Śrīmad Bhāgavata 1.5.37

Synonyms

[Nārada, the speaker of the Pañcarātra, now instructs Vyāsa in the praṇava-mantra that he received from Nārāyaṇa in his present life.¹⁵⁵ Here, out of affection for his disciple, Nārada instructs Vyāsa in his own mantra, which he received from his guru, although it is highly confidential.¹⁵⁶] oṁ — Oṁ; namaḥ — obeisances; tubhyam — unto You; bhagavate — Bhagavān [as the worshipful deity of the mantra (devatā) specifically in His quadruple manifestation (catur-vyūhātmako bhagavān evātra devatā);¹⁵⁷ here, the devatā of the mantra consisting of 33 syllables (traya-triṁśad-akṣarātmako mantraḥ) is specified as the quadruple Bhagavān (catur-vyūhātmako bhagavān)]; dhīmahi — let us meditate on You [dhyāyema]; namaḥ — offering internal obeisances [manasā namanaṁ kurvīmahi]; vāsudevāya — unto Vāsudeva [the son of Vasudeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa; who is the root of the mantra (mūla-bhūtāya) and the presiding deity of consciousness (citte upāsyāya)¹⁵⁸]; pradyumnāya — Pradyumna [the presiding deity of the intellect (buddhav upāsyāya)]; aniruddhāya — Aniruddha [the presiding deity of the mind (manasy upāsyāya)]; ca — and; saṅkarṣaṇāya — Saṅkarṣaṇa [the presiding deity of the ego (ahaṅkāre upāsyāya)].¹⁵⁹

Oṁ! Obeisances unto You, Bhagavān [in Your quadruple manifestation (catur-vyūha)]. Let us meditate on You, offering internal obeisances unto Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Saṅkarṣaṇa.

Notes

155Jīva Gosvāmī.↩

156Unless otherwise indicated, this and the remaining bracketed inserts in verse 37 are Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s comments.↩

157Jīva Gosvāmī.↩

158This and the remaining bracketed inserts are Giridhara’s comments.↩

159Both Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī comment here that by reversing the normal order (krama-viparyeṇa) of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, what is indicated is the catur-vyūha of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself (i.e., Svayaṁ Bhagavān), wherein Pradyumna and Aniruddha are placed next to Him due to being His son and grandson, respectively. In this manner, the two of them are protected on both sides by the two brothers, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Viśvanātha Cakravartī also offers an alternative explanation to account for the reversal of order. He says that in terms of their cosmic roles, Pradyumna is the causal agent behind the function of creation (sṛṣṭi), Aniruddha, of sustenance (sthiti), and Saṅkarṣaṇa, of dissolution (saṁhāra). Thus, to accord with the order of cosmic functions, the mantra is given in the order stated.↩

SB 1.5.37

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