L1definition
yaḥ śāstrādiṣv anipuṇaḥ śraddhāvān sa tu madhyamaḥ ||
yaḥthe one who — nom. sg. relative pronoun; correlates with sa belowजो (व्यक्ति) — आगे 'वह' से जुड़ता है
śāstrādiṣuin the scriptures and the like (reasoning, argument) loc. pl. of sphere; -ādi 'and so on' widens it past scripture aloneशास्त्र आदि विषयों में — '-आदि' से केवल शास्त्र नहीं, अन्य क्षेत्र भी समेटे
anipuṇaḥis not skilled — not adept at handling them nom. sg.; a- privative on nipuṇa 'skilled'निपुण नहीं है, कुशल नहीं है
śraddhāvānyet has faith — is full of trusting conviction nom. sg.; the positive quality set against 'not skilled'फिर भी श्रद्धावान् है
saḥhe is — nom. sg.; picks up the yaḥवह ('जो' का प्रत्युत्तर)
tuon the other hand (marking him off from the uttama just defined) contrastive particleतो / परन्तु (विरोध जताता है)
madhyamaḥthe middle-grade devotee nom. sg. predicate; madhya 'middle'मध्यम (अधिकारी) है
yaḥ — the one who; śāstrādiṣu — in scripture and the rest; anipuṇaḥ — is not skilled; (yet) śraddhāvān — has faith; saḥ tu — he, by contrast; madhyamaḥ — is the middle devotee.
yaḥ — जो; śāstrādiṣu — शास्त्र आदि में; anipuṇaḥ — निपुण नहीं; śraddhāvān — फिर भी श्रद्धावान्; saḥ — वह; tu — तो; madhyamaḥ — मध्यम अधिकारी।
Take someone who is not skilled in the scriptures and the reasoning that goes with them, but who still has firm faith. He is the madhyama, the middle-grade devotee. The word tu ('but') sets him off from the uttama, the top devotee, defined just before. So the ranking turns on two things together: how well you handle śāstra, and how firm your faith is. Here the skill is lacking but the faith is strong.
यह मध्यम भक्त का लक्षण है। जो शास्त्र आदि में कुशल नहीं, तो भी उसमें श्रद्धा है — वही मध्यम अधिकारी है। श्रद्धा है, पर निपुणता नहीं, इसी से वह बीच का है।
adhikārī grades: this is the middle of three — uttama (top) is skilled and faithful; madhyama (here) is faithful but not skilled; kaniṣṭha (next verse) has only soft, tender faith. The measure is śraddhā plus command of śāstra, not birth or externals.
अधिकारियों के तीन स्तर हैं और यह उनमें बीच का है। उत्तम (सर्वोच्च) निपुण भी है और श्रद्धावान् भी; मध्यम (यहाँ) श्रद्धावान् है पर निपुण नहीं; कनिष्ठ (अगली कारिका) में केवल कोमल, कच्ची श्रद्धा है। माप श्रद्धा और शास्त्र का अधिकार है — जन्म या बाह्य वस्तु नहीं।
Commentary — decoded
Jīva Gosvāmī
s1gloss
anipuṇa iti nipuṇa-sadṛśaḥ |
anipuṇa itias for the word 'not skilled' — iti flags the lemma being explained'अनिपुण' — यह (मूल का) पद जिसकी व्याख्या हो रही है
nipuṇa-sadṛśaḥhe actually resembles someone who is skilled bahuvrīhi-type compound: 'like (sadṛśa) a skilled man'; softens the a- privativeनिपुण के सदृश / निपुण के समान (है) — 'अ' उपसर्ग को नरम करता है
anipuṇaḥ iti — the word 'not skilled'; nipuṇa-sadṛśaḥ — (means) 'resembling one who is skilled'.
anipuṇa iti — 'अनिपुण' (यह पद); nipuṇa-sadṛśaḥ — निपुण के सदृश।
Jīva heads off a wrong reading of 'not skilled.' He says it does not mean ignorant. It means he is close to skilled — practically like an expert. So the madhyama really does know the teaching; the gap is narrow, and Jīva now spells out exactly where it lies.
'अनिपुण' का अर्थ यहाँ 'निपुण के समान' है। वह पूरी तरह अकुशल नहीं, बल्कि निपुण से बस थोड़ा ही कम है। 'अ' उपसर्ग को नरम अर्थ में लिया गया।
This is a softening gloss: the a- privative is read not as 'lacking skill' but as 'just short of skilled.' It protects the madhyama from sounding like the kaniṣṭha of the next verse.
यह नरम करने वाली व्याख्या है — 'अ' उपसर्ग को 'निपुणता का अभाव' नहीं, अपितु 'निपुण से किंचित् कम' पढ़ा गया। इससे मध्यम अगली कारिका के कनिष्ठ जैसा प्रतीत नहीं होता।
s2gloss
balavad-bādhe datte sati samādhātum asamartha ity arthaḥ |
balavad-bādhea strong objection — a powerful counter-argument loc. sg.; balavat 'strong' + bādhā 'refutation, objection'; the subject of the locative-absoluteप्रबल बाधा (खंडन/आपत्ति) — (जिसके) होने पर
datte sationce it has been put to him — when someone raises it locative absolute (datta 'given' + sati); 'when/once X happens'दिये जाने पर / प्रस्तुत होने पर (जब ... हो)
samādhātumto settle it — to resolve the difficulty infinitive of purpose, from sam-ā-√dhā 'to compose, answer'समाधान करने के लिए (उत्तर देने के लिए)
asamarthaḥhe is unable nom. sg. predicate; a-samartha 'not competent'असमर्थ है
ity arthaḥthat is the sense closing formulaऐसा अर्थ है
balavad-bādhe datte sati — when a strong objection has been raised; samādhātum — to settle it; asamarthaḥ — (he is) unable; iti arthaḥ — that is the meaning.
balavad-bādhe — प्रबल बाधा; datte sati — दिये जाने पर; samādhātum — समाधान करने में; asamarthaḥ — असमर्थ; ity arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Now Jīva pins down the one thing the madhyama cannot do. When a strong objection is thrown at him — a sharp counter-argument against the teaching — he cannot resolve it. He knows the truth, but he cannot win the debate. That inability, and only that, is what 'not skilled' means here.
जब कोई प्रबल आपत्ति सामने रखी जाए, तो उसका समाधान करने में वह असमर्थ रहता है। 'अनिपुण' का यही तात्पर्य है।
'balavad-bādhā' is a debating term: a bādhā is a refutation or defeating objection; balavat marks it as the strong kind that overturns a position. The madhyama's limit is dialectical, not doctrinal.
'बलवद्-बाधा' वाद-विवाद का पारिभाषिक शब्द है — बाधा अर्थात् खंडन या पराजित करने वाली आपत्ति; 'बलवत्' से वह प्रबल कोटि की, जो पक्ष को उलट दे। मध्यम की सीमा तर्क-कौशल की है, सिद्धान्त की नहीं।
s3gloss
tathāpi śraddhāvān manasi dṛḍha-niścaya evety arthaḥ ||
tathāpieven so — even though he cannot answer the objection tathā + api, concessive: 'still, nonetheless'फिर भी / तो भी
śraddhāvānhe is faithful — and this is what 'faithful' means: the lemma from the mūla being unpacked'श्रद्धावान्' (मूल का जो पद खोला जा रहा है)
manasiin his mind — inwardly loc. sg. of locationमन में
dṛḍha-niścayaḥhis conviction stays firm — unshaken certainty nom. sg.; dṛḍha 'firm' + niścaya 'conviction, settled certainty'दृढ़ निश्चय वाला (दृढ़ + पक्का निश्चय)
evaprecisely — firm and nothing less emphatic particle; stresses that the firmness is totalही / निश्चय ही (दृढ़ता पूर्ण है, इस पर जोर)
ity arthaḥthat is the sense closing formulaऐसा अर्थ है
tathāpi — even so; śraddhāvān — (as for) 'faithful'; manasi — in the mind; dṛḍha-niścayaḥ eva — (he is) of firm conviction indeed; iti arthaḥ — that is the meaning.
tathāpi — फिर भी; śraddhāvān — श्रद्धावान्; manasi — मन में; dṛḍha-niścayaḥ — दृढ़ निश्चय वाला; eva — ही; ity arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Here is the other side, and it is the decisive one. Even though he loses the argument, his inner conviction does not budge. In his mind he is completely settled. That unshaken certainty is what makes him 'faithful.' The word eva ('precisely') drives it home: the faith is firm, full stop. So the madhyama can be out-argued and still not shaken — his certainty does not depend on winning debates.
तर्क में असमर्थ होने पर भी वह श्रद्धावान् है। उसके मन में निश्चय पूरी तरह दृढ़ ही है। 'श्रद्धावान्' का यही अर्थ है।
'śraddhā' here is glossed as dṛḍha-niścaya, firm inner conviction — not mere belief or sentiment. The point: faith is measured by the steadiness of the mind, not by debating skill.
यहाँ 'श्रद्धा' का अर्थ दृढ़ निश्चय है — मन का पक्का विश्वास, केवल मान्यता या भावुकता नहीं। तात्पर्य यह कि श्रद्धा की माप मन की स्थिरता है, वाद-कौशल नहीं।
Mukunda-dāsa Gosvāmī
s1gloss
ya iti śraddhāvān asya sevane ||
ya itias for the word 'who' (the one who…) — iti flags the mūla's yaḥ as the lemma
śraddhāvānhe is 'faithful' the quality being located
asya sevanein the service of Him — faithful when it comes to serving the Lord loc. sg. of sphere; asya 'of Him' (Bhagavān) + sevana 'service'
yaḥ iti — (as for) the relative 'who'; śraddhāvān — (he is) faithful; asya sevane — in the service of Him.
Mukunda points where the faith actually lands. The madhyama's faith is faith in serving the Lord. His conviction is not abstract; it is trust directed at devotional service itself. So even without debating skill, he holds firm in the one thing that matters — service to Bhagavān.
Mukunda reads śraddhā practically: not confidence in argument but confidence in seva. This complements Jīva — Jīva locates the firmness in the mind, Mukunda locates its object in service.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī
s1gloss
anipuṇo balavad-bādhe datte sati samādhātum asamarthaḥ, tathāpi śraddhāvān gurūpadiṣṭa-bhagavat-tattvādau manasi dṛḍha-niścaya evety arthaḥ ||
anipuṇaḥ'not skilled' — the mūla lemma taken up'अनिपुण' (मूल का पद, यहाँ उठाया गया)
balavad-bādhe datte satimeans: when a strong objection has been put to him locative absolute; same phrasing as Jīva's s2प्रबल बाधा दिये जाने पर (जब आपत्ति प्रस्तुत हो)
samādhātum asamarthaḥhe is unable to settle it infinitive of purpose + predicate 'unable'समाधान करने में असमर्थ
tathāpieven so — concessive: 'nonetheless'फिर भी
śraddhāvānhe is 'faithful': the second mūla lemmaश्रद्धावान्
gurūpadiṣṭa-bhagavat-tattvādauregarding the truth of Bhagavān and the rest as taught by his guru loc. sg. of sphere; guru-upadiṣṭa 'instructed by the guru' + bhagavat-tattva 'the truth about the Lord' + -ādi 'and the rest'गुरु द्वारा उपदिष्ट भगवत्-तत्त्व आदि में — '-आदि' से उससे जुड़े अन्य विषय भी
manasiin his mind loc. sg.मन में
dṛḍha-niścayaḥhis conviction stays firm nom. sg.; 'firm certainty'दृढ़ निश्चय वाला (पक्की प्रतीति वाला)
evaprecisely — firm and nothing less emphatic particleही / निश्चय ही
ity arthaḥthat is the sense closing formulaऐसा अर्थ है
anipuṇaḥ — 'not skilled' (means): balavad-bādhe datte sati — when a strong objection is raised; samādhātum asamarthaḥ — unable to settle it; tathāpi — even so; śraddhāvān — 'faithful' (means): gurūpadiṣṭa-bhagavat-tattvādau — regarding the guru-taught truth of the Lord and the rest; manasi — in the mind; dṛḍha-niścayaḥ eva — of firm conviction indeed; iti arthaḥ — that is the meaning.
anipuṇaḥ — 'अनिपुण'; balavad-bādhe datte sati — प्रबल बाधा दिये जाने पर; samādhātum asamarthaḥ — समाधान करने में असमर्थ; tathāpi — फिर भी; śraddhāvān — श्रद्धावान्; gurūpadiṣṭa-bhagavat-tattvādau — गुरु-उपदिष्ट भगवत्-तत्त्व आदि में; manasi — मन में; dṛḍha-niścayaḥ — दृढ़ निश्चय वाला; eva — ही; ity arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Viśvanātha gathers up Jīva's two points and adds one detail. On 'not skilled': when a strong objection is put to him, he cannot settle it — same as before. On 'faithful': his conviction stays firm in his mind. But he specifies what the conviction is about — the truth of Bhagavān and related teachings, as his guru taught them. So the madhyama's firmness is not free-floating; it rests on what he received from his guru. He may not out-argue a challenger, yet on the guru's teaching about the Lord his mind does not waver.
'अनिपुण' अर्थात् प्रबल आपत्ति आने पर उसका समाधान करने में असमर्थ। फिर भी वह श्रद्धावान् है — गुरु के उपदिष्ट भगवत्-तत्त्व आदि में उसके मन में निश्चय पूरी तरह दृढ़ ही है।
Viśvanātha's addition is 'gurūpadiṣṭa' — the object of faith is specifically the guru-given account of bhagavat-tattva. This ties the madhyama's steadiness to guru-paramparā, not to private opinion.
विश्वनाथ का जोड़ 'गुरूपदिष्ट' है — श्रद्धा का विषय विशेषतः गुरु द्वारा दिया गया भगवत्-तत्त्व का ज्ञान है। इससे मध्यम की दृढ़ता गुरु-परम्परा से जुड़ती है, न कि निजी मत से।