Sri
Tattva Sandarbha
PREFACE
It is a matter of great pleasure that the first of the six Sandarbhas is available now to the English speaking world. This is the first time the Sandarbhas are being translated into English by a follower in the disciplic succession of Çréla Jéva Gosvämé Prabhupäda. The present work follows the format used by my grand spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svämé Prabhupäda in his works, with the original Devanägari text, transliteration into Roman text, word for word meaning, then commentary. Its completion is a matter of great personal satisfaction and will surely bring pleasure to the hearts of Çréla Prabhupäda's followers throughout the world.
My primary references for this translation and commentary, besides the comments of Jéva Gosvämé himself, were the only two commentaries available on the Tattva-sandarbha. One is by Çrépäda Baladeva Vidyäbhüsaëa and the other by Çré Rädhä Mohan Gosvämé Bhattäcärya. This is the only Sandarbha on which they comment. Jéva Gosvämé only comments on the first thirteen sections and then on sections 61 and 63. Baladeva's comments are brief, for he says in the beginning:
älasyädapåvåttiù syät puàñäà yad-grantha-vistare
ato'tra güòhe sandarbhe tippanyalpa prakñyate
"If the commentary is extensive then out of lethargy people will not study it; therefore I am composing a brief gloss on this esoteric Sandarbha".
Though his words are brief, Çrépäda Baladeva Vidyäbhüsaëa has commented on the entire Tattva-sandarbha and so has Çré Rädhä Mohan Gosvämé. Their commentaries help us to understand the difficult and esoteric meanings of Çréla Jéva Gosvämé's statements.
All Gauòéya Vaiñëavas should know the name of Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa. After the six Gosvämés, he was one of the great scholars in the line of succession from Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu and a prolific writer. In his youth he studied the philosophy of Madhväcärya and was a devout follower of Tattvaväda. Later on he had the chance to hear the Ñaö-sandarbhas from Rädhä Dämodara Däsa. Baladeva was so impressed by the philosophy in the Sandarbhas he embraced Gauòéya Vaiñëavism whole heartedly and settled in Våndävan where he came under the care of Çréla Viçvanäth Cakravarti Öhäkur, another major scholar and writer in the Gauòéya line.
In contrast to Baladeva, not much is known about Rädhä Mohan Gosvämé except that he penned his commentary about fifty years after Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa's commentary. According to his concluding remarks he is a descendent in the family of Advaita Äcärya. He was a renowned scholar and logician. Of all the available commentaries, his is the most extensive. His scholarship in Gauòéya philosophy and insight into the Sandarbhas is evident from his illuminating comments. It is a shame that nothing much is known about him or his other works.
I studied the Ñaö-sandarbhas under the tutelage of His Holiness Haridäs Çästri Mahäräja, one of the greatest contemporary Gauòéya Vaiñëava scholars. Every evening for two years he spent at least two hours tutoring me on the Sandarbhas. Since he is a dedicated lover of the Sandarbhas I was most fortunate to learn under his guidance and have tried to faithfully convey what I have learned from him. Çästri Mähäräja is the first person to present all six Sandarbhas in Devanägari script along with commentaries in Hindi. He was most pleased when I took up the work of translating the Sandarbhas into English. My explanations are based on his teachings as well as the three commentaries already mentioned and on the teachings of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedänta Svämé Prabhupäda in his Bhaktivedänta Purports to Çrémad Bhägavatam, in which he makes extensive use of the Ñaö-sandarbhas.
A few words here on nature of translating may be helpful to the reader. I have tried to keep as close as possible to the original translation of the individual words, but this is not always possible. Sometimes the literal meaning in English does not convey the author's intention. At such times I always strive to keep the spirit and intent of the original. Consequently, when differences occur between the word for word meanings and the corresponding translation it is most likely intended. Also, according to its context, the same word may be translated differently at different places to bring out the varied shades of meaning.
The individual words of a compound word have sometimes been translated in the plural although they appear as singular in the original. This has to do with the rules governing compound words. Another consideration is that in Sanskåt some words, called väkyalaìkära, exist only for the beauty of the sentence. They convey no specific meaning when translated. A pronoun when repeated twice in a sentence may have a different meaning than in its usual sense. To make things even more complex, there is liberal usage in Sanskåt of indeclinables such as ädi, iti, ca, and others. These words have their own idiosyncracies. Out of these the translation of iti (lit. etc.) is the most baffling because it is commonly used in Sanskåt, but its literal rendering into English does not make for lucid prose; the work would be peppered with "etceteras" with no clear cut meaning for the reader. I have tried not to dwell over much on these details, but to present the Sandarbhas in a way that conveys the enlivening spirit of the original. The reader need not dwell on mismatches between various word for word meanings.
As for translations of already familiar verses from Çrémad Bhägavatam and other sources, verses in Sanskåt invariably have more than one meaning. The Ätmaräma verse, for example, had at least sixty-one interpretations, depending on the emphasis the commentator is making. When a verse is quoted in a particular context the author has a particular meaning in mind. Hence to avoid ambiguity I have translated many such verses to suit the context, otherwise I have either quoted directly from the works of Çréla Prabhupäda, or used his as the basis for my translation.
Finally I must confess my own frailties in presenting this immense scholarly work in English. Although my attempt may be considered audacious, I do so with the blessings and encouragement of my preceptors and the community of Vaiñëavas. This work of Çréla Jéva Gosvämé is immaculate and any discrepencies that have crept is only due to my imperfections. I alone am responsible for them. I pray that Çréla Jéva Gosvämé, the Vaiñëava community, and gentle scholars will forgive my shortcomings. I welcome any response of critical value as that will give me a chance to improve any future editions.
Dated 10th Nov. 1992 Satya Näräyaëa Däsa,
Kärtika Purëémä Çré Dhäma Våndävana
Day of Lord Caitanya's arrival in
Çré Dhama Våndävana