Devanagari
नम: प्रमाणमूलाय कवये शास्त्रयोनये ।
प्रवृत्ताय निवृत्ताय निगमाय नमो नम: ॥ ४४ ॥
Verse text
namaḥ pramāṇa-mūlāya
kavaye śāstra-yonaye
pravṛttāya nivṛttāya
nigamāya namo namaḥ
Synonyms
namaḥ
—
obeisances
;
pramāṇa
—
of authoritative evidence
;
mūlāya
—
to the basis
;
kavaye
—
to the author
;
śāstra
—
of the revealed scripture
;
yonaye
—
to the source
;
pravṛttāya
—
which encourages sense gratification
;
nivṛttāya
—
which encourages renunciation
;
nigamāya
—
to Him who is the origin of both kinds of scripture
;
namaḥ namaḥ
—
repeated obeisances .
Translation
We offer our obeisances again and again to You, who are the basis of all authoritative evidence, who are the author and ultimate source of the revealed scriptures, and who have manifested Yourself in those Vedic literatures encouraging sense gratification as well as in those encouraging renunciation of the material world.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
We offer our obeisances again and again to You, who are the basis of all authoritative evidence, who are the author and ultimate source of the revealed scriptures, and who have manifested Yourself in those Vedic literatures encouraging sense gratification as well as in those encouraging renunciation of the material world.
KB 10.16.44
“Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto You, because You are the origin of all scripture and the source of knowledge. You are the root of all evidences, and You are the Supreme Person who can bestow upon us the supreme knowledge. You are the cause of all kinds of desires, and You are the cause of all kinds of satisfaction. You are the Vedas personified. Therefore we offer You our respectful obeisances.
Purport
If we did not have the powers of perception and cognition, evidence could not be transmitted, and if we had no tendency to believe in particular modes of evidence, persuasion could not take place. All of these processes — perception, cognition, persuasion and transmission — take place through the various potencies of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is Himself the greatest scholar and intellectual being. He manifests the transcendental scriptures within the hearts of great devotees like Brahmā and Nārada, and in addition He incarnates as Vedavyāsa, the compiler of all Vedic knowledge. In multifarious ways the Lord generates a variety of religious scriptures, which gradually bring the conditioned souls through the various phases of reentry into the kingdom of God.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"We pay my respects to the root proof, Srimad Bhagavatam, the topmost scriptural proof (mula pramana), and to Vedavyasa its composer (kavaye). The meaning is in the form of Vyasa himself. We pay respects to you who reveal (yoni) the scriptures (sastra). (Sastra yonitvat (Vedanta sutra) shows this usage.) We pay my respects unto the scriptures propounding artha , dharma , kama and moksa (pravrti and nivrti), and unto you, the root (nigama) of both."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
You are the cause or shelter of proofs—the Vedas, the essence of scriptures concerning Bhagavān. You are self-manifesting knowledge (kavaye). You are proved through scriptures (śāstra-yonaye). It is said śāstra-yonitvāt: knowledge of the Lord is produced from scripture. (Brahma-sūtra 1.1.3) You are the scriptures promoting enjoyment and renunciation. And you are nigama, the source of both of these. Therefore we offer respects.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
You are the cause or shelter of proofs—the Vedas, the essence of scriptures concerning Bhagavān. You are the author of scripture or are self-manifesting knowledge (kavaye). You are the shelter of its meaning (śāstra-yonaye). You are the scriptures promoting enjoyment and renunciation. And you are nigama, scriptures which are your order or indicating proper conduct. Because you have these astonishing forms, we offer respects.