| Canto 11: General History | Chapter 20: Pure Devotional Service Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 11.20.1
nigamo hisvarasya te
avekshate 'ravindaksha
SYNONYMS
sri-uddhavah uvaca -- Sri Uddhava said; vidhih -- positive injunction; ca -- also; pratishedhah -- prohibitive injunction; ca -- and; nigamah -- the Vedic literature; hi -- indeed; isvarasya -- of the Lord; te -- of You; avekshate -- focuses upon; aravinda-aksha -- O lotus-eyed one; gunam -- good or pious qualities; dosham -- bad or sinful qualities; ca -- also; karmanam -- of activities.
TRANSLATION
Sri Uddhava said: My dear lotus-eyed Krishna, You are the Supreme Lord, and thus the Vedic literatures, consisting of positive and negative injunctions, constitute Your order. Such literatures focus upon the good and bad qualities of work.
PURPORT
At the end of the previous chapter, Lord Krishna stated, guna-dosha-drisir dosho gunas tubhaya-varjitah: "Focusing upon material piety and sin is itself a discrepancy, since actual piety means to transcend both of them." Sri Uddhava now pursues this point so that Lord Krishna will give a more elaborate explanation of this difficult subject matter. Sri Uddhava here states that the Vedic literatures, which constitute the laws of God, deal with piety and sin; therefore, it must be clarified how one transcends activities recommended in the Vedas. According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Uddhava suddenly understood Lord Krishna's purpose in the words He had just spoken, and to induce the Lord to elaborate upon this interesting point Uddhava outwardly challenged the Lord's statement.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari