caritra-śravaṇaṁ, yathā caturthe (4.29.4)—
tasmin mahan-mukharitā madhubhic-caritra-
pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ paritaḥ sravanti |
tā ye pibanty avitṛṣo nṛpa gāḍha-karṇais
tān na spṛśanty aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ ||quoted · caturthe
The verse — decoded
L1citation
tasmin mahan-mukharitā madhubhic-caritra-
tasminin that place — the assembly of great souls loc. sg., picked up by the commentaries as 'in the gathering of the great'उस (महात्माओं की सभा) में
mahan-mukharitāmade to speak, given voice, by the great ones cpd; mahat- 'the great' + mukharita 'made vocal'महापुरुषों के द्वारा मुखरित (वाणीयुक्त) की गई
madhubhit-caritra-of the deeds of the slayer of Madhu — of Kṛṣṇa's exploits madhu-bhid 'Madhu-killer' = Kṛṣṇa; caritra 'exploits'मधु-दैत्य के संहारक कृष्ण की लीला-कथाएँ
tasmin — in that assembly of the great; mahan-mukharitāḥ — made vocal by the great; madhubhit-caritra- — [rivers] of the deeds of Kṛṣṇa (the slayer of Madhu)…
tasmin — उस सभा में; mahan-mukharitā — महापुरुषों द्वारा मुखरित; madhubhit-caritra — मधुसूदन कृष्ण की लीला-कथाएँ
In the gathering of great souls, the great ones themselves set them flowing with speech. These are streams made of Kṛṣṇa's deeds — Kṛṣṇa, the one who slew the demon Madhu. The sentence runs on into the next line: these are rivers of nectar.
उस महात्माओं की सभा में मधु-दैत्य के संहारक कृष्ण की लीला-कथाएँ महापुरुषों के द्वारा मुखरित होती हैं।
Why cited: Adduced as the example of caritra-śravaṇam — hearing the Lord's exploits — in the list of the limbs of bhakti.
क्यों उद्धृत: भक्ति के अंगों की सूची में चरित्र-श्रवण — भगवान की लीला-कथाओं के श्रवण — के उदाहरण रूप में यह श्लोक उद्धृत है।
madhubhit / madhu-bhid: 'slayer of Madhu,' a standard name for Viṣṇu-Kṛṣṇa from the killing of the demon Madhu; here simply a title for Kṛṣṇa.
मधुभित् / मधु-भिद् — 'मधु का वध करने वाला'; मधु नामक दैत्य के संहार से विष्णु-कृष्ण का प्रसिद्ध नाम; यहाँ केवल कृष्ण का विशेषण है।
L2citation
pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ paritaḥ sravanti |
pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥrivers made of the surplus-nectar — the leftover, distilled cream of that nectar cpd; pīyūṣa 'nectar' + śeṣa 'remainder/essence' + saritaḥ 'rivers' (nom. pl., subject)अमृत के शेष (सार) रूपी नदियाँ
paritaḥon every side, all around adv.चारों ओर, सर्वत्र
sravantithey flow, they stream out 3rd pl. pres.; verb of the riversबहती हैं
pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ — rivers of the surplus-nectar [of Kṛṣṇa's deeds]; paritaḥ — all around; sravanti — flow.
pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ — अमृत के शेष (सार) रूपी नदियाँ; paritaḥ — चारों ओर; sravanti — बहती हैं
Rivers of nectar flow out on every side. The word śeṣa here is the crucial one: it can mean 'what is left over,' but the commentators take it as 'the cream, the essence.' So these are rivers made of the distilled nectar of Kṛṣṇa's exploits, pouring in all directions.
अमृत के शेष अर्थात् सार रूपी वे नदियाँ चारों ओर बहती हैं।
Why cited: Continues the citation: the exploits form nectar-rivers flowing everywhere in the assembly of the great.
क्यों उद्धृत: उद्धरण आगे बढ़ता है — वे लीला-कथाएँ सभा में सर्वत्र बहने वाली अमृत-नदियों के रूप में हैं।
śeṣa: home sense 'remainder, what is left'; the commentators (Jīva, Mukunda) read it here as sāra — 'essence, cream' — so 'surplus-nectar' means the richest distilled part, not a mere remnant.
शेष का मूल अर्थ 'बचा हुआ, अवशेष' है; परन्तु जीव और मुकुन्द इसे यहाँ सार — 'निचोड़, मलाई' — के रूप में पढ़ते हैं, अतः 'शेष-अमृत' का अर्थ है अमृत का सबसे उत्कृष्ट सारभाग, न कि मात्र बचा-खुचा अंश।
L3citation
tā ye pibanty avitṛṣo nṛpa gāḍha-karṇais
tāḥthem — those [nectar-rivers] acc. pl. fem., object of pibanti; = the saritaḥउन (नदियों) को
ye pibantithose who drink ye 'who' (nom. pl.) + pibanti 'drink' (3rd pl.)जो लोग पीते हैं
avitṛṣaḥnever sated — still thirsty even as they drink a-vitṛṣa 'without their thirst quenched,' nom. pl. describing the drinkersअतृप्त रहते हुए (जिनकी प्यास न बुझे)
nṛpaO king voc.; Nārada addressing King Prācīnabarhiहे राजन्!
gāḍha-karṇaiḥwith ears held close and eager — drinking in with rapt, clinging attention instr. of means; gāḍha 'deep, tight' + karṇa 'ear' — glossed by Viśvanātha as āsakta-karṇaiḥ, 'with attached ears'गहरे (आसक्त) कानों के द्वारा
tāḥ — those [rivers]; ye — who; avitṛṣaḥ — unsated; gāḍha-karṇaiḥ — with eager, clinging ears; pibanti — drink; nṛpa — O king.
tāḥ — उन नदियों को; ye pibanti — जो पीते हैं; avitṛṣaḥ — अतृप्त रहते हुए; nṛpa — हे राजन्; gāḍha-karṇaiḥ — गहरे लगे हुए कानों से
Those rivers — O king — some people drink them and are never satisfied. They drink with eager ears held close, straining to catch every word. The 'drinking' is by hearing; the ears are the mouth. The point of avitṛṣaḥ is that the more they hear, the thirstier they grow.
हे राजन्! जो लोग गहरे अर्थात् आसक्त कानों से उन अमृत-नदियों को अतृप्त होकर पीते हैं।
Why cited: Names the true hearer: one who drinks the exploits through rapt ears and is never sated.
क्यों उद्धृत: सच्चे श्रोता का लक्षण बताता है — जो तन्मय कानों से लीला-कथाओं को पीता है और कभी तृप्त नहीं होता।
L4citation
tān na spṛśanty aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ ||
tānthem — those very drinkers acc. pl. masc., object of spṛśanti; = the hearers of L3उन (श्रोताओं) को
na spṛśantido not touch, cannot reach them na 'not' + spṛśanti 'touch' (3rd pl.)स्पर्श नहीं करते
aśana-tṛṭ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥhunger, thirst, fear, grief, and delusion — the whole troop of miseries dvandva cpd, nom. pl., subject; aśana 'hunger' + tṛṭ 'thirst' + bhaya 'fear' + śoka 'grief' + moha 'delusion'भूख, प्यास, भय, शोक और मोह
tān — them; aśana-tṛṭ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ — hunger, thirst, fear, grief, delusion; na spṛśanti — do not touch.
tān — उन्हें; na spṛśanti — नहीं छूते; aśana-tṛṭ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ — भूख, प्यास, भय, शोक और मोह
Hunger, thirst, fear, grief, delusion — none of these can so much as touch such hearers. This is the fruit named by the whole verse: the one who drinks Kṛṣṇa's deeds through eager ears is put beyond the reach of the five bodily and mental afflictions.
उन श्रोताओं को भूख, प्यास, भय, शोक और मोह — ये स्पर्श तक नहीं करते।
Why cited: States the fruit of the hearing — freedom from hunger, thirst, fear, grief, and delusion — the reason the verse is cited for caritra-śravaṇam.
क्यों उद्धृत: श्रवण का फल बताता है — भूख, प्यास, भय, शोक और मोह से मुक्ति; इसी कारण यह श्लोक चरित्र-श्रवण के लिए उद्धृत है।
Commentary — decoded
Jīva Gosvāmī
s1avataranika
tasminn iti |
tasmin itithe verse beginning 'tasmin' — [now the verse that starts] 'In that…' iti-pratīka: the commentator names the verse by its first word before glossing it'तस्मिन्' इत्यादि (इस पद से आरम्भ श्लोक)
tasmin iti — [the verse] 'tasmin…' [is now taken up].
tasmin iti — 'तस्मिन्' इत्यादि श्लोक
Jīva flags the verse by its opening word, 'tasmin.' This is just the commentator's way of saying, 'Now, on the verse that begins In that…' Nothing is glossed yet; he is pointing to which verse he is about to explain.
'तस्मिन्' — इस पद से आरम्भ होने वाले श्लोक की व्याख्या करते हैं।
s2gloss
mahatāṁ sadasi mahadbhir mukharitāḥ śabdāyamānīkṛtāḥ tān prāpya svayam eva sva-vyañjaka-śabdaṁ kurvatya iva jātā ity arthaḥ |
mahatāṁ sadasiin the assembly of the great — that is what 'tasmin' points to loc.; mahatām 'of the great' + sadasi 'in the assembly' — unpacks tasminमहात्माओं की सभा में
mahadbhiḥ mukharitāḥmade to speak by the great ones — the great ones give them voice instr. of agent; explains mahan-mukharitāमहापुरुषों के द्वारा मुखरित (वाणीयुक्त की गई)
śabdāyamānī-kṛtāḥmade into something that sounds forth — turned into audible speech gloss-word for mukharitāḥ: 'caused to become sounding'शब्दायमान अर्थात् ध्वनित की गई
tān prāpyaon reaching them — once the rivers reach the great souls gerund; tān = the great ones just namedउन महापुरुषों को पाकर
svayam evaof their own accord, by themselves alone eva stresses that the sounding is spontaneousस्वयं ही, अपने आप ही
sva-vyañjaka-śabdaṁ kurvatyaḥ iva jātāḥas if they had themselves become makers of the sound that reveals them iva 'as if'; the rivers seem to produce their own revealing utterance; kurvatyaḥ (fem. nom. pl.) agrees with saritaḥमानो अपने को प्रकट करने वाला शब्द करती हुई-सी हो गईं
iti arthaḥthis is the meaning closing formula of the glossऐसा अर्थ है
mahatāṁ sadasi — in the assembly of the great; mahadbhiḥ mukharitāḥ = śabdāyamānī-kṛtāḥ — given voice, made to sound, by the great; tān prāpya — on reaching them; svayam eva sva-vyañjaka-śabdaṁ kurvatyaḥ iva jātāḥ — [the rivers] became as if of themselves making the sound that reveals them; iti arthaḥ — this is the sense.
mahatāṁ sadasi — महात्माओं की सभा में; mahadbhiḥ mukharitāḥ — महापुरुषों द्वारा मुखरित; śabdāyamānī-kṛtāḥ — शब्दायमान की गई; tān prāpya — उन्हें पाकर; svayam eva — स्वयं ही; sva-vyañjaka-śabdaṁ kurvatyaḥ iva jātāḥ — मानो अपना प्रकाशक शब्द करती हुई-सी हो गईं; iti arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है
Jīva unpacks the compound. 'In that' means: in the assembly of great souls. 'Made vocal by the great' means the great ones make the exploits sound forth — they turn them into speech. Then he adds a fine touch: once these nectar-rivers reach the great souls, it is as though the rivers themselves start making the very sound that reveals them. The great devotees speak them, yet it looks as if the deeds are giving voice to themselves. That, he says, is the meaning.
'तस्मिन्' का अर्थ है — महात्माओं की सभा में। वे नदियाँ महापुरुषों के द्वारा मुखरित, अर्थात् शब्दायमान की गई हैं। उन महापुरुषों को पाकर मानो वे स्वयं ही अपने को प्रकट करने वाला शब्द करती हुई-सी हो गईं — ऐसा अर्थ है।
s3gloss
śeṣaḥ sāraḥ ||
śeṣaḥthe word 'śeṣa' [in the verse] pratīka: the lemma being defined'शेष' पद
sāraḥmeans the essence, the cream the gloss-word; overrides the ordinary sense 'remainder'अर्थात् सार (सारभूत निचोड़)
śeṣaḥ — [the word] śeṣa; sāraḥ — [means] the essence, the cream.
śeṣaḥ — 'शेष' पद; sāraḥ — का अर्थ सार
Jīva settles the key word. In pīyūṣa-śeṣa, 'śeṣa' does not mean 'leftover.' It means sāra — the essence, the distilled cream. So the rivers are rivers of the choicest nectar of Kṛṣṇa's deeds, not rivers of some remnant.
यहाँ 'शेष' का अर्थ है सार अर्थात् सारभूत निचोड़।
śeṣa: ordinary sense 'remainder, what is left over'; here glossed as sāra, 'essence, cream' — so 'the richest part,' not 'the dregs.'
शेष का सामान्य अर्थ 'बचा हुआ, अवशेष' है; यहाँ इसे सार — 'सारभाग, मलाई' — कहकर व्याख्यायित किया गया है, अतः यह 'सबसे उत्कृष्ट भाग' है, 'तलछट' नहीं।
Mukunda-dāsa Gosvāmī
s1gloss
śeṣaḥ sāraḥ ||
śeṣaḥthe word 'śeṣa' pratīka
sāraḥmeans the essence, the cream same gloss as Jīva
śeṣaḥ — [the word] śeṣa; sāraḥ — [means] the essence.
Mukunda gives the same gloss as Jīva, and only this: 'śeṣa' means sāra, the essence. He agrees that the rivers are of the distilled cream of the nectar, not a mere remainder.
The two commentators independently fix śeṣa = sāra; note only that both settle on 'essence,' without harmonizing them into one voice.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī
s1gloss
tasmin mahatāṁ sadasi mahānta eva mukharitā mukharīkṛtā arthād vācālīkṛtā yābhis tathābhūtāḥ kṛṣṇasya caritra-rūpa-pīyūṣa-sāra-sarito nadyaḥ paritaḥ sravanti |
tasmin mahatāṁ sadasi'in that' — in the assembly of the great unpacks tasmin, as Jīva didउस महात्माओं की सभा में
mahāntaḥ eva mukharitāḥ = mukharī-kṛtāḥthe great ones themselves are the ones who give voice — 'made vocal' eva restricts the agents to the great alone; mukharitāḥ glossed as mukharī-kṛtāḥ, 'made to speak'महापुरुषों ने ही मुखरित = मुखरीकृत (बोलती हुई-सी) कीं
arthāt vācālī-kṛtāḥthat is, made to talk, set talking arthāt 'in effect'; a second gloss-word, vācālī-kṛta 'made voluble'अर्थात् वाचाल (बहुभाषिणी) बना दी गईं
yābhiḥ tathā-bhūtāḥby whom [the rivers are] rendered such — made vocal by these great ones instr. rel.; yābhiḥ (fem.) points back to the agency; the rivers are 'so made' by themजिनके द्वारा वैसी बना दी गईं
kṛṣṇasya caritra-rūpa-pīyūṣa-sāra-saritaḥ nadyaḥrivers that are the essence-nectar in the form of Kṛṣṇa's deeds note he writes sāra directly into the compound — pīyūṣa-sāra, 'nectar-essence' — building in the śeṣa=sāra gloss; nadyaḥ 'rivers' restates saritaḥकृष्ण की चरित्ररूपी अमृत-सार की नदियाँ
paritaḥ sravantiflow all around same as the verseचारों ओर बहती हैं
tasmin mahatāṁ sadasi — in the assembly of the great; mahāntaḥ eva mukharitāḥ = mukharī-kṛtāḥ, arthāt vācālī-kṛtāḥ yābhiḥ tathā-bhūtāḥ — the great ones alone give them voice, by whom they are so set speaking; kṛṣṇasya caritra-rūpa-pīyūṣa-sāra-saritaḥ nadyaḥ — rivers of the essence-nectar that is Kṛṣṇa's deeds; paritaḥ sravanti — flow all around.
tasmin mahatāṁ sadasi — उस महात्माओं की सभा में; mahāntaḥ eva mukharitāḥ = mukharī-kṛtāḥ — महापुरुषों ने ही मुखरीकृत कीं; arthāt vācālī-kṛtāḥ — अर्थात् वाचाल बनाईं; yābhiḥ tathā-bhūtāḥ — जिनके द्वारा वैसी की गईं; kṛṣṇasya caritra-rūpa-pīyūṣa-sāra-saritaḥ nadyaḥ — कृष्ण की चरित्ररूपी अमृत-सार की नदियाँ; paritaḥ sravanti — चारों ओर बहती हैं
Viśvanātha reads the line straight through. 'In that' — in the assembly of the great. 'Made vocal' — the great ones alone give them voice; put plainly, the great souls set them talking. And note his compound: he writes 'the essence-nectar in the form of Kṛṣṇa's deeds' — folding sāra ('essence') right into the phrase, so he too takes śeṣa as 'essence.' These rivers of the distilled nectar of Kṛṣṇa's exploits flow on every side.
उस महात्माओं की सभा में महापुरुषों ने ही उन्हें मुखरित — अर्थात् वाचाल — कर दिया; जिनके द्वारा वे वैसी बना दी गईं, कृष्ण की चरित्ररूपी अमृत-सार की वे नदियाँ चारों ओर बहती हैं।
Viśvanātha builds the śeṣa = sāra reading directly into his paraphrase (pīyūṣa-sāra), agreeing in substance with Jīva and Mukunda without being merged into their wording.
विश्वनाथ शेष = सार वाले पाठ को अपनी व्याख्या में सीधे 'पीयूष-सार' के रूप में गूँथ देते हैं; इस प्रकार वे भाव में जीव और मुकुन्द से सहमत हैं, बिना उनकी शब्दावली में मिल जाए।
s2gloss
tā nadīr ye’vitṛṣo janā gāḍha-karṇair āsakta-karṇais tān ete na spṛśanti, tṛṭ tṛṣṇā ||
tāḥ nadīḥthose rivers — [drink] those rivers acc. pl.; tāḥ = the nadyaḥ just named, object of pibantiउन नदियों को
ye avitṛṣaḥ janāḥthe people who, still unsated, [drink] ye 'who' + avitṛṣaḥ 'not thirst-quenched' + janāḥ 'people' — supplies the noun janāḥ under yeजो अतृप्त लोग
gāḍha-karṇaiḥ = āsakta-karṇaiḥ'with close ears' means with ears fixed and clinging — with rapt, attached hearing the key gloss: gāḍha 'deep/tight' explained as āsakta 'attached, absorbed'गहरे कानों = आसक्त (लगे हुए) कानों से
tān ete na spṛśantithese [afflictions] do not touch them tān = the drinkers; ete = the miseries of the verse (hunger etc.); supplies the subject 'these'उन्हें ये (भूख आदि) स्पर्श नहीं करते
tṛṭ tṛṣṇā'tṛṭ' [in the verse] means tṛṣṇā — thirst a small lexical gloss: the short form tṛṭ = the full word tṛṣṇā'तृट्' अर्थात् तृष्णा (प्यास)
tāḥ nadīḥ — those rivers; ye avitṛṣaḥ janāḥ — the people who, unsated, [drink them]; gāḍha-karṇaiḥ = āsakta-karṇaiḥ — with clinging, absorbed ears; tān — them; ete na spṛśanti — these [afflictions] do not touch; tṛṭ = tṛṣṇā — 'tṛṭ' means thirst.
tāḥ nadīḥ — उन नदियों को; ye avitṛṣaḥ janāḥ — जो अतृप्त लोग; gāḍha-karṇaiḥ = āsakta-karṇaiḥ — गहरे = आसक्त कानों से; tān ete na spṛśanti — उन्हें ये स्पर्श नहीं करते; tṛṭ tṛṣṇā — 'तृट्' अर्थात् तृष्णा
Viśvanātha finishes the verse. Those rivers — the people who drink them and are still not satisfied, drinking with 'close ears,' which he explains as āsakta-karṇaiḥ, ears that cling and stay absorbed. Such hearers, these afflictions — hunger, thirst, fear, grief, delusion — do not touch. Finally a small word-note: the verse's short form 'tṛṭ' just stands for tṛṣṇā, thirst.
जो अतृप्त लोग आसक्त अर्थात् गहरे लगे हुए कानों से उन नदियों को पीते हैं, उन्हें ये भूख आदि स्पर्श नहीं करते। 'तृट्' का अर्थ है तृष्णा।
gāḍha-karṇa: literally 'deep/tight-eared'; glossed as āsakta-karṇa, 'with attached ears' — i.e. hearing with rapt, clinging absorption, not merely attentively.
गाढ-कर्ण का शाब्दिक अर्थ 'गहरे/कसे हुए कान वाला' है; यहाँ इसे आसक्त-कर्ण — 'लगे हुए कानों वाला' — कहकर समझाया गया है, अर्थात् मात्र ध्यानपूर्वक नहीं, बल्कि तन्मय होकर, चिपके हुए भाव से सुनना।