L1definition
kṛtānuyātrā-vidyābhir hari-bhaktir anuttamā |
kṛtānuyātrā-vidyābhiḥthe branches of knowledge (the vidyās) following behind her in her train — she is the one they walk after bahuvrīhi; instrumental of accompaniment. Viśvanātha unpacks it: vidyābhiḥ kṛtā anu yātrā yasyāḥ sāउन विद्याओं के साथ, जो उसका अनुगमन करती हैं (जिसके पीछे-पीछे विद्याओं ने गमन किया है)
hari-bhaktiḥdevotion to Hari — this is what the line is about nominative; the subjectश्रीहरि की भक्ति (कर्ता)
anuttamāthe unsurpassed — nothing stands higher nominative, agreeing with hari-bhaktiḥ; Viśvanātha: atyutkṛṣṭā, utterly surpassingसर्वोत्कृष्ट है — जिससे बढ़कर कोई नहीं
hari-bhaktiḥ — devotion to Hari; anuttamā — the unsurpassed; kṛtānuyātrā-vidyābhiḥ — with the branches of knowledge that follow behind her in her train.
kṛtānuyātrā-vidyābhiḥ — उन विद्याओं सहित, जिन्होंने भक्ति का अनुगमन किया है; hari-bhaktiḥ — श्रीहरि की भक्ति; anuttamā — सर्वोत्कृष्ट (जिससे उत्तम कोई नहीं)।
Devotion to Hari is unsurpassed — nothing is higher. And the vidyās, the branches of knowledge, follow along behind her, walking in her train. Viśvanātha reads the compound as a bahuvrīhi: she is the one for whom the branches of knowledge have made a following-behind. So the knowledges trail after devotion; devotion does not chase after them.
श्रीहरि की भक्ति सर्वोत्कृष्ट है। जो विद्याएँ उसका अनुगमन करती हैं, वे उसके साथ रहती हैं।
vidyā normally names a formal branch of learning or knowledge (in Advaita, liberating knowledge itself); here the vidyās are placed as devotion's retinue, following behind her rather than leading.
'विद्या' शब्द सामान्यतः किसी शास्त्रीय ज्ञान-शाखा का — अद्वैत में तो मोक्षदायिनी ज्ञान का ही — नाम है; परन्तु यहाँ विद्याएँ भक्ति की अनुचरी बनकर रखी गई हैं, उसका नेतृत्व करने के बजाय उसके पीछे-पीछे चलती हैं।
L2definition
avidyāṁ nirdahaty āśu dāva-jvāleva pannagīm ||
avidyāmignorance — the thing that gets burned accusative; the object of nirdahatiअविद्या को (कर्म)
nirdahatiburns it up, reduces it to ash present tense, subject is hari-bhaktiḥ from L1पूर्णतया भस्म कर देती है (कर्ता हरि-भक्ति)
āśuswiftly, in no time adverbशीघ्र ही, तुरन्त
dāva-jvālā ivajust as a forest-fire's flame does — this is the comparison iva marks the simile; nominativeजैसे दावानल की ज्वाला (उपमा)
pannagīma she-serpent — what the flame burns accusative; Viśvanātha: sarpīm, a female snakeसर्पिणी को (मादा साँप को)
[hari-bhaktiḥ] — [devotion to Hari]; avidyām — ignorance; āśu — swiftly; nirdahati — burns to ash; dāva-jvālā iva — just as a forest-fire's flame (burns); pannagīm — a she-serpent.
avidyām — अविद्या को; nirdahati — भस्म कर देती है; āśu — शीघ्र ही; dāva-jvālā iva — जैसे दावानल की ज्वाला; pannagīm — सर्पिणी को।
Devotion to Hari swiftly burns ignorance (avidyā) to ash. The picture is a forest fire: the way a forest-fire's flame burns up a she-serpent, that fast and that completely, devotion burns up ignorance. Map it out — the flame is devotion; the she-serpent is ignorance; the burning is the destroying, and 'swiftly' is the point of the image, that it happens all at once. The comparison is about speed and totality: the fire does not negotiate with the snake, it simply consumes it. The image carries only that far — it says nothing about the fire needing effort or the snake fighting back; it makes the single point that devotion destroys ignorance fast and entire.
वह अविद्या को शीघ्र ही भस्म कर देती है। जैसे दावानल की ज्वाला सर्पिणी को जला देती है, वैसे ही।
avidyā in Advaita Vedānta and in Yoga is the root nescience that takes the impermanent for permanent and the non-self for the self, binding one to rebirth; here it keeps that sense — the beginningless ignorance that devotion incinerates.
'अविद्या' अद्वैत वेदान्त और योग में वह मूल अज्ञान है जो अनित्य को नित्य और अनात्मा को आत्मा मान बैठता है, और जीव को पुनर्जन्म में बाँध देता है; यहाँ भी वही अर्थ अभीष्ट है — वह अनादि अज्ञान जिसे भक्ति शीघ्र ही भस्म कर देती है।
Commentary — decoded
Jīva Gosvāmī + Mukunda-dāsa Gosvāmī
s1other
na vyākhyātam ||
nanot negative particleनहीं
vyākhyātamhas been explained — i.e. no comment was given here past passive participle, neuter, used impersonallyव्याख्या की गई
na — not; vyākhyātam — has been explained (impersonal: 'it has not been commented on').
na — नहीं; vyākhyātam — व्याख्या की गई।
Nothing has been explained here. This is an editorial note: on this verse Śrī Jīva and Śrī Mukunda give no comment at all. The lecturer simply records the gap and moves on to the next commentator.
इस पर कोई व्याख्या नहीं की गई।
vyākhyāta- is the standard editorial word for 'commented upon, glossed'; here the flat 'na vyākhyātam' just marks that this verse was left without a gloss by these two ācāryas.
'व्याख्यात' टीका-परम्परा का नियत शब्द है — 'जिसकी व्याख्या की गई, जिस पर टीका हुई'; यहाँ सादा 'न व्याख्यातम्' केवल इतना सूचित करता है कि इन दोनों आचार्यों ने इस श्लोक को बिना व्याख्या के छोड़ दिया।
Viśvanātha Cakravartī
s1gloss
vidyābhiḥ kṛtā anu yātrā yasyāḥ sā |
vidyābhiḥby the branches of knowledge — the means by which the following is made instrumental of meansविद्याओं के द्वारा
kṛtāhas been made, has been doneकी गई है
anualong after, behind (the prefix he dissolves out of the compound anuyātrā)पीछे-पीछे (अनु)
yātrāa going, a following-along; so anu + yātrā = a following-in-trainगमन, चलना
yasyāḥof whom, she by whom genitive, the relative of the bahuvrīhiजिसके
sāthat one — she (namely, devotion to Hari) the correlativeवह (हरि-भक्ति)
yasyāḥ — she by whom; vidyābhiḥ — by the branches of knowledge; anu yātrā kṛtā — a following-along has been made; sā — that one (is she, hari-bhakti).
vidyābhiḥ — विद्याओं के द्वारा; kṛtā — की गई है; anu — पीछे-पीछे; yātrā — गमन; yasyāḥ — जिसके; sā — वह भक्ति।
Here he unpacks the compound kṛtānuyātrā-vidyā as a bahuvrīhi (a 'whose-' word). He splits anuyātrā into anu ('after, behind') and yātrā ('a going, a following'). So it means: she by whom a following-behind has been made through the branches of knowledge. In other words, devotion is the one the sciences walk behind.
जिसके पीछे-पीछे विद्याओं के द्वारा गमन किया गया है — अर्थात् जिसका अनुगमन विद्याएँ करती हैं — वह 'कृतानुयात्रा-विद्या' कहलाती है।
anuyātrā: literally a 'journeying-after,' a retinue or escort that travels behind a person. Here it names the way the vidyās form devotion's train, following her like an entourage.
'अनुयात्रा' का शब्दार्थ है 'पीछे-पीछे चलना' — वह अनुचर-मण्डली जो किसी के पीछे चलती है; यहाँ यह उस रीति को कहता है जिससे विद्याएँ भक्ति की अनुगामिनी परिवार-सी मण्डली बनकर उसके पीछे चलती हैं।
s2gloss
tathā ca bhaktasya vidyā-viṣayakecchābhāve’pi sā vidyā svayam eva bhakteḥ paścād gacchatīty arthaḥ |
tathā caand so, and accordingly (drawing out what the bahuvrīhi implies)और इस प्रकार
bhaktasyaof the devotee, on the devotee's part genitiveभक्त की
vidyā-viṣayaka-icchā-abhāveeven when there is no desire directed at knowledge — when the wish that has knowledge for its object is absent locative, 'when / even where'विद्या-विषयक इच्छा के अभाव में — जब भक्त को विद्या की इच्छा तक नहीं होती
apieven (grant the case: even in that absence)तब भी
sā vidyāthat knowledge (the vidyā just spoken of)वह विद्या
svayam evaall on its own, of its own accord — precisely by itself, unbiddenस्वयं ही
bhakteḥ paścātbehind devotion, after devotion ablative/adverbial, 'behind'भक्ति के पीछे-पीछे
gacchatigoes, walksचली जाती है
iti arthaḥthat is the meaningऐसा अर्थ है
tathā ca — and so; bhaktasya — on the devotee's part; vidyā-viṣayaka-icchā-abhāve api — even when there is no desire for knowledge; sā vidyā — that knowledge; svayam eva — of its own accord; bhakteḥ paścāt — behind devotion; gacchati — walks; iti arthaḥ — that is the meaning.
tathā ca — और इस प्रकार; bhaktasya — भक्त की; vidyā-viṣayaka-icchā-abhāve — विद्या-विषयक इच्छा के अभाव में; api — तब भी; sā vidyā — वह विद्या; svayam eva — स्वयं ही; bhakteḥ paścāt — भक्ति के पीछे-पीछे; gacchati — चली जाती है; iti arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Now he draws out the point. Even when the devotee has no wish at all for knowledge, that knowledge still comes on its own. It walks along behind devotion, unbidden. That is the meaning of the compound. The lesson: you need not chase the sciences; they follow devotion by themselves.
और इस प्रकार, भक्त को विद्या की इच्छा न होने पर भी वह विद्या स्वयं ही भक्ति के पीछे-पीछे चली जाती है — ऐसा अर्थ है।
s3gloss
anuttamā atyutkṛṣṭā |
anuttamā'the unsurpassed' — the word being glossedअनुत्तमा — जिससे उत्तम कोई नहीं
atyutkṛṣṭāutterly the highest, surpassing everything (his plain equivalent for it)अत्यन्त उत्कृष्ट
anuttamā — the unsurpassed; atyutkṛṣṭā — utterly the highest.
anuttamā — अनुत्तमा; atyutkṛṣṭā — अत्यन्त उत्कृष्ट।
A one-word gloss. anuttamā means atyutkṛṣṭā — utterly supreme, higher than which there is nothing. It describes hari-bhakti in the verse: devotion to Hari stands above everything.
'अनुत्तमा' का अर्थ है — अत्यन्त उत्कृष्ट।
s4gloss
pannagīṁ sarpīm ||
pannagīm'a she-serpent' — the word being glossedपन्नगी
sarpīma female snake (his plain equivalent for it)सर्पिणी (मादा साँप)
pannagīm — a she-serpent; sarpīm — a female snake.
pannagīm — पन्नगी; sarpīm — सर्पिणी।
A one-word gloss. pannagīm means sarpīm — a she-serpent. This is the snake of the verse's image: as a forest fire burns up a she-serpent, so devotion burns up ignorance.
'पन्नगी' का अर्थ है — सर्पिणी।