Śrīmad Bhāgavata 1.13.53

Synonyms

jita-āsanaḥ — having stabilized his posture [having mastered the auspicious sitting position for meditation (svāstikādy āsana-jayavān)¹⁷⁹]; jita-śvāsaḥ — regulated his breath and vital force [prāṇa-jayavān]; pratyāhṛta — [and] withdrawn [nivartita]; ṣaṭ — his six; indriyaḥ — senses [from their corresponding objects (viṣayebhyaḥ)]; dhvasta — he has cast aside [nirasta¹⁸⁰]; malaḥ — the impurities [the impediments to the attainment of liberation (mukti-pratibandhakāni)¹⁸¹]; sattva — [of] righteousness [puṇya¹⁸²]; rajaḥ — covetousness; tamaḥ — [and] indolence; hari-bhāvanayā — by constant meditation on Bhagavān Hari [hari-nirantara-dhyānena¹⁸³].

Translation

Having stabilized his posture, regulated his breath and vital force, and withdrawn his six senses from their corresponding objects, he has cast aside the impurities of righteousness (sattva), covetousness (rajas), and indolence (tamas) by constant meditation on Bhagavān Hari [Śrī Kṛṣṇa].¹⁸⁴

Notes

179Unless otherwise indicated, this and the following bracketed inserts in verse 53 are Vaṁśīdhara’s comments.↩

180Vīrarāghava.↩

181Vīrarāghava.↩

182Vīrarāghava.↩

183Vijayadhvaja Tīrtha.↩

184Having spoken of yama and niyama in the previous verse, Nārada here describes the other limbs of aṣṭāṅga-yoga performed by Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Among them, āsana is indicated by jitāsanaḥ, prāṇāyāma by jita-śvāsaḥ, and pratyāhāra by pratyāhṛta-ṣaḍ-indriyaḥ. Śrīdhara Svāmī takes hari-bhāvanāya, “by meditation on Hari,” as indicative of dhāraṇā, or “concentration.” He reasons that because the casting aside of the guṇas is the fruit of such meditation, the words dhvasta-rajaḥ-sattva-tamo-malaḥ are indicative of dhyāna, or “meditation” in the proper or technical sense. Viśvanātha Cakravartī takes hari-bhāvanāya as referring to both dhāraṇā and dhyāna. Accordingly, Vallabhācārya explains that the two are indicated in one and the same expression. So, in order to distinguish between them, the transcending of the guṇas is mentioned as the further stage in meditation, namely, dhyāna. Samādhi is described in the next two verses.↩

SB 1.13.53

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