Verse Text
agastya-saṁhitāyām—
yathā vidhi-niṣedhau tu muktaṁ naivopasarpataḥ |
tathā na spṛśato rāmopāsakaṁ vidhi-pūrvakam ||70||
Translation
In the Agastya-saṁhitā it is said: Just as the rules and prohibitions of the smṛti scriptures do not approach a liberated person, the rules and prohibitions applicable to vaidika or tāntrika worship also do not touch the worshipper of Rāma.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The rules and prohibitions (vidhi-niṣedhau) mentioned in this verse are those belonging to the smṛtis (dealing with varṇāśrama in the material guṇas). These do not apply to the liberated person beyond the guṇas. The worshipper of Rāma (a Vaiṣṇava) is also not obligated to follow the rules of worship according to the Vedas or Tāntika texts (vidhi-pūrvakam). (That is because those rules enjoin worship of devatās. He still follows rules of bhakti as a follower of vaidhi-bhakti.)
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
There is additional evidence in the Agastya-saṁhitā: “As the regulative principles of scripture are not required by a liberated person, so the ritualistic principles indicated in the Vedic supplements are also not required for a person duly engaged in the service of Lord Rāmacandra.” In other words, the devotees of Lord Rāmacandra, or Kṛṣṇa, are already liberated persons and are not required to follow all the regulative principles mentioned in the ritualistic portions of the Vedic literature.