaḥ) or intellects have attained bliss. They offer respects by placing their folded hands about their heads. It means “thus” or “going.” We offer obeisance (namaḥ) going (it) to your lotus feet. You do not appear to those who do not have you (ātma) as the object of service (anātmānām). Or you do not appear to those persons who, being devoid of you, are devoid of soul (anātmānām). hey are like dirt. Just as the sun is difficult to see for owls, the Lord appears (pratītaḥ) difficult to see for the non-devotees.
The Kumāras are famous as being fixed in realization of Brahman and are known as the jewels in the crown among all ātmārāmas. Ṣruti says tasmai mṛditakaṣāyāya tamasaḥ pāraṁ darśayati bhagavān sanatkumāraḥ: I offer respects to Sanatkumāra, who has destroyed all defects and shows the supreme Brahman beyond ignorance. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.26) When such sages offer prayers of this nature, one must understand the superiority of the bliss in worship of the Lord over the bliss of Brahman. This means that the Lord’s form, name, qualities, clothing, devotees and abodes are naturally all spiritual in form. If they were not of this nature, bhakti could not be successful. Later, in the statements of Kapila, these items are described as nirguṇa, without material qualities. Bhārata-tātparya says muktānām api bhaktir hi nityānanda svarūpiṇī: bhakti is the form of eternal bliss for the liberated souls. Śruti also confirms this with āprāṇayanāt tatrāpi hi dṛṣṭam: bhakti is performed before liberation and it is seen after liberation as well. (Brahma-ṣūtra 4.1.12) In Madhvācārya’s commentary on this sūtra he quotes Sauparṇa-śruti: sarvadainam upāsīta yāvan muktir amuktā hy enam upāsate: the Lord is worshipped at all times; he is worshiped by the liberated and by those not liberated. In relation to the great devotees such as Prahlāda and Bali, Viṣṇu Purāṇa says pātāle kasya na prītir vimuktasyāpi jāyate: in the lower planets, even those who are liberated do not have bhakti.
Thus ends the commentary on Fifteenth Chapter of the Third Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas
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