Śrīmad Bhāgavata 1.15.24

Synonyms

[By the statement that four or five Yadus remained, a transcendent causal agent behind all such actions is implied. This is now made evident in the following three verses (avaśeṣitā ity anenoktaṁ hetu-kartāram āha tribhiḥ prayeṇeti).¹³⁴]; etat — this [the destruction of the Yadu dynasty (yadu-kula-saṅhāraṇam)¹³⁵]; prāyeṇa¹³⁶ — [is] surely [or certainly (niścayena)¹³⁷]; viceṣṭitam — the play [(līlā);¹³⁸ rooted in the will or intention (saṅkalpa-mūlakam eva)¹³⁹]; bhagavataḥ — of Bhagavān; īśvarasya — the Supreme Regulator [and Impeller of all (sarva-prerakasya)¹⁴⁰]; yat — by whose will [(yat-saṅkalpāt);¹⁴¹ or by whose agency (yato nimitta-bhūtāt)¹⁴²]; bhūtāni — living beings [animals and humans (vyāghra-manuṣyādīni)¹⁴³]; nighnanti — kill; mithaḥ — one another; ca — and also; bhāvayanti — protect [pālayanti¹⁴⁴]; mithaḥ — one another.

This [destruction of the Yadu dynasty] is surely the play of Bhagavān, the Supreme Regulator and Impeller of all, by whose will living beings kill one another and also protect one another.

Notes

134Śrīdhara Svāmī.↩

135Viśvanātha Cakravartī.↩

136Most of the Bhāgavata commentators have clarified the meaning of the word prāyeṇa, used in this context. Since its principal meanings include “generally, normally, for the most part, and in all probability,” the question must be asked, why use prāyeṇa in reference to Bhagavān’s agency? Why not use a word that implies certainty instead? This is answered in different ways by the different commentators. Vaṁśīdhara takes the meaning directly as “certainly” (niścayena) and adds that the word is used only in the sense of ascertaining the cause (avadhāraṇārthakam eva). Vijayadhvaja Tīrtha repeats the latter explanation. Jīva Gosvāmī explains that the statement is made out of sorrow (duḥkha) and only according to the vision that attends such līlās. Viśvanātha Cakravartī says that the word is used out of worldly convention (lokokti-rītyaiva) and not as a statement of ultimate truth (na tu siddhānta-rītyā). Śukadeva comments that prāyeṇa is used because karma can be a contributing or assisting cause (karma-sāpekṣatvābhiprāyeṇa). Vallabhācārya comments that Bhagavān’s agency (kartṛkatva) as the ultimate doer behind all action (sarva-kartṛtveṇa) and as the protector (rakṣakatvena) is assured, and hence prāyeṇa is used only in consideration of the fact that kāla (time) could also be a factor. He adds that in that case as well, since Bhagavān’s presence is immanent within time, it is to be explained from the perspective of the inevitability of the ultimate cause (utkaṭa-koṭiḥ dṛṣṭārtham anyathātvena vyākhyāsyan) that all acts of worldly agency whatsoever (sarvatraiva loka-kartṛkaṁ kāryam) are in reality the acts of Bhagavān (bhagavat-kāryam). Giridhara adds that although prāyeṇa is used to accommodate kāla and karma, which are both causal factors, the will of Bhagavān is primary.↩

137Vaṁśīdhara.↩

138Giridhara.↩

139Vīrarāghava.↩

140Giridhara.↩

141Vīrarāghava.↩

142Viśvanātha Cakravartī.↩

143Giridhara.↩

144Śrīdhara Svāmī.↩

SB 1.15.24

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