Q: Does the śloka SB 1.9.9 —
tān sametān mahā-bhāgān upalabhya vasūttamaḥ | pūjayāmāsa dharmajño deśa-kāla-vibhāgavit ||
indicate that an ācārya can adjust śāstra principles according to time and place? Is this true in any case, or can an ācārya not change śāstra principles at all?
A: A śloka has to be explained according to the intention of the speaker. Plucking verses out of context is an easy way to misinterpret them. The context of the above verse is that Bhīṣma is lying on a bed of arrows on the battlefield. The verses prior to this one explain how Yudhiṣṭhira was profoundly distressed due to the deaths of innumerable warriors at Kurukṣetra. He, along with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, visited Bhīṣma as he lay on the bed of arrows. They bowed down to Bhīṣma. As this scene unfolded, others also appeared on the scene, including the great sages like Nārada, Vyāsa, Paraśurāma and Vasiṣṭha.
So what did Bhīṣma do in front of this august assembly of sages and kings? Verse 9.9 answers. But before I translate it, I will translate the commentaries. Śrīdhara-svāmī writes —
śrīdhara-svāmī (bhāvārtha-dīpikā) : vasūttamo bhīṣmaḥ | deśa-kāla-vibhāga-vid ity utthātum aśakyatvāc chayāna eva manasā vācā ca pūjayāmāsa ity abhiprāyaḥ ||9||
Vasūttamaḥ means Bhīṣma. The intention behind the word deśa-kāla-vibhāga-vid, i.e. one who is aware of the divisions of place and time, is that, being unable to get up, he worshipped them even as he lay [on the bed of arrows] with his mind and speech.
Here we see the word abhiprāyaḥ, which means intention. Śrīdhara swami is explaining to us, the intention behind the use of the word deśa-kāla-vibhāgavit. The purpose of this word is simple. Bhīṣma could not get up to properly offer worship to the great persons who had come to visit him. But he knew that worship can be offered in three ways – with body, mind and speech. Even though his body was incapable, his mind and speech remained able.
The point of this verse is to show that Bhīṣma acted according to the rules of śāstra, even in circumstances when one would think it would be impossible to act according to them. He knew that when (i.e. the specific kāla or time at which) there are extenuating circumstances like a total inability on the part of the body, śāstra allowed the offering of worship according to the mind and speech. So he simply followed that rule.
This verse is not offering a justification at all for relaxing or adjusting śāstric rules according to time and place. Instead, it is teaching how one can identify and then follow the appropriate śāstric rules that apply in extenuating circumstances. For this, however, one needs to be a knower of dharma (dharmajña). Also, all this is relevant only for one’s own self- not for others. It is not a general principle for distorting śāstra and preaching it to others.
So the translation of the verse is —
tān sametān mahā-bhāgān upalabhya vasūttamaḥ | pūjayāmāsa dharmajño deśa-kāla-vibhāgavit ||
Having perceived all of those assembled highly distinguished persons, Bhīṣma, the knower of dharma, aware of the divisions of place and time, offered worship to them.
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