eke paraṁ sad-asatoḥ puruṣaṁ pareśam
eke paraṁ sad-asatoḥ puruṣaṁ pareśam
anye 'vayanti nava-śakti-yutaṁ paraṁ tvāṁ
kecin mahā-puruṣam avyayam ātma-tantram
Some think of you as Brahman, some think of you as dharma, some think of you as the Lord of prakṛti and puruṣa. Others think of you as the Supreme Lord, superior to māyā, endowed with nine spiritual śaktis. Others think of you as the great puruṣa, independent and indestructible.
Different sages speak of you according to their opinions. The Vedantists think of you, the Supreme Lord, as Brahman. The Mīmāṣakas think of you as dharma. The Sāṅkhya philosophers think of you as superior to prakṛti and puruṣa. Others, the followers of Pañcarātraka, think of you, superior to māyā-śakti, and endowed with your nine śaktis Vimala, Utkarṣiṇī, Jñāna, Kriyā, Yogā, Prahvī, Satyā, Īśānā, and Anugrahā. The followers of Patañjali think of you as the great puruṣa.
|| 8.12.10 ||
nāhaṁ parāyur ṛṣayo na marīci-mukhyā
jānanti yad-viracitaṁ khalu sattva-sargāḥ
yan-māyayā muṣita-cetasa īśa daitya-
martyādayaḥ kim uta śaśvad-abhadra-vṛttāḥ
O Lord! I do not know you. The great sages headed by Marīci do not know you. Brahmā, created from sattva-guṇa, do not even know the universe created by you. What to speak of the demons and humans, whose minds are stolen by illusion, with continuously base tendencies!
Among these philosophies, that of Pañcarātra is accepted by the Lord. Pañcarātrasya kṛtsnasya vaktā tu bhagavān svayam: the speak of all the Pañcarātra scriptures is the Lord himself.
tubhyaṁ ca nārada bhṛśaṁ bhagavān vivṛddha-
bhāvena sādhu parituṣṭa uvāca yogam
jñānaṁ ca bhāgavatam ātma-satattva-dīpaṁ
yad vāsudeva-śaraṇā vidur añjasaiva
O Nārada! The Lord, greatly pleased with your prema, spoke about bhakti, knowledge about the Lord and that knowledge which removes ignorance in the jīva¸ and which the pure devotees understand with joy. SB 2.7.19
That philosophy is also the philosophy of the great devotee Śiva. But those who say “I know that” do not know. This is what Śiva expresses in this verse. Not only do I not know, but Brahmā who lives for two parārdhas, created in sattva-guṇa, does not know this universe created by you, what to speak of knowing you. O Lord! Persons with inauspicious tendencies of rajas and tamas certainly do not know you. And the philosophers previously mentioned certainly do not know you.
|| 8.12.11 ||
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