Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.9

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IASTदेवनागरीবাংলা

Commentary

JīvaMukunda-dāsaViśvanātha

BRS 1.2.9

← 1.2.8 1.2.10-11 →

ity asau syād vidhir nityaḥ sarva-varṇāśramādiṣu |
nityatve’py asya nirṇītam ekādaśy-ādivat-phalam ||

The verse — translated

Thus this would be an obligatory injunction for all varṇas, āśramas, and the rest. Yet even though it is obligatory, a result has been determined for it, as for ekādaśī and the like.

इस प्रकार यह विधि सब वर्णों और आश्रमों आदि में नित्य ठहरती है; नित्य होने पर भी एकादशी आदि की भाँति इसका फल निर्णीत किया गया है।

The verse — line by line

L1conclusion

ity asau syād vidhir nityaḥ sarva-varṇāśramādiṣu |

itiso, summing up what was just said (that Viṣṇu must always be remembered) iti of conclusion, pointing backइस प्रकार (उपसंहार का 'इति', पूर्वोक्त की ओर संकेत करता हुआ)

asauthis — this remembering of Viṣṇu just describedयह (ऊपर कही गई विधि)

syātwould be, should be taken as optativeहो / होनी चाहिए

vidhiḥa positive injunction, a command to doविधि (शास्त्रीय विधान)

nityaḥeternal — an obligatory rule, not one done to get some particular rewardनित्य (सदा करणीय)

sarva-varṇāśramādiṣubinding on all the varṇas, all the āśramas, and everyone else too locative of scopeसब वर्णों और आश्रमों आदि में

iti — so, summing up; asau — this remembering; nityaḥ vidhiḥ syāt — would be an eternal injunction; sarva-varṇāśramādiṣu — for all varṇas, āśramas, and the rest.

iti — इस प्रकार; asau — यह विधि; syāt — हो; vidhiḥ — विधि; nityaḥ — नित्य; sarva-varṇāśramādiṣu — सब वर्ण-आश्रम आदि में।

So, to sum up: this constant remembering of Viṣṇu should be understood as an eternal, standing rule. It is not a rule you keep only to earn some particular reward. It binds everyone — every varṇa, every āśrama, and, by the word 'and the rest,' those outside that system as well.

इस प्रकार यह विधि सब वर्णों और आश्रमों आदि में नित्य विधि हो। अर्थात् विष्णु का स्मरण एक सदा करणीय विधान है, किसी वर्ण या आश्रम तक सीमित नहीं।

nitya-vidhi (home: Mīmāṁsā ritual law — an obligatory act one must always do, e.g. the daily fire-offering, as opposed to a kāmya act done for a specific wish like rain); here it classes the remembering of Viṣṇu as a standing duty, not an optional means to a prize.

नित्य-विधि (मूल क्षेत्र मीमांसा का कर्मकाण्ड — वह अनिवार्य कर्म जो सदा करना ही पड़ता है, जैसे प्रतिदिन की अग्निहोत्र-आहुति; इसके विपरीत काम्य कर्म किसी विशेष कामना के लिए किया जाता है, जैसे वृष्टि के लिए)। यहाँ यह विष्णु के स्मरण को एक नित्य कर्तव्य के रूप में गिनता है, न कि किसी पुरस्कार के लिए किया जाने वाला वैकल्पिक साधन।

L2conclusion

nityatve’py asya nirṇītam ekādaśy-ādivat-phalam ||

nityatve apieven though it is eternal — even granting it is an obligatory, reward-free duty locative + api, concessiveनित्य होने पर भी (यद्यपि यह नित्य है, तथापि)

asyaof this injunction / of this practice genitiveइसका (इस विधि का)

nirṇītamhas been settled, determined [by scripture]निर्णीत / निश्चित किया गया है

ekādaśy-ādivatjust as with fasting on ekādaśī and the like -vat, comparisonएकादशी आदि के समान

phalamthat it does bear a fruit, a resultफल

asya — of this practice; nityatve api — even though it is eternal; phalam — a fruit; nirṇītam — has been settled; ekādaśy-ādivat — just as for ekādaśī and the like.

nityatve api — इसके नित्य होने पर भी; asya — इसका; phalam — फल; ekādaśy-ādivat — एकादशी आदि के समान; nirṇītam — निश्चित किया गया है।

And even though it is an eternal, obligatory rule, scripture has still settled that it bears fruit. The parallel is the ekādaśī fast and other such observances: those too are standing obligations, yet they are known to yield a result. In the same way, always remembering Viṣṇu carries its own fruit.

यद्यपि यह नित्य है, फिर भी इसका फल — एकादशी आदि के समान — निश्चित किया गया है। नित्य होना और फल देना दोनों साथ रह सकते हैं।

The tension it resolves: a nitya duty is by definition not done for a reward, so one might think it yields none. The verse answers that, like ekādaśī, it is nitya and yet fruit-bearing — the two are not in conflict.

यह जिस विरोध को सुलझाती है वह यह है: नित्य कर्तव्य परिभाषा से ही किसी फल के लिए नहीं किया जाता, अतः कोई सोच सकता है कि उससे कोई फल नहीं मिलता। श्लोक उत्तर देता है कि एकादशी के समान यह नित्य होकर भी फलदायक है — दोनों में कोई विरोध नहीं।

Commentary — decoded

Jīva Gosvāmī

s1avataranika

ity asāv iti kārikā tu evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān ity anantaraṁ paṭhanīyā |

ity asāv itithe verse beginning 'ity asau' — Jīva names it by its opening words'इत्यसौ' — यह कारिका (आरम्भिक पदों से ग्रहण)

kārikāthis summarizing verse, this kārikāकारिका (यह श्लोक)

tunow, as for its placement — turning to a fine pointतो (विशेष रूप से)

evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān iti anantaramright after the [earlier] line 'evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān' (a man, by the paths of the yoga of action…) anantaram, 'immediately after''एवं क्रिया-योग-पथैः पुमान्' — इस श्लोक के तुरन्त पश्चात्

paṭhanīyāis to be recited, should be placed gerundive, 'ought to be read'पढ़नी चाहिए

ity asāv iti kārikā tu — now this kārikā beginning 'ity asau'; evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān iti anantaram — immediately after the line 'evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān'; paṭhanīyā — is to be recited.

ity asāv iti kārikā tu — 'इत्यसौ' यह कारिका तो; evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān iti anantaram — 'एवं क्रिया-योग-पथैः पुमान्' के तुरन्त बाद; paṭhanīyā — पढ़नी चाहिए।

Now Jīva takes up where this summary verse belongs in the text. He says the verse beginning 'ity asau' should be recited right after the earlier line 'evaṁ kriyā-yoga-pathaiḥ pumān.' In other words, its proper home is at the close of that earlier passage, not floating on its own.

'इत्यसौ' से आरम्भ होने वाली यह कारिका तो 'एवं क्रिया-योग-पथैः पुमान्' — इस श्लोक के ठीक बाद पढ़नी चाहिए। इसका स्थान वहीं बनता है।

s2reply

iti-śabdena pūrva-prakaraṇasya hetutāyāṁ yogyena kṛta-mukhāyā etasyāḥ kārikāyā upasaṁhāra-vākyatā-prāptes tat-prakaraṇānta eva yogyatvāt ||

iti-śabdenabecause of the word 'iti' [that opens the verse] instrumental of cause'इति' शब्द के द्वारा (क्योंकि 'इति' शब्द से)

pūrva-prakaraṇasya hetutāyāṁ yogyenaan 'iti' that is fit to point to the previous passage as the reason [being summed up] yogyena agrees with iti-śabdena; hetutāyāṁ locative, 'in the role of cause'जो पूर्व प्रकरण को हेतु बनाने में समर्थ है (ऐसे 'इति' शब्द से)

kṛta-mukhāyāḥ etasyāḥ kārikāyāḥof this kārikā, whose very opening is made [by that 'iti'] genitiveजिसका मुख (आरम्भ) 'इति' से किया गया है, ऐसी इस कारिका का

upasaṁhāra-vākyatā-prāpteḥbecause it thereby earns the status of a concluding, summing-up sentence ablative of reasonउपसंहार-वाक्य होने की प्राप्ति के कारण

tat-prakaraṇānte eva yogyatvātand because it fits only at the very end of that passage ablative of reason; eva, 'only'उसी प्रकरण के अन्त में ही योग्य होने के कारण

iti-śabdena … yogyena — because of the word 'iti,' which is fit to mark the previous passage as the reason; kṛta-mukhāyāḥ etasyāḥ kārikāyāḥ — of this kārikā whose opening it forms; upasaṁhāra-vākyatā-prāpteḥ — since it thus becomes a concluding sentence; tat-prakaraṇānte eva yogyatvāt — because it fits only at the end of that passage.

pūrva-prakaraṇasya hetutāyāṁ yogyena iti-śabdena kṛta-mukhāyāḥ etasyāḥ kārikāyāḥ — पूर्व प्रकरण को हेतु बनाने में समर्थ 'इति' शब्द से जिसका आरम्भ हुआ है, ऐसी इस कारिका के; upasaṁhāra-vākyatā-prāpteḥ — उपसंहार-वाक्य होने की प्राप्ति होने से; tat-prakaraṇānte eva yogyatvāt — वह उसी प्रकरण के अन्त में ही योग्य है।

Here is why it goes there. The verse opens with the word 'iti' ('thus'). That 'iti' is exactly the kind of word that gathers up the preceding discussion and points to it. Because 'iti' begins this verse, the verse becomes a wrap-up sentence. And a wrap-up sentence fits in only one place: at the very end of the passage it wraps up. So this verse belongs right there, at the close.

'इति' शब्द पूर्व प्रकरण को हेतु बनाने में समर्थ है। इसी 'इति' से जिसका आरम्भ हुआ है, वह कारिका उपसंहार-वाक्य बन जाती है। इसलिए वह उसी प्रकरण के अन्त में ही रखने योग्य है।

iti as a summative marker: opening a verse with 'iti' signals 'this concludes the foregoing,' the way 'thus' or 'in short' closes an argument in English — which is why a verse so opened can only sit at a passage's end.

'इति' का उपसंहार-सूचक के रूप में प्रयोग: किसी श्लोक को 'इति' से आरम्भ करना यह संकेत देता है कि 'इससे पूर्वोक्त का समापन होता है' — जैसे हिन्दी में 'इस प्रकार' या 'संक्षेप में' किसी तर्क को समेटता है। इसी कारण 'इति' से आरम्भ होने वाला श्लोक केवल किसी प्रकरण के अन्त में ही बैठ सकता है।

Mukunda-dāsa Gosvāmī

s1gloss

ity asāv iti |

ity asāv itithe words 'ity asau' — Mukunda quotes the verse's opening to begin his comment

ity asāv iti — [taking up the phrase] 'ity asau'.

Mukunda repeats the opening words 'ity asau' to mark which line he is about to explain. This is just his way of pointing to the verse before commenting; it carries no separate meaning of its own.

s2gloss

sarva-varṇāśramādiṣu—ādi-śabdāt tad-urvāritāḥ sarvajanāś ca gṛhītāḥ |

sarva-varṇāśramādiṣuon the verse's words 'for all varṇas, āśramas, and the rest'

ādi-śabdātfrom the word 'ādi' ('and the rest') in that compound ablative, 'on the strength of'

tad-urvāritāḥthose left outside them — people who fall outside the varṇa-and-āśrama scheme

sarva-janāḥ caand, indeed, all people whatsoever ca, widening the scope

gṛhītāḥare taken in, are included [in the rule]

sarva-varṇāśramādiṣu — [glossing] 'for all varṇas and āśramas etc.'; ādi-śabdāt — from the word 'ādi'; tad-urvāritāḥ sarva-janāḥ ca — those outside them, and all people; gṛhītāḥ — are included.

Mukunda explains the little word 'ādi' ('and the rest') in 'all varṇas and āśramas and the rest.' That single word, he says, sweeps in even the people who stand outside the varṇa-and-āśrama system — and, beyond them, absolutely everyone. So the rule to remember Viṣṇu leaves no one out.

s3gloss

ekādaśyādivad iti |

ekādaśyādivad itithe words 'ekādaśy-ādivat' ('like ekādaśī and such') — Mukunda now takes up this phrase

ekādaśyādivad iti — [taking up the phrase] 'like ekādaśī and such'.

Now Mukunda turns to the verse's next phrase, 'like ekādaśī and such.' He quotes it to signal that his following remarks explain this comparison.

s4gloss

ekādaśyā bhaktitve’pi dṛṣṭāntaḥ |

ekādaśyāḥof the ekādaśī observance genitive

bhaktitve apieven for its being an act of devotion (bhakti), not only for its bearing fruit locative + api, 'even in respect of'

dṛṣṭāntaḥ[ekādaśī] serves as the illustrating example

ekādaśyāḥ — of ekādaśī; bhaktitve api — even in respect of [its] being devotion; dṛṣṭāntaḥ — [it is] the example.

Mukunda adds a second, deeper use of the ekādaśī comparison. Ekādaśī does not just illustrate that an eternal duty can bear fruit. It also illustrates that such an act counts as bhakti, as devotion. So ekādaśī is the example on both points at once: it is eternal-yet-fruitful, and it is devotional. The remembering of Viṣṇu is the same on both counts.

bhaktitva here = 'having the character of devotion.' Mukunda's point is that the ekādaśī parallel does double duty — it models not only fruit-from-a-nitya-act but also that the act belongs to bhakti, which is what he confirms next.

s5reply

idaṁ viśvaṁ naśvaraṁ ghaṭa-kuṇḍalādivad ity eka-deśe’pi tad-darśanāt ||

idaṁ viśvaṁ naśvaram'this whole universe is perishable' — the claim to be proved

ghaṭa-kuṇḍalādivat'like a pot, an earring, and such' — a small everyday thing offered as the proof-example -vat, the standard example in an inference

iti— so runs the familiar inference iti closing the cited example

eka-deśe apibecause even in a single part, a single case locative + api

tad-darśanātthe [shared] property is plainly seen there — that is enough to make it a valid example ablative of reason

idaṁ viśvaṁ naśvaram — 'this universe is perishable'; ghaṭa-kuṇḍalādivat — 'like a pot, an earring, etc.'; iti — thus [runs the inference]; eka-deśe api tad-darśanāt — because the property is seen even in a single part.

Mukunda backs up the last point with a stock example from logic. People argue, 'This whole universe is perishable, just like a pot or an earring.' A pot is only a tiny part of the universe, yet it works as the proof, because the very quality in question — perishability — is clearly seen even in that one small thing. Mapping it here: the universe is the big subject being illustrated, perishability is the shared quality, and the pot is the small example that carries it. In the same way, ekādaśī is only one particular observance, yet it works as the example for remembering Viṣṇu, because the shared qualities — being eternal-yet-fruitful, and being devotion — are plainly present in it. The analogy proves ekādaśī is a legitimate example; it does not claim ekādaśī and remembering Viṣṇu are identical in every respect, only that they share the relevant qualities.

eka-deśa-sādharmya (partial likeness) in Nyāya inference: an example need not resemble the subject in everything, only in the one property being proved. Homely contrast — a valid example is like 'the pot proves perishability' (they truly share perishing), not like demanding 'the example must be the whole universe over again.' Here ekādaśī need only share fruit-bearing-though-eternal and devotional-nature, nothing more.

Viśvanātha Cakravartī

s1gloss

ity asāv iti |

ity asāv itithe words 'ity asau' — Viśvanātha quotes the verse's opening to begin his note'इत्यसौ' — इस पद का (प्रतीक-ग्रहण, व्याख्या के लिए)

ity asāv iti — [taking up the phrase] 'ity asau'.

ity asāv iti — 'इत्यसौ' इस पद को लेकर (आगे व्याख्या की जाती है)।

Viśvanātha opens by repeating the verse's first words, 'ity asau,' to mark which line he is commenting on. It is a pointer to the text, nothing more.

'इत्यसौ' — इस पद का ग्रहण करके व्याख्यान किया जा रहा है।

s2gloss

akaraṇe pāpa-śravaṇena bhajanasya nityatva-niścaye’py ekādaśy-ādivat phalam asti ||

akaraṇe pāpa-śravaṇenabecause scripture warns that not doing it brings sin instrumental of means/proof; akaraṇe locative, 'in the case of its non-performance'न करने पर पाप सुनने के कारण (न करने में — पाप होता है, ऐसा सुनने से प्रमाण मिलता है)

bhajanasyaof worship, of this devotional practice genitiveभजन का

nityatva-niścaye apieven once it is settled that the practice is an eternal, obligatory duty locative + api, concessiveनित्यता का निश्चय हो जाने पर भी

ekādaśy-ādivatjust as with ekādaśī and the like -vat, comparisonएकादशी आदि के समान

phalam astithere still is a fruit, a resultफल है

akaraṇe pāpa-śravaṇena — because sin is heard of for not doing it; bhajanasya nityatva-niścaye api — even when the worship is settled to be eternal; ekādaśy-ādivat — as with ekādaśī and such; phalam asti — a fruit exists.

akaraṇe pāpa-śravaṇena bhajanasya nityatva-niścaye api — न करने पर पाप होता है, ऐसा सुनने से भजन की नित्यता निश्चित हो जाने पर भी; ekādaśy-ādivat — एकादशी आदि के समान; phalam asti — फल है।

Viśvanātha explains how we know this worship is an eternal duty, and why it still bears fruit. We know it is obligatory because scripture says that failing to do it incurs sin — and only an obligatory act carries a penalty for its neglect. But even after we have settled that it is an eternal duty, it still yields a fruit, exactly as ekādaśī does. Being obligatory and being fruitful go together here, just as in the fast.

भजन न करने पर पाप लगता है — ऐसा सुनने से सिद्ध होता है कि भजन नित्य कर्तव्य है। यह निश्चय हो जाने पर भी, एकादशी आदि के समान, इसका फल भी है।

The logic 'penalty for omission ⇒ the act is obligatory': in Mīmāṁsā, a nitya duty is precisely one whose neglect is blameworthy, so 'sin from not doing it' is the mark that remembering Viṣṇu is nitya.

'न करने पर दण्ड ⇒ कर्म अनिवार्य है' — यह तर्क: मीमांसा में नित्य कर्तव्य वही होता है जिसका न करना दोषपूर्ण हो। अतः 'न करने पर पाप' यही वह चिह्न है जिससे विष्णु-स्मरण का नित्य होना सिद्ध होता है।

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