Śrī Jīva Goswami’s presentation in the Sandarbhas is emphatic about the supremacy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa over all other forms of Bhagavān. His treatment of the subject revolves around the famous phrase, “kṛṣṇastu bhagavān svayam” present in the Bhāgavata verse 1.3.28. I have examined his treatment of the subject here, and reproduce the verse below for the reader’s convenience:
ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
All these are either portions (āṁśas) or minute portions (kalās) of the Puruṣa who engladden the world tormented by the enemies of Indra in every yuga. But Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān Himself. (SB 1.3.28)
If Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Bhagavān from whom all other forms of Bhagavān derive their power, then His associates will also be supreme compared to associates of other forms of Bhagavān. Śrī Jīva Goswami sets about establishing this point in the Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha, culminating in the conclusion that Śrī Rādhā is Mahālakśmi, or the source of all Lakśmis. The reason She is supreme is that prīti in Her reaches its highest completion, or in other words, no one in existence possesses the intensity of love that She does for Bhagavān.
Śrī Jīva’s methodical analysis continues in the Prīti Sandarbha, where he takes the next logical step of establishing that prīti reaches its highest completion in relation to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. I will discuss this below.
The definition of prīti
As a reminder, I have presented Śrī Jīva’s definition of prīti here. I reproduce it here for convenience:
prīti = a particular state of consciousness ( jñāna-viśeṣaḥ) the very essence of which is a favorable disposition toward its intended object, Śrī Bhagavān (śrī-bhagavad-viṣayānukūlyātmakaḥ), and which is also filled with elation (ullāsa) caused by the immediate experience of Him (tad-anubhava) resulting from the yearning to attain Him (tat-spṛhā), which itself proceeds from the core attitude of agreeableness toward Him (tad-ānukūlyānugata).
Although prīti has this definition, there is still a hierarchy or tāratamya of prīti between devotees and Bhagavān. I will examine this point further in upcoming articles, but here I examine why there is a hierarchy. The reason is simple- there is a hierarchy between Bhagavān’s forms.
Why there is a gradation in prīti
As usual, Śrī Jīva Goswami bases his analysis squarely on verses from the Bhāgavata. He first lays out a key principle in Prīti Sandarbha Anuccheda 78.3 —
seyam akhaṇḍāpi nijālambanasya bhagavata āvirbhāva-tāratamyena svayaṁ tāratamyenaivāvirbhavati |
Although prīti is an indivisible whole (akhaṇḍa), it manifests in direct correspondence to the degree of manifestation of its support (ālambana), Bhagavān.
There is tāratmya or gradation in prīti because there is tāratmya or gradation in the manifestation of Bhagavān.
tad evaṁ sati śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva svayaṁ-bhagavattvena tat-sandarbhe darśitatvāt tatraiva tasyā parā pratiṣṭhitā |
Such being the case, since Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone was confirmed as Svayaṁ Bhagavān in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha, it is exclusively in Him that prīti is established in its supreme form.
Evidence that prīti’s highest manifestation is in relation to Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Śrī Jīva Goswami next provides evidence for his thesis from the Bhāgavata. As usual, his evidence is not based on textual interpretation alone, but on the experience of realized sages. These sages, including Vyāsa, Vaśiṣṭha, Nārada, and the four Kumāras, met Śrī Kṛṣṇa during a solar eclipse at Kurukṣetra. Their experience, given their exalted status, is conclusive.
Śrī Jīva writes —
atha śrī-kṛṣṇe svayaṁ bhagavaty evāvirbhāva-pūrṇatva-darśanena tasyāḥ pūrṇatvaṁ darśayati—
Now, the completion state (pūrṇatva) of prīti is shown by demonstrating that the complete manifestation (pūrṇaāvirbhāva) is found exclusively in Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In this regard, upon meeting Kṛṣṇa [in Kurukṣetra], the sages spoke to Him as follows:adya no janma-sāphalyaṁ vidyāyās tapaso dṛśaḥ |
tvayā saṅgamya sad-gatyā yad antaḥ śreyasāṁ paraḥ || [bhā.pu. 10.84.21]
Today, by obtaining Your association — the refuge and final destination of saints (sad-gati) — our birth, education, austerities, and vision have all attained complete fulfillment (sāphalya), for You are the ultimate limit of all beneficial ends (śreyasām).
The verse 10.84.21 looks innocuous enough at first glance, but not when we examine Śrī Jīva’s explanation of it. In particular, the word ‘naḥ’ in the verse is pregnant with meaning. I examine the glosses he provides in the commentary line-by-line:
tvayā saṅgamya = by obtaining your association
tvayā sad-gatyā= śrī-kṛṣṇākhyena sad-gatyā = who are celebrated by the name Śrī Kṛṣṇa and who are the refuge and final destination (gatyā) of saints (satām)
[where] satām = tvad-eka-niṣṭhānāṁ tad-viśeṣāṇāṁ = of those who are especially distinguished (tad-viśeṣānām) as being exclusively devoted to You (tvad-eka-niṣṭhāṇām), [our birth and so on have all attained complete fulfillment (sāphalyam)].”
Who are the sages here? He specifies them:
naḥ = asmākaṁ = vaśiṣṭha-catuḥ-sana-vāmadeva-mārkaṇḍeya-nārada-kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyanādīnāṁ brahmānubhavatāṁ bhagavadīya-nānā-bhakti-rasa-vidāṁ dṛṣṭa-nānā-bhagavad-āvirbhāvānām api = The sages who spoke this verse include Vasiṣṭha, Catuḥsana, Vāmadeva, Mārkaṇḍeya, Nārada, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, and others, who were all firmly established in the immediate intuition of the Absolute (brahmānubhavatām) and connoisseurs of the varieties of aesthetic experience (rasa) implicit in bhakti to Bhagavān, and who had already seen numerous manifestations (āvirbhāvas) of Bhagavān.
And here we see the crux of his explanation. These were exalted beings who were well-versed with bhakti-rasa for Bhagavān, and who had already beheld many different forms of Bhagavān prior to this episode. These are the sages who are speaking here. As such, their words have special significance and deserve the minute scrutiny that Śrī Jīva gives them. He continues:
adya īdṛśa-prākaṭyāvacchinne’sminn evāvasare janmanaḥ sāphalyaṁ jātam
= they declared that it is only today (adya) — meaning on this specific occasion (asminn evāvasare) set apart by Kṛṣṇa’s unique personal appearance — that their birth attained complete fulfillment ( janmanaḥ sāphalyaṁ jātam)
So was their birth not fulfilled when they beheld other forms of Bhagavān? Of course it was, because after all, the vision of any form of Bhagavān is a supreme puruṣārtha. But the verse points to a gradation in fulfillment, by the words “antaḥ śreyasāṁ paraḥ” —
yad eva sāphalyaṁ pūrva-labdhānāṁ tat-tad-āvirbhāva-jāta-tat-tat-sāphalya-rūpāṇāṁ śreyasāṁ parama-puruṣārthānāṁ paro’ntaraḥ paramo’vadhir iti |
Here, the word śreyasām, “of all beneficial ends,” means “of the various fulfillments (tat-tat-sāphalya) previously attained from the immediate vision of those other manifestations of Bhagavān — fulfillments that are of themselves the supreme ends to be attained by human beings (paramapuruṣārthas). The sages here declare that the complete fulfillment (sāphalyam) they attained today by seeing Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate limit (para-antaḥ, i.e., parama-avadhiḥ) of all such supreme ends.
The darśana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate limit of all puruṣārthas. This is the main message the Bhāgavata verse is meant to convey to us. And the highest fulfillment these sages experienced upon seeing Him conveys that prīti manifests to its highest extent in relation with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Summary
- Prīti is a favorable disposition toward Bhagavān.
- Śrī Kṛṣṇa impels the highest form of prīti for Him as evinced in the experience of the great sages who saw Him directly.
- This is because Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is Svayam Bhagavān.
Leave a Reply