SECTION TWENTY-TWO       

             Similarly, the Çrémad Bhägavatam,  Third Canto, states: "Your friend, the great sage Kåñëa-dvaipäyana Vyäsa, desiring to describe the transcendental qualities of the Lord spoke the Mahäbhärata, in which the whole idea is to draw the attention of the mass of people to Kåñëa-kathä through their strong affinity for hearing mundane topics." (SB. 3.5.12)

            In the section giving explanations of Gäyatré, the Viñëu Dharmottara Puräëa (165th. chapter, Prathama Khaëòa) explains in detail that it is the Supreme Lord who is the object of meditation in the Gäyatré mantra and thus a similar explanation will be given on the first verse of Çrémad Bhägavatam. Thus it was said, "It functions as a commentary on Gäyatré." Vedärthaù paribåàhitaù means that the Bhägavatam fortifies and expands the meaning of the Vedas. Thus it was also said that one should "supplement the Vedas with the Itihäsas and Puräëas". (M.Bh. Ädi Parva 1.267). And, "It is the Sämaveda of the Puräëas", meaning that just as the Sämaveda is supreme among the Vedas, so the Çrémad Bhägavatam is supreme among the Puräëas.

            Therefore the Skanda Puräëa states, "In Kali-yuga, of what value are collections of hundreds of thousands of other scriptures,  if one does not keep the Çrémad Bhägavatam in his house? In Kali-yuga, how can a person be considered a vaiñëava if the Çrémad Bhägavatam does not find a place in his house? Even if he is a brähmaëa, he is to be considered lower than a dog-eater. O Vipra, Närada, wherever is the Çrémad Bhägavatam in Kali-yuga, the Lord goes there along with the demigods. O muni, a person who faithfully recites a verse of Çrémad Bhägavatam every day attains the fruit of reading the eighteen Puräëas". (Skanda Puräëa, 2.5.16. 40-42, 44, 33)

            Çata-viccheda-saàyutaù indicates that the Bhägavatam has three hundred and thirty-five chapters. The meaning of the rest is clear. Thus it is concluded that in Kali-yuga those desiring to know the highest Truth should deliberate only upon the Çrémad Bhägavatam.

            In the Caturvarga Cintämaëi, Vrata Khaëòa, Hemädré quotes the following Bhägavatam verse (1.28):

            "Out of compassion, the great sage thought it wise that this would enable men to achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the great historical narration called the Mahäbhärata for women, laborers, and friends of the twice born, because they do not have access to the Vedas". (SB.1.4.25)

            By quoting this verse Hemädré proves that the Mahäbhärata is equal to the Vedas in purpose, and thus the implicit meaning of the phrase "it determines the Mahäbhärata", is that the meaning of Çrémad Bhägavatam determines the meaning of Mahäbhärata, which is equal to the Vedas. Further, the phrase "based on the Gäyatré", indicates that since the Çrémad Bhägavatam deals only with the Supreme Lord, it is considered a commentary on Gäyatré, which is only about the Lord.

             Therefore it is stated: 'It is based on Gäyatré..." In accordance with this idea, there is a detailed exposition of the Gäyatré mantra in the Agni Puräëa, a summary of which is quoted below:

            "That light is called the Supreme Lord, because the word bhargas (in Gäyatré ) means effulgence, which is indicative of the consciousness". (Agni Puräëa 216.3)

            After this Agni said:

            "That effulgence is Lord Viñëu, who is the cause of the creation, maintenance, and dissolution. Some people apply the purport of Gäyatré to Çiva, some to Çakti, some apply it to the sun and others to Agni. The Agnihotri Brähmaëas worship various demigods by chanting Gäyatré, but it is Lord Viñëu who exists in the form of the demigods like Agni and in the Vedas He is called Brahman". (Agni Puräëa 216.7,8).

            Later on it will be demonstrated that the opening verse of Çrémad Bhägavatam, beginning with Janmädyasya has the same import as Gäyatré (namely the worship of Lord Viñëu or Kåñëa). Also, in the concluding verse of the Bhägavatam, beginning with the phrase kasmai yena, by the word tacchuddham the same import of the Gäyatré is conveyed. As explained in the Agni Puräëa:

            "For liberation, let us meditate on the Supreme Brahman, who is eternal, pure, transcendental, always effulgent, and the Supreme Controller, thinking ourselves to be that illuminating Param Brahman". (Agni Puräëa 216.6)

            Here the consciousness of thinking oneself  one with Brahman is to attain the qualification to worship the Lord based on the principle, "One who is not godly himself should worship God." The verb, dhyäyema, signifies that "I and all of us should meditate".

            But according to the Agni Puräëa, the word bhargas in Gäyatré should be ending with the syllable 'a'. It should be bharga. This irregularity can be explained as an instance of the type given in the Päniné sütra, supäà suluka (Ast. 7.1.39) where the suffix am of a singular accusative case is replaced with su.

            In the prose section, beginning with oà namaste, in the Twelfth Canto of Bhägavatam (12.6. 67-69), the Sun has been praised as the object of worship in Gäyatré. This should be taken as praise of the Supersoul residing within the Sun and not praise of the sun alone. In this way there is no confusion in understanding.

            Later on, this is affirmed in the statements of Çaunaka Åñi, "O Süta, kindly explain to us who are full of faith, the glory of Lord Hari's incarnation, who is the Supersoul within the Sun". (SB.12.11.28).

            Thus the word bhargas, or the effulgence mentioned in Gäyatré, should not be restricted only to the controller of the sun globe, because the word vareëya (transcendental) in Gäyatré and the word para in the first and final verses of the Bhägavatam refer to the transcendental opulence (of the Supreme Lord) in its ultimate sense.

            Thus it is also said in the Agni Puräëa: "One may also meditate on the Supreme Lord within the sun (but the sun itself is impermanent). The ultimate destination is the abode of Lord Viñëu, which alone is eternal, all-auspicious, and absolute". (Agni Puräëa 216.16)

            The meaning is that the Personality of Godhead can also be meditated upon as dwelling within the sun globe as the supersoul, where He manifests so that the inhabitants of the universe may worship Him. The sun itself will be destroyed during the dissolution, but the abode of Lord Viñëu, mahä-vaikuëöha, exists in the past, present, and future, satyaà, or free from all disturbance, and sadäçivaà, because it has the same transcendental nature as the Lord, Brahman.

            After explaining Gäyatré, the Agni Puräëa, in the section dealing with the characteristics of Puräëas is the verse beginning with yatra adhikåtya gäyatrém. "The Agni Puräëa explains that the meaning of Gäyatré mantra solely concerns the Lord, who is the source of the universe, its maintenance, and dissolution. The Çrémad Bhägavatam is characterized with the phrase 'based on Gäyatré' and is thus ever glorious all over the earth."

            These verses show that Çrémad Bhägavatam begins with the Gäyatré mantra. The meaning of the statement made earlier that the Bhägavatam narrates the activities during the Särasvata Kalpa is befitting, because Sarasvaté is the Goddess of speech, who glorifies the Lord, and the essence of Gäyatré is the Lord's glorification. Thus it is stated in the Agni Puräëa, "Because it sings (gäyati) or illuminates the Vedic mantras, the scriptures, the Supreme Lord and the intelligence it is called Gäyatré. Because it illuminates the meaning of Savitä, the creator it is called Sävitå. It is called Sarasvaté because it represents the essence of speech". (Agni Puräëa 216. 1,2).

            Now the explanation of the terms will be given (in order of the verses of the Garuòa Puräëa quoted in the previous section). The phrase vedärthaù paribåàhitaù means that Çrémad Bhägavatam fortifies and expands the meaning of the Vedas. Thus it was also said , "One should supplement the Vedas with the Itihäsas and Puräëas", (M.Bh. Ädi Parva 1.267) and "It is the Sämaveda of the Puräëas" implying that just as the Sämaveda is considered the supreme Veda, so the Çrémad Bhägavatam is the supreme Puräëa.

            The idea is that just as the Sämaveda reconciles the meaning of the three sections of the Vedas--karma käëòa, jïäna käëòa, and upäsanä käëòa--in the glorification of the Supreme Lord, similarly the Bhägavatam gives the essence of all the Puräëas, harmoniously, as worship of the Lord alone, although some of the Puräëas sometimes do not seem to promote the worship of the Lord, but worship in the modes of passion and ignorance.

            Thus it is said, "In the Vedas, Rämäyaëa, Puräëas and in the Mahäbhärata, everywhere, in the beginning, middle, and end, Lord Hari has been glorified" (Harivaàña Puräëa). This is proven in Paramätmä Sandarbha.

            The meaning of çakñäd-bhagavatodita, "emanated directly from the Lord," is to be understood from the concluding verse of the Çrémad Bhägavatam, "We meditate upon the Supreme Lord, who revealed this Çrémad Bhägavatam to Lord Brahmä" (SB. 12.13.19).

            The compound word, çata-viccheda-saàyuta, "It contains hundreds of divisions or chapters" will not be explained here due to fear of unnecessarily increasing the size of the book.

            The Çrémad Bhägavatam has thus been shown to be the emperor of all other scriptures and thus Çrédhara Svämé's explanation of the phrase, hemasiàha samanvitam (lit. along with a golden lion) as "mounted on a golden throne" is most appropriate.

            Therefore, the Skanda Puräëa establishes the need for constant study and the superiority of only the Çrémad Bhägavatam: "What need is there to accumulate hundreds of other scriptures?" (Skanda Puräëa, Viñëu Khaëòa, 5.16.40)

            Thus it is established without any doubt that at present those who desire to know the Absolute Truth should deliberate upon the Çrémad Bhägavatam alone.

 

ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY

             In the previous section, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé quoted three verses from the Garuòa Puräëa. The first of the three was explained in that section and now he explains the other two.*  He first quotes Bhägavatam verse (3.5.12), and then (1.4.25), which also appears in Hemädré's Caturvarga-cintämaëi, an authoritative 13th century work on Dharma-çästra, on such subjects as vrata, charity, Ñräddha, käla, and so on. Jéva Gosvämé's intention in quoting these verses is to show that the Mahäbhärata is equal to the Vedas. In this part of Caturvarga Cintämaëi, Hemädré raises a question about the salvation of those who are not twice-born, because they do not have access to the Vedas, which give knowledge about Brahman, which is requisite for salvation. In answer he quotes Çrémad Bhägavatam (1.4.25), which explains that Veda Vyäsa wrote the Mahäbhärata to solve this problem.

            The first of the two Bhägavatam verses (3.5.12) also implies that Çréla Vyäsa compiled the Mahäbhärata to attract the mind of the common man towards the Lord by enticing him to listen to mundane stories, though his ulterior motive is to explain the glories of the Personality of Godhead. That is the reason he included the Bhagavad-gétä in the Mahäbhärata. Since the Mahäbhärata is considered equal to the Vedas in purpose, as is evident from the second verse (SB. 1.4.25) and also accepted by Hemädré in this way, then the Vedas are also about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

            That being the case, the Gäyatré mantra, which represents the essence of the Vedas, must be related to the Supreme Lord, Çré Kåñëa. It is with this understanding that the Skanda Puräëa says the Çrémad Bhägavatam, which glorifies the Lord at every step, is based on Gäyatré. Indeed this is one of the distinctive characteristics of the Çrémad Bhägavatam.

            In the Paramätmä Sandarbha, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé gives an analysis of the first verse of Çrémad Bhägavatam as being an explanation of Gäyatré. In the concluding verses of the Bhägavatam also, Gäyatré has been explained and from those verses it is clear that the purpose is to explain the Personality of Godhead.

            The prevalent understanding among Vedic scholars, is that Gäyatré is for worshiping the sun-god or impersonal Brahman; but Çréla Jéva Gosvämé here establishes that the real meaning of Gäyatré is worship of Lord Viñëu, who is non-different from Lord Kåñëa. In support he quotes the Agni Puräëa, giving the opinion of Çréla Vyäsa on the Gäyatré. In the Viñëudharmottara Puräëa, 165 chapter, Prathama Khaëòa, King Vajra asks Märkaëdeya Åñi that if Gäyatré's presiding deity is the Sun god, why is it chanted in a Vaiñëava sacrifice? Märkaëdeya replied that Gäyatré refers to Lord Viñëu and he explained the meanings of the words of Gäyatré as related to Lord Viñëu. His explanation concludes with this verse:

"A person desiring material gains or attainment of heaven in the next life achieves it by chanting Gäyatré; but the worshiper devoid of all desires attains the supreme abode of Lord Viñëu."  It would be not possible to attain the Lord's abode by meditation on Gäyatré if its real meaning were not related with Viñëu, in keeping with the explanation in Bhagavad-gita (9.25), where the Supreme Lord says "My worshiper attains Me". From this it is evident that Gäyatré and the first verse of the Bhägavatam are in complete agreement, because they are both meditations on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

            The same is true for the verse of the Agni Puräëa, which commands us to meditate on Brahman as non-different from ourselves. This is to be understood as an indication of our spiritual nature. The purpose of such meditation is to remove our bodily attachment, which is a neccessary step in worshiping the Lord. A detailed explanation of the oneness of the jéva brahman with the spiritual nature of the Supreme Brahman is given in the forthcoming sections.

            In the Twelfth Canto, sixth chapter, of the Bhägavatam, Yajïavalkya recites prayers in praise of the sun of which verses 67, 68, and 69 are explanations of the three legs of the Gäyatré mantra. From these prayers it appears that Gäyatré is also meant to glorify the sun-god, but Çréla Jéva Gosvämé clarifies this by explaining that this is not independent worship of the sun-god, because Yajïavalkya is actually worshiping the Supersoul dwelling within the sun-god, by considering the resident and residence as non-different. Generally people hail a taxi driver as "Taxi!" and not "Taxi driver", owing to the idea of oneness between the driver and his taxi. Jéva Gosvämé's explanation is substantiated by the statements of Çré Çaunaka (S.B. 12.11.28), in which he explicitly asks "to hear about Lord Hari, the Supersoul of the Sun".

            It is the custom of brähmaëas to chant the Gäyatré while facing the sun at dawn and at dusk. This is a facility provided to meditate on the Supreme Lord through His energies based on the principle of candra-çäkhä-nyäya, or the example of the branch and the Moon. The idea is that to show the Moon to someone, you first ask him to look at the tree branch and then his attention can be directed towards the Moon beyond  the branches. Similarly, it is not always practical or advisable to carry the Deity of the Lord with oneself, but a twice-born brähmaëa must perform his daily duties of meditating on the Lord at dawn and dusk, so the Vedas enjoin that he is to meditate on the Lord through the medium of the Sun, who is always present in the firmament. But beyond the effulgent sun, is Lord Viñëu. This is called Pratékopäsanä.

            In conclusion, the Agni Puräëa states that Gäyatré is so called because it sings (gäyati) or illuminates the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and it protects the chanter (träyate) by fixing his mind on the Lord. It is related with the sun because the sun is also called Sävitå, a word used in Gäyatré; and Sävitå, which is another name for Gäyatré, is the daughter of the sun-god. Mother Sarasvaté is the presiding deity of speech and Gäyatré is the sound representation of the Lord. The Skanda Puräëa, therefore explains that because the Bhägavatam is based on Gäyatré and is also the sound representation of Kåñëa it explains those stories belonging to the Särasvata kalpa indicating that its stories glorify only Kåñëa.

            After this, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé continues to elaborate on the meanings of the various phrases used in the two verses of the Garuòa Puräëa, quoted in the previous section. Çrémad Bhägavatam is described as the "Sämaveda among the Puräëas". In Bhägavad-gita (10.22), the Lord says that He is the Sämaveda among the Vedas. He means that the Sämaveda is the best of all the Vedas. It contains beautiful prayers in glorification of the Supreme Lord. According to the Çrémad Bhägavatam (1.2.28) such glorification is the ultimate purpose of the Vedas (väsudeva parä vedäù). This is done indirectly in the karma käëòa and jïäna käëòa portions of the Vedas, whereas the Sämaveda glorifies Kåñëa directly, therefore it is the best. Similarly, the various Puräëas glorify various deities, although their underlying purpose is Kåñëa's glorification, the Çrémad Bhägavatam is the Sämaveda among the Puräëas, because it has no other topic than Kåñëa. It reconciles all the other Puräëas and thus the Skanda Puräëa declares that by studying Çrémad Bhägavatam one gets the benefit of studying all the Puräëas.

            The superior postion of the Bhägavat Puräëa is conveyed by its name. Çrémat means beautiful and Bhägavata means related to the Lord. It is most beautiful because it describes the beautiful pastimes of the Supreme Person. Çré also means opulence. It is the most opulent because it is identical with Bhägavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, replete with all opulences.

            Çata-viccheda-saàyuta literally means that the Bhägavatam has hundreds of sections. Jéva Gosvämé does not comment upon it. Most editions of the Bhägavatam have 335 chapters, which are divided into twelve cantos, but some scholars accept only 332 chapters.They claim that chapters Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen of the Tenth Canto are interpolated. Great authorities, however, like Çrédhara Svämé and Bopadeva, have accepted these three chapters by commenting on them and Çréla Jéva Gosvämé follows in their footsteps.

            The three chapters in question describe the killing of Aghäsura and Lord Brahmä's bewilderment by Kåñëa. In Chapter Twelve, Twelfth Canto, Süta Gosvämé gives the list of pastimes of the Lord and in the twenty-eighth verse he mentions the killing of Aghäsura and Lord Brahmä's bewilderment, clearly indicating that these three chapters have a place in the Bhägavatam. Thus in the opinion of Çréla Jéva Gosvämé, the Bhägavatam contains 335 chapters, otherwise it will fall short of eighteen thousand verses. For a more detailed discussion of this see the appendix entitled 332 or 335.

            While commenting on hemasiàha-samanvita (SB. 12.13.14), which literally means "with a golden lion", Çréla Çrédhara Svämé says that siàha (lion) indicates a siàha-äsana, or a golden throne. That is to say that the Çrémad Bhägavatam should be donated mounted on a golden throne. This recommendation of a golden throne is not given for any other Puräëa. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé concludes, therefore, that just as the lion is the emperor in the animal kingdom, Çrémad Bhägavatam is the sovereign ruler of all other scriptures. Subsequently, it is also the sovereign ruler among all other pramäëas and, as recommended in the Skanda Puräëa, for the person wishing to understand the Absolute Reality, there is no need to study any other scripture.

            Next Çréla Jéva Gosvämé explains that Çrémad Bhägavatam was held in high esteem by all the greatest scholars and äcäryas.