Canto 5: The Creative ImpetusChapter 25: The Glories of Lord Ananta

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.25.8

ya esha evam anuśruto dhyāyamāno mumukshūnām anādi-kāla-karma-vāsanā-grathitam avidyāmayam hridaya-granthim sattva-rajas-tamomayam antar-hridayam gata āśu nirbhinatti tasyānubhāvān bhagavān svāyambhuvo nāradah saha tumburunā sabhāyām brahmanah samślokayām āsa

SYNONYMS

yah — who; eshah — this one; evam — thus; anuśrutah — being heard from a bona fide spiritual master; dhyāyamānah — being meditated upon; mumukshūnām — of persons desiring liberation from conditioned life; anādi — from immemorial; kāla — time; karma-vāsanā — by the desire for fruitive activities; grathitam — tied tightly; avidyā-mayam — consisting of the illusory energy; hridaya-granthim — the knot within the heart; sattva-rajah-tamah-mayammade of the three modes of material nature; antah-hridayamin the core of the heart; gatah — situated; āśu — very soon; nirbhinatti — cuts; tasya — of Sańkarshana; anubhāvān — the glories; bhagavān — the greatly powerful; svāyambhuvah — the son of Lord Brahmā; nāradah — the sage Nārada; saha — along with; tumburunā — the stringed instrument called a Tumburu; sabhāyāmin the assembly; brahmanah — of Lord Brahmā; samślokayām āsa — described in verses.

TRANSLATION

If persons who are very serious about being liberated from material life hear the glories of Anantadeva from the mouth of a spiritual master in the chain of disciplic succession, and if they always meditate upon Sańkarshana, the Lord enters the cores of their hearts, vanquishes all the dirty contamination of the material modes of nature, and cuts to pieces the hard knot within the heart, which has been tied tightly since time immemorial by the desire to dominate material nature through fruitive activities. Nārada Muni, the son of Lord Brahmā, always glorifies Anantadeva in his father's assembly. There he sings blissful verses of his own composition, accompanied by his stringed instrument [or a celestial singer] known as Tumburu.

PURPORT

None of these descriptions of Lord Anantadeva are imaginary. They are all transcendentally blissful and full of actual knowledge. However, unless one hears them directly from a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, one cannot understand them. This knowledge is delivered to Nārada by Lord Brahmā, and the great saint Nārada, along with his companion, Tumburu, distributes it all over the universe. Sometimes the Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as Uttamaśloka, one who is praised by beautiful poetry. Nārada composes various poems to glorify Lord Ananta, and therefore the word samślokayām āsa (praised by selected poetry) is used in this verse.

The Vaishnavas in the Gaudīya-sampradāya belong to the disciplic succession stemming from Lord Brahmā. Lord Brahmā is the spiritual master of Nārada, Nārada is the spiritual master of Vyāsadeva, and Vyāsadeva wrote the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Therefore all devotees in the Gaudīya-sampradāya accept the activities of Lord Ananta related in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as authentic, and they are thus benefited by going back home, back to Godhead. The contamination in the heart of a conditioned soul is like a huge accumulation of garbage created by the three modes of material nature, especially the modes of rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance). This contamination becomes manifest in the form of lusty desires and greed for material possessions. As confirmed herein, unless one receives transcendental knowledge in disciplic succession, there is no question of his becoming purified of this contamination.

<<< >>>

Buy Online Copyright ©r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness