Maṅgalācaraṇa of Tattva Sandarbha

Reader Timir Nandi requested a word for word translation of the Maṅgalācaraṇa written by Śrī Jīva Goswami at the start of the Tattva Sandarbha. It goes like this:

yasya brahmeti saṁjñāṁ kvacid api nigame yāti cin-mātra-sattāpy
aṁśo yasyāṁśakaiḥ svair vibhavati vaśayann eva māyāṁ pumāṁś ca |
ekaṁ yasyaiva rūpaṁ vilasati parama-vyomni nārāyaṇākhyaṁ
sa śrī-kṛṣṇo vidhattāṁ svayam iha bhagavān prema tat-pāda-bhājām ||8||

I decided to translate the commentary by Śrī Jīva Goswami on this Anuccheda line by line, with my notes interspersed in between.

sarva-saṁvādinī :

sarva-granthārthaṁ saṅkṣepeṇa darśayann api maṅgalācarati—yasya iti |
He succinctly demonstrates the meaning of Śrī Bhāgavata Sandarbha in this statement.

This is an extraordinary maṅgalācaraṇa because it summarizes concisely, the essential meaning of all Sandarbhas. That’s hard to do! This statement can be divided into four parts. The first part refers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feature as Brahman, the next one refers to His form as Paramātmā, the third refers to His form as Śrī Nārāyaṇa, and the fourth refers to Himself, and also contains the author’s invocation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s blessing on the sādhakas. The structure of the statement derives from the following famous verse, which is the running thread that holds the entire Sandarbhas together:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
All those who have realized Absolute Reality refer to that reality as non-dual consciousness. This nondual consciousness is referred to as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. (SB 1.2.11)

Part 1: Brahman

kvacid api satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma [tai.u. 2.1.2] ity ādāv api-śabdena tatraiva brahmatvaṁ mukhyam ity ānītam |
The words kvacid api, “in some portions [of the Vedas]”, refers to statements like “satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma” meaning “Brahman is eternal, conscious, and unlimited”. By the word ‘api’, ‘only’, the meaning that Brahman-ness is primary only in such statements, is brought about.

The sense is that a) Brahman is Śrī Kṛṣṇa without manifest qualities, and b) He is described as Brahman only in some portions of the Vedas, such as the Upaniṣads. That is, in the purāṇas, He is described in His other features and also in His completeness.

Part 2: Paramātmā

aṁśakaiḥ līlāvatāra-rūpair guṇāvatāra-rūpaiś ca | pumān puruṣaḥ sarvāntaryāmī paramātmākhyaḥ |
(In the word yasyāṁśakaiḥ, the word) aṁśakaiḥ means the līlāvatāras and the guṇāvatāras. The word pumān means the puruṣa, who is the indweller of everyone, and known as Paramātmā.

Paramātmā here refers to the three different manifestations of Paramātmā: Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the source of the various līlā-avatāras and guṇāvatāras.

Part 3: Śrī Nārāyaṇa

ekaṁ śrī-kṛṣṇākhyād anyat |
The word ekaṁ refers to Him, who is different from He who is named Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

yasyaiva iti tasya bhagavattva-sāmye’pi śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva svayaṁ-bhagavattvaṁ darśitam |
The words “yasyaiva”, “whose alone”, shows that even though Śrī Nārāyaṇa is the same as Śrī Kṛṣṇa owing to being Bhagavān, Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is Svayam Bhagavān.

nārāyaṇākhyaṁ rūpaṁ pādmottara-khaṇḍādi-pratipādyaḥ parama-vyomākhya-mahā-vaikuṇṭhādhipaḥ śrīpatiḥ | “svayaṁ bhagavān” iti, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayaṁ [bhā.pu. 1.3.28] iti śrī-bhāgavata-prāmāṇyam iheti sūcitam |
The form named Nārāyaṇa is He who is established in Uttara-khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa as the Lord of the Mahā-Vaikuṇṭha named Parama-Vyoma, the Lord of Lakṣmi.

Part 4: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

śrīr iti tad-avyabhicāriṇī svarūpa-śaktir api darśitā | iha jagati | tat-pāda-bhājāṁ tac-caraṇāravindaṁ bhajatām | prema prīty-atiśayam | vidhattāṁ kurutāṁ prādurbhāvayatv ity arthaḥ ||8||
The word Śrī [in the fourth line] additionally refers to His undeviatingly loyal svarūpa-śakti. The word ‘iha’ means ‘in this world’. The word tat-pāda-bhājāṁ means those who worship His lotus Feet. The word prema means unsurpassed prīti. The word vidhattāṁ means kurutāṁ which means “may He manifest”.

Translation:

I include Babaji’s translation, somewhat modified for the above glosses, and with Sanskrit words embedded in the translation.

yasya brahmeti saṁjñāṁ kvacid api nigame yāti cin-mātra-sattāpy
aṁśo yasyāṁśakaiḥ svair vibhavati vaśayann eva māyāṁ pumāṁś ca |
ekaṁ yasyaiva rūpaṁ vilasati parama-vyomni nārāyaṇākhyaṁ
sa śrī-kṛṣṇo vidhattāṁ svayam iha bhagavān prema tat-pāda-bhājām ||8||

In one feature, Śrī Kṛṣṇa exists as pure consciousness without any manifest characteristics (yāti cin-mātra-sattāpy), and is referred to as Brahman (yasya brahmeti saṁjñāṁ) in some portions of the Vedas (kvacid api nigame). In another feature (aṁśo), He expands (vibhavati) as the Puruṣa (pumāṁś ca), who regulates (vaśayann eva) the extrinsic potency (māyā) by His līlāvatāras and guṇāvatāras (yasyāṁśakaiḥ). In yet another of His principal forms (ekaṁ yasyaiva rūpaṁ), He is Nārāyaṇa (nārāyaṇākhyaṁ), resplendent (vilasati) in the spiritual sky (parama-vyomni), Vaikuṇṭha. May that Śrī Kṛṣṇa (sa śrī-kṛṣṇo), the original complete Absolute Truth (Svayaṁ Bhagavān), bestow (vidhattāṁ) love for Himself (prema) on those who worship His lotus feet (tat-pāda-bhājām) in this world (iha).