SB 10.14.3 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ज्ञाने प्रयासमुदपास्य नमन्त एव जीवन्ति सन्मुखरितां भवदीयवार्ताम् । स्थाने स्थिता: श्रुतिगतां तनुवाङ्‌मनोभि- र्ये प्रायशोऽजित जितोऽप्यसि तैस्त्रिलोक्याम् ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

jṣāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām

Synonyms

jṣāne — for knowledge ; prayāsam — the endeavor ; udapāsya — giving up completely ; namantaḥ — offering obeisances ; eva — simply ; jīvanti — live ; sat — mukharitām — chanted by the pure devotees ; bhavadīya — vārtām — topics related to You ; sthāne — in their material position ; sthitāḥ — remaining ; śruti — gatām — received by hearing ; tanu — with their body ; vāk — words ; manobhiḥ — and mind ; ye — who ; prāyaśaḥ — for the most part ; ajita — O unconquerable one ; jitaḥ — conquered ; api — nevertheless ; asi — You become ; taiḥ — by them ; tri — lokyām — within the three worlds .

Translation

Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds. KB 10.14.3 “I therefore recommend that people should not try to understand You by their speculative knowledge. “The best process for understanding You is to submissively give up the speculative process and try to hear about You, either from Yourself as You have given statements in the Bhagavad-gītā and many similar Vedic scriptures, or from a realized devotee who has taken shelter at Your lotus feet. One has to hear from a devotee without speculation. One does not even need to change his worldly position; he simply has to hear Your message. Although You are not understandable by the material senses, simply by hearing about You one can gradually conquer the nescience of misunderstanding. By Your own grace only, You become revealed to a devotee. You are unconquerable by any other means.

Purport

Here the word udapāsya clearly indicates that one should not even slightly endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by the process of mental speculation, for it invariably carries one to an imperfect, impersonal understanding of God. The word jīvanti indicates that a devotee who always hears about Lord Kṛṣṇa will go back home, back to Godhead, even if he can do nothing except maintain his existence and hear topics concerning the Lord. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has explained the words tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ (“by the body, words and mind”) in three ways. In reference to devotees, through their body, words and mind they are able to conquer Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus becoming perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they can touch His lotus feet with their hands, call Him to come with their words, and attain His direct audience within their mind simply by thinking about Him. In the case of nondevotees, the words tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ refer to the word ajita, “unconquered,” and indicate that those not engaged in the loving service of Lord Kṛṣṇa cannot conquer the Absolute Truth by their bodily strength, verbal expertise or mental power. Despite all their endeavors, the ultimate truth remains beyond their reach. In reference to the word jitaḥ, “conquered,” the words tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ indicate that the pure devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa conquer His body, words and mind. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body is conquered because He always remains by the side of His pure devotees; Lord Kṛṣṇa’s words are conquered because He always chants the glories of His devotees; and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mind is conquered because He always thinks about His loving devotees. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has explained the words tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ in regard to the word namantaḥ, “offering obeisances.” He explains that the devotees can take full advantage of the transcendental topics of the Lord by offering all respects to those topics with their body, words and mind. One should engage his body by touching the ground with his hands and head while offering obeisances to the topics of the Lord; one should engage his words by praising transcendental literatures such as Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as well as the devotees who are preaching such literatures; and one should engage his mind by feeling great reverence and pleasure while hearing the transcendental topics of the Lord. In this way, a sincere devotee who has acquired even a small amount of transcendental knowledge about Lord Kṛṣṇa can conquer Him and thus go back home, back to Godhead, for eternal life at the Lord’s side.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Tarhi tam evea viditva atimtyum eti (Knowing Brahman one can surpass death). If that is the case, then how can an ignorant person attain liberation? This verse answers that question. "Not making any endeavor for knowledge (udapasya ) the devotees who though, by nature, are quiet, loudly chant (sammukharitam) your glories (bhavatiya vartam) or the glories of your associates, being situated in the abode of devotees rather than traveling around to holy tirthas (sthane sthitah), and who hear topics about your name, qualities and pastimes (srutigatam), starting with body, words and mind--involving all the senses by touching the earth with head and hands, by glorifying the lord with words, by using intelligence to grasp the meaning of the subjects heard-- who pass their life in this way, without doing anything else—these devotees conquer you, though you are unconquered by anyone else in the three worlds. You are not conquered by those who attain liberation through jnana. Indeed, to cross samsara by merely hearing about you is astonishing. One portion of your topics is knowledge of Brahman, and by that they cross samsara. That is the meaning of the sruti statement ‘knowing Brahman one surpasses death.’"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The devotees, giving up the effort to search for you, hear topics of your form, qualities and pastimes with intense devotion, and by that bring you under control. You are such a person. That is described in this verse. They give up consideration of the powerful aspects of your form (jñāne udapāsya) and out of longing remain in places where there are devotees rather than wandering about on pilgrimage with great suffering to the body. They respect your topics (namantaḥ) by their body, minds and words. At the time of hearing, they respect you with the body by folding their hands. They respect the topics by words by speaking in agreement. They respect the topics by the mind by maintaining faith in your existence. They respect the topics about you or your devotees like Nanda (bhavadīya), which are spoken loudly in order to drive away agitation of the senses and untruth, though generally the devotees remain silent. In this way they pass their lives (jīvanti). Or, hearing those topics, they relish them as their very life (jīvanti). You cannot be attained (ajitaḥ) by the actions of body, mind or words alone, since you are beyond the senses, being self-manifested. But you are attained by your devotees. Or, you are not attainable, but you are attained and controlled by the devotees. This is constantly visible by the actions of their body, mind and words. Or you are attained directly by their bodies, minds and words. Their hands touch your lotus feet. They call you by their words. They decide to see you by their mind. Or you along with your body mind and words are not attained, but you and your body, mind and words are controlled. Your body is brought under control since you stay near the devotee because of the devotees. Your words are under control since you glorify your devotees. Your mind is controlled since you always think of your devotee.