L1definition
yāvatā syāt sva-nirvāhaḥ svīkuryāt tāvad artha-vit |
yāvatāby however much instrumental of measure — 'to the extent that'जितनी मात्रा में
syātthere would be optative of as, potentialहो सके
sva-nirvāhaḥone's own upkeep — getting oneself byअपना निर्वाह
svīkuryāthe should accept, take on optative — prescriptionउतना ही स्वीकार करे
tāvatjust that much — and no more correlative to yāvatāउतना ही (जितना निर्वाह के लिए चाहिए)
artha-vitthe one who knows the real goalअर्थ का सच्चा ज्ञाता
artha-vit — the one who knows the real goal; yāvatā — by however much; sva-nirvāhaḥ — his own upkeep; syāt — would be managed; tāvat — just that much; svīkuryāt — he should accept.
yāvatā — जितनी मात्रा में; syāt — हो सके; sva-nirvāhaḥ — अपना निर्वाह; svīkuryāt — स्वीकार करे; tāvat — उतना ही; artha-vit — अर्थ का सच्चा ज्ञाता।
The person who knows the real goal should accept only as much as it takes to keep himself going. Whatever amount his own upkeep requires — that much, and no more, he takes on. The measure is set by need, not by desire.
अर्थ का सच्चा ज्ञाता उतना ही ग्रहण करे, जितने से अपना निर्वाह हो सके। न इससे अधिक, न इससे कम।
artha-vit: 'artha' ordinarily means 'wealth, thing, aim'; here it is the true aim — the person who understands what life is really for, so he treats possessions purely as means.
अर्थवित् — 'अर्थ' शब्द सामान्यतः धन, वस्तु या प्रयोजन का बोध कराता है; यहाँ यह सच्चा प्रयोजन है। जो यह जानता है कि जीवन वस्तुतः किसलिए है, वही अर्थ का ज्ञाता है — इसीलिए वह वस्तुओं को केवल साधन-मात्र मानता है।
L2conclusion
ādhikye nyūnatāyāṁ ca cyavate paramārthataḥ ||
ādhikyewhen there is excess — if he takes more than that locative, conditional 'in the case of'अधिकता होने पर
nyūnatāyāmwhen there is shortfall — if he takes less than needed locative, conditionalन्यूनता होने पर
caand — in both cases alikeऔर (दोनों ही दशाओं में)
cyavatehe slips, he falls awayच्युत हो जाता है
paramārthataḥfrom the highest goal ablative of separationपरमार्थ से
ādhikye — if there is excess; nyūnatāyām ca — and if there is shortfall; paramārthataḥ — from the highest goal; cyavate — he falls away.
ādhikye — अधिकता होने पर; nyūnatāyām — न्यूनता होने पर; ca — और; cyavate — च्युत हो जाता है; paramārthataḥ — परमार्थ से।
If he takes more than that, or if he takes less than he needs, either way he falls from the highest goal. Grasping for surplus and starving one's own maintenance are both failures. The right measure is exactly what upkeep requires.
अधिकता में और न्यूनता में — दोनों ही में वह परमार्थ से च्युत हो जाता है।
Commentary — decoded
Jīva Gosvāmī
s1avataranika
sva-nirvāha iti |
sva-nirvāhaḥ itias for the words 'one's own upkeep' — iti marks the lemma being taken up for comment'स्व-निर्वाह' — यह पद (लेकर)
sva-nirvāhaḥ iti — [taking up] the phrase 'one's own upkeep'.
sva-nirvāhaḥ iti — 'स्व-निर्वाह' इस पद को (व्याख्या के लिए लेते हुए)।
Jīva picks out the verse's phrase 'sva-nirvāha' (one's own upkeep) to explain. He is signaling which word he is about to gloss.
'स्व-निर्वाह' — इस पद को लेकर (व्याख्या करते हैं)।
s2gloss
svasya bhakti-nirvāha ity arthaḥ ||
svasyaof oneself — one's own genitiveअपनी
bhakti-nirvāhaḥthe keeping-up of devotion — sustaining one's bhaktiभक्ति का निर्वाह
iti arthaḥthat is the meaningऐसा अर्थ है
svasya bhakti-nirvāhaḥ — the sustaining of one's own devotion; iti arthaḥ — that is what it means.
svasya — अपनी; bhakti-nirvāhaḥ — भक्ति का निर्वाह; iti arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Jīva reads 'sva-nirvāha' as the upkeep of one's own bhakti, not merely of one's body. So what the devotee accepts is whatever keeps his devotional practice going. On this reading, 'sustaining oneself' means sustaining one's devotional life.
'स्व-निर्वाह' का अर्थ है — अपनी भक्ति का निर्वाह।
Mukunda-dāsa Gosvāmī
s1avataranika
yāvateti |
yāvatā itias for the verse beginning 'yāvatā' (by however much) — iti citing the verse by its opening word
yāvatā iti — [taking up] the verse that opens with 'yāvatā'.
Mukunda names the verse by its first word, 'yāvatā,' to begin his comment. This just flags which verse he is explaining.
s2gloss
sva-nirvāho dehāder āvaśyaka-nirvāhaḥ |
sva-nirvāhaḥ'one's own upkeep' means —
dehādeḥof the body and the like genitive — 'of the body, etc.'
āvaśyaka-nirvāhaḥthe necessary maintenance — keeping it going as much as is needed
sva-nirvāhaḥ — 'one's own upkeep'; dehādeḥ — of the body and so on; āvaśyaka-nirvāhaḥ — [means] its necessary maintenance.
Mukunda takes 'sva-nirvāha' in the plain sense: the necessary upkeep of the body and the like. On his reading the devotee accepts what the body requires to keep functioning. This is the literal, bodily-maintenance reading of the phrase.
s3reply
sva-bhakti-nirvāha iti vyākhyā tad-arthe’khila-ceṣṭite’ntarbhavet ||
sva-bhakti-nirvāhaḥ iti vyākhyāthe explanation that says 'the upkeep of one's own devotion'
tad-arthefor the sake of that [bhakti] locative of purpose — 'in the matter of / for'
akhila-ceṣṭitewithin all the activity one does locative — 'inside the whole of one's effort'
antarbhavetwould be contained — it gets folded in optative — 'it would be included'
sva-bhakti-nirvāhaḥ iti vyākhyā — the gloss 'upkeep of one's own devotion'; tad-arthe akhila-ceṣṭite — within all activity done for bhakti's sake; antarbhavet — would be included.
Mukunda now takes up the other reading — Jīva's gloss that 'sva-nirvāha' means sustaining one's bhakti. He does not reject it; he places it. Sustaining one's devotion, he says, already falls inside 'everything one does for the sake of bhakti.' So that meaning is not lost — it is simply a sub-case of the larger acceptance of whatever serves devotion, while 'sva-nirvāha' itself he keeps for bodily upkeep.
This is the difference between a word's own direct sense and a wider category that swallows it. Compare 'a rose' — the direct thing named — versus 'the flowers in the garden,' a larger set that of course includes the rose. Mukunda keeps 'sva-nirvāha' for the direct thing (bodily upkeep), and says the bhakti-upkeep meaning is already covered by the larger set, 'all activity done for bhakti.'
Viśvanātha Cakravartī
s1avataranika
sva-nirvāha iti |
sva-nirvāhaḥ itias for the words 'one's own upkeep' — iti marks the lemma taken up for comment'स्व-निर्वाह' — यह पद (लेकर)
sva-nirvāhaḥ iti — [taking up] the phrase 'one's own upkeep'.
sva-nirvāhaḥ iti — 'स्व-निर्वाह' इस पद को (व्याख्या के लिए लेते हुए)।
Viśvanātha too singles out the verse's phrase 'sva-nirvāha' to explain. He is marking which word his gloss will cover.
'स्व-निर्वाह' — इस पद को लेकर (व्याख्या करते हैं)।
s2gloss
svasya bhakti-nirvāha ity arthaḥ ||
svasyaof oneself — one's own genitiveअपनी
bhakti-nirvāhaḥthe keeping-up of devotion — sustaining one's bhaktiभक्ति का निर्वाह
iti arthaḥthat is the meaningऐसा अर्थ है
svasya bhakti-nirvāhaḥ — the sustaining of one's own devotion; iti arthaḥ — that is what it means.
svasya — अपनी; bhakti-nirvāhaḥ — भक्ति का निर्वाह; iti arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Viśvanātha gives the same gloss as Jīva: 'sva-nirvāha' means the upkeep of one's own bhakti. So the devotee accepts whatever keeps his devotional life going. Here 'sustaining oneself' is read as sustaining one's devotion.
'स्व-निर्वाह' का अर्थ है — अपनी भक्ति का निर्वाह।