Commentary — decoded
Jīva Gosvāmī
s1gloss
nirguṇam eva nairguṇyaṁ svārthe ṣyañ |
nirguṇam evajust nirguṇa itself, precisely 'the guṇa-less' and nothing more eva = 'nothing beyond it', the suffix adds no meaningनिर्गुण ही (इससे अधिक कुछ नहीं)
nairguṇyamthe word nairguṇya — the form to be explained the derived form under analysis'नैर्गुण्य' (यह व्युत्पन्न रूप)
svārthein its own sense — the suffix carries only the base word's meaning, adding nothing loc., 'in the sense of itself'स्वार्थ में (अपने ही अर्थ में)
ṣyañthe taddhita suffix ṣyañ (the -ya of nairguṇya) is applied here names the Pāṇinian secondary suffixष्यञ् (प्रत्यय लगा है)
nairguṇyam — the word nairguṇya; nirguṇam eva — means simply nirguṇa itself; svārthe ṣyañ — the suffix ṣyañ being used in its own sense
nairguṇyam — 'नैर्गुण्य'; nirguṇam eva — निर्गुण ही (उससे भिन्न कुछ नहीं); svārthe ṣyañ — स्वार्थ में ष्यञ् प्रत्यय
Jīva does the grammar first. The word nairguṇya just means nirguṇa — 'the guṇa-less' — and nothing more. The extra ending here is the suffix ṣyañ used svārthe, 'in its own sense': it is added without changing the meaning. So 'nairguṇya' is not some further state; it is simply 'the nirguṇa' with an ornamental ending.
'नैर्गुण्य' का अर्थ निर्गुण ही है — कुछ अधिक नहीं। यहाँ स्वार्थ में ष्यञ् प्रत्यय लगा है।
svārthe (a suffix used 'in its own sense'): home meaning in Sanskrit grammar — a taddhita added without adding meaning, e.g. English '-hood' in a case where 'child' and 'childhood' would denote the same thing. Applied here: nairguṇya = nirguṇa, same referent, dressier form.
स्वार्थ में (अपने ही अर्थ में प्रयुक्त) — व्याकरण में इसका अर्थ है ऐसा तद्धित प्रत्यय जो कोई नया अर्थ नहीं जोड़ता; जैसे किसी प्रसंग में 'बालक' और 'बालकपन' एक ही वस्तु को कहें। यहाँ भी नैर्गुण्य = निर्गुण, वही अर्थ, केवल अलंकृत रूप।
s2gloss
tasmin brahmaṇy apīty arthaḥ ||
tasmin brahmaṇiin that Brahman — the impersonal Absolute is what 'nairguṇya' names loc. sg., renaming the loc. 'nairguṇye' of the verseउस ब्रह्म में
apieven — even in that very Brahman he was established concessive, echoing the verse's apiमें भी (स्थित होते हुए भी)
iti arthaḥthat is the meaning closing formula: 'such is the sense'ऐसा अर्थ है
tasmin brahmaṇi api — 'even in that Brahman'; iti arthaḥ — this is the meaning [of nairguṇye]
tasmin brahmaṇi api — उस ब्रह्म में भी; iti arthaḥ — ऐसा अर्थ है
So the verse's word nairguṇye means 'even in that Brahman.' Jīva pins it down: the state Śuka was settled in is the impersonal Brahman itself. That is the meaning. This makes the marvel sharper — the capture happened to a man fixed in the featureless Absolute, not merely to someone virtuous or detached.
अर्थात् उस (निर्गुण) ब्रह्म में (स्थित) होते हुए भी — ऐसा अर्थ है।
Viśvanātha Cakravartī
s1objection
nanu tvam atiprasiddhaḥ śuko janmata eva brahmānubhavī gṛhāt parivrajya gato’nuvrajas taṁ pitaram api naiva paryacaiṣīḥ |
nanubut surely — voicing an objection particle opening a pūrvapakṣaननु — (यहाँ शंका उठती है)
tvam ati-prasiddhaḥ śukaḥyou are the widely famous Śuka nom., the addressee namedतुम तो वही अत्यन्त प्रसिद्ध शुक हो
janmataḥ eva brahmānubhavīone who has directly realized Brahman from birth itself — a Brahman-knower since he was born ablative 'from birth' + eva 'right from'जन्म से ही ब्रह्म का अनुभव करने वाले
gṛhāt parivrajya gataḥwho left home, renounced, and went off ablative 'from the house' + gerunds of departureघर से संन्यास लेकर चले गए
anuvrajaḥ taṁ pitaram apieven toward that father of yours who ran after you (Vyāsa) acc.; anuvraja = 'running behind, in pursuit'पीछे-पीछे दौड़ते हुए उन पिता (व्यास) को भी
na eva paryacaiṣīḥyou did not even so much as respond, you paid him no heed at all aorist 2nd sg.; na eva = 'not in the least'तुमने तनिक भी मुड़कर न देखा / ध्यान न दिया
nanu tvam ati-prasiddhaḥ śukaḥ — but surely you are the famous Śuka; janmataḥ eva brahmānubhavī — a realizer of Brahman right from birth; gṛhāt parivrajya gataḥ — who left home and went off; taṁ pitaram anuvrajam api na eva paryacaiṣīḥ — you did not even acknowledge that father running after you
nanu — शंका है; tvam ati-prasiddhaḥ śukaḥ — तुम वही प्रसिद्ध शुक हो; janmataḥ eva brahmānubhavī — जन्म से ही ब्रह्मानुभवी; gṛhāt parivrajya gataḥ — घर से संन्यास लेकर चले गए; anuvrajaḥ taṁ pitaram api — पीछे दौड़ते उन पिता को भी; na eva paryacaiṣīḥ — तनिक भी न देखा
Viśvanātha raises the objection. 'But surely you are the well-known Śuka — one who realized Brahman from the moment of birth. You walked out of the house and renounced. Even when your own father Vyāsa ran after you calling out, you did not so much as turn to answer him.' The point of the objection: a man that detached, that fixed in Brahman, should be untouchable by any story.
ननु! तुम तो वही अत्यन्त प्रसिद्ध शुक हो, जो जन्म से ही ब्रह्म का अनुभव करने वाले हो; घर से संन्यास लेकर चले गए, और पीछे-पीछे दौड़ते हुए (व्यास) पिता को भी तुमने तनिक भर मुड़कर न देखा।
The picture is the famous Bhāgavata scene (SB 1.2.2): Śuka leaves home unheeding, Vyāsa runs after crying 'O son!', and only the trees answer. Viśvanātha marshals it to make the puzzle acute.
यह भागवत का प्रसिद्ध दृश्य (भा. १.२.२) है — श्रीशुक बिना ध्यान दिए घर छोड़ जाते हैं, व्यास 'हे पुत्र!' पुकारते हुए पीछे दौड़ते हैं, और केवल वृक्ष प्रत्युत्तर देते हैं। विश्वनाथ इस चित्र को प्रश्न को और तीव्र करने के लिए प्रस्तुत करते हैं।
s2avataranika
samprati katham evaṁ brūṣe ity ata āha—pariniṣṭhita iti |
sampratinow, at this point adverb of timeअब / इस समय
katham evaṁ brūṣehow do you [now] speak this way? — i.e. tell such a Kṛṣṇa story with feeling 2nd sg. present; completes the objectionतुम ऐसा कैसे कहते हो
iti ataḥ āha— to this [objection], therefore, he replies 'iti' closes the objection; 'ataḥ' = 'for this reason'— इस (शंका) के कारण (कहते हैं)
pariniṣṭhitaḥ itiwith the words beginning 'pariniṣṭhitaḥ' — i.e. by quoting this very verse pratīka: names the verse by its first word'परिनिष्ठितः' इस पद से
samprati katham evaṁ brūṣe — 'now how do you speak thus?'; iti ataḥ āha pariniṣṭhitaḥ iti — to this he replies with the verse beginning 'pariniṣṭhitaḥ'
samprati katham evaṁ brūṣe — अब तुम ऐसा कैसे कहते हो; iti ataḥ āha — इस कारण (वक्ता) कहते हैं; pariniṣṭhitaḥ iti — 'परिनिष्ठितः' इत्यादि से
'So now — how is it that you speak this way, telling Kṛṣṇa's story so absorbed?' To meet this, Viśvanātha says, Śuka replies with the verse that begins 'pariniṣṭhitaḥ.' In other words the whole quoted verse is Śuka's own answer to the objection: the reply is put in his mouth.
(शंका यह कि) अब तुम ऐसा कैसे कहते हो? इसी कारण (वक्ता) 'परिनिष्ठितः' इत्यादि (श्लोक) कहते हैं।
s3gloss
gṛhīta-cetā ākṛṣṭa-cittaḥ |
gṛhīta-cetāḥ'his mind seized' — the verse's word the term being glossed'गृहीत-चेता' (जिसका चित्त गृहीत हुआ)
ākṛṣṭa-cittaḥmeans his mind was drawn away, pulled toward [Kṛṣṇa's pastimes] gloss synonym: 'one whose thought is dragged off'अर्थात् जिसका चित्त खींच लिया गया
gṛhīta-cetāḥ — 'mind seized'; ākṛṣṭa-cittaḥ — [means] 'mind drawn / pulled away'
gṛhīta-cetāḥ — 'गृहीत-चेता'; ākṛṣṭa-cittaḥ — जिसका चित्त खींच लिया गया
Viśvanātha explains the verse's phrase gṛhīta-cetā, 'his mind seized.' It means ākṛṣṭa-citta — his mind was pulled away, dragged toward Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Not that he chose to attend; the līlā drew his attention off on its own. The gloss swaps 'seized' for the stronger 'pulled away' to make the force of it plain.
'गृहीत-चेता' का अर्थ है — जिसका चित्त (लीला ने) खींच लिया।
s4conclusion
brahmānubhavād api līlāyā mādhuryādhikye’ham eva pramāṇam iti bhāvaḥ ||
brahmānubhavāt apieven beyond the direct experience of Brahman — more than Brahman-realization itself ablative of comparison: 'than / above even'ब्रह्म के अनुभव से भी (बढ़कर)
līlāyāḥ mādhurya-ādhikyein the point that the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes is greater — its superior sweetness loc. of the matter: 'as to / concerning'; genitive 'of the līlā'लीला के माधुर्य की अधिकता के विषय में
aham eva pramāṇamI myself am the proof — I am the living evidence eva = 'I in person'; pramāṇa = 'the proof, the authority'मैं ही (स्वयं) प्रमाण हूँ
iti bhāvaḥ— such is the underlying import closing formula: 'this is the inner sense'ऐसा भाव है
brahmānubhavāt api līlāyāḥ mādhurya-ādhikye — that the sweetness of the pastimes exceeds even Brahman-realization; aham eva pramāṇam — of this I myself am the proof; iti bhāvaḥ — this is the inner import
brahmānubhavāt api — ब्रह्मानुभव से भी बढ़कर; līlāyāḥ mādhurya-ādhikye — लीला के माधुर्य की अधिकता में; aham eva pramāṇam — मैं ही प्रमाण हूँ; iti bhāvaḥ — ऐसा भाव है
Here is the punchline Viśvanātha draws out of Śuka's reply. 'The sweetness of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes is greater even than the direct experience of Brahman — and of that, I myself am the proof.' Śuka is the perfect test case: a man fixed in Brahman from birth, deaf even to his own father, yet the līlā pulled his mind away. His very capture demonstrates that līlā's sweetness outweighs Brahman-realization. That is the inner sense of the verse.
ब्रह्म के अनुभव से भी बढ़कर लीला के माधुर्य की अधिकता है — इस विषय में मैं ही (स्वयं) प्रमाण हूँ — ऐसा भाव है।
mādhurya (sweetness): a technical term for the intimate, human charm of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, set against the awe of majesty (aiśvarya) and, here, against the flavorless peace of Brahman-realization. The claim is comparative — līlā's mādhurya is 'greater' (ādhikya), not that Brahman is false.
माधुर्य — कृष्ण की लीला की अन्तरंग, मानवोचित मधुरता के लिए तकनीकी शब्द, जो ऐश्वर्य के विस्मय के विपरीत है, और यहाँ ब्रह्मानुभव की नीरस शान्ति के विपरीत रखा गया है। दावा तुलनात्मक है — लीला का माधुर्य 'अधिक' है, यह नहीं कि ब्रह्म मिथ्या है।