Devanagari
शब्दब्रह्म सुदुर्बोधं प्राणेन्द्रियमनोमयम् ।
अनन्तपारं गम्भीरं दुर्विगाह्यं समुद्रवत् ॥ ३६ ॥
Verse text
śabda-brahma su-durbodhaṁ
prāṇendriya-mano-mayam
ananta-pāraṁ gambhīraṁ
durvigāhyaṁ samudra-vat
Synonyms
śabda
—
brahma — the transcendental sound of the Vedas
;
su
—
durbodham — extremely difficult to comprehend
;
prāṇa
—
of the vital air
;
indriya
—
senses
;
manaḥ
—
and mind
;
mayam
—
manifesting on the different levels
;
ananta
—
pāram — without limit
;
gambhīram
—
deep
;
durvigāhyam
—
unfathomable
;
samudra
—
vat — like the ocean .
Translation
The transcendental sound of the Vedas is very difficult to comprehend and manifests on different levels within the prāṇa, senses and mind. This Vedic sound is unlimited, very deep and unfathomable, just like the ocean.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The sound of the Vedas is very difficult to comprehend and manifests on different levels within the prāṇa, mind, intelligence and senses. This Vedic sound is unlimited and deep like the ocean.
“Since there is no other way for people to accept the Vedas, the pleasures of Svarga are offered just as doctor offerings candy to the child so he will drink medicine. This you have explained. Jaimini and others also seem to explain things with a similar intention.” That is not so. If they had known, they would have explained this. No one can really know the meaning of the Vedas without me or my devotees like Vyāsa and Nārada. That is explained in this verse and till the end of the chapter. The Veda is difficult to understand regarding its true nature and function. It has two forms, gross and subtle. The subtle form of the Vedas is difficult to understand. First, the Veda is parā, related to prāṇa, situated in the mūlādhāra-cakra. Then it becomes paśyantī, related to mind, situated in the navel in the manīpūra-cakra. Then it becomes madhyamā, related to intelligence, situated in the heart in the anāhata-cakra. Then it becomes vaikharī, related to the senses. In using speech, the sense organ called the voice is prominent. Moreover the Veda, made of material and spiritual prāṇa, is infinite (ananda-param), not divided by space or time.
In terms of meaning it is also difficult to understand. Its meaning is very deep, and thus difficult to comprehend. Śruti says:
catvāri vāk-parimitā padāni
tāni vidur brāhmaṇā ye manīṣiṇaḥ |
guhāyāṁ trīṇi nihitā neṅgayanti
turīyaṁ vāco manuṣyā vadanti ||
Wise men know the four aspects of sound in the Vedas, by which truth is known. They do not reveal the three aspects which are hidden within the body. Men speak the fourth form as words. Ṛg-veda 1.164.45
The meaning is this. The words of the Vedas (vāk) are measured (parimitā). The form parimitā instead of parimitāni is Vedic usage accrodding to Pāṇini 7.1.39. Padāni means those forms by which the supreme truth is known (padyate). The sounds have four forms which the wise know. They do not reveal the nature of the three which are hidden in the body because men speak the fourth form vaikharī. Men speak this but they do not know the truth. There is another verse concerning this:
yā sā mitrā-varuṇa-sadanād uccarantī triṣaṣṭhiṁ
varṇānantaḥ-prakaṭa-karaṇaiḥ prāṇa-saṁjṣā prasūte |
tāṁ paśyantīṁ prathamam uditāṁ madhyamāṁ buddhi-saṁsthāṁ
vācaṁ cakre karaṇa-viśadāṁ vaikharīṁ ca prapadye ||
That sound spoken from the house of Mitrā and Varuṇa composed of sixty-three sounds appeared as prāṇa (or parā) with the senses manifested within. It first became paśyantī, then madhyamā situated with intelligence, and then vaikharī, which is clear to the senses, in the viśuddhi-cakra.
Purport
According to Vedic knowledge, the Vedic sound is divided into four phases, which can be understood only by the most intelligent
brāhmaṇas.
This is because three of the divisions are internally situated within the living entity and only the fourth division is externally manifested, as speech. Even this fourth phase of Vedic sound, called
vaikharī,
is very difficult to understand for ordinary human beings. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains these divisions as follows. The
prāṇa
phase of Vedic sound, known as
parā,
is situated in the
ādhāra-cakra;
the mental phase, known as
paśyantī,
is situated in the area of the navel, on the
maṇipūraka-cakra;
the intellectual phase, known as
madhyamā,
is situated in the heart area, in the
anāhata-cakra.
Finally, the manifest sensory phase of Vedic sound is called
vaikharī.
Such Vedic sound is
ananta-pāra
because it comprehends all vital energies within the universe and beyond and is thus undivided by time or space. Actually, Vedic sound vibration is so subtle, unfathomable and deep that only the Lord Himself and His empowered followers such as Vyāsa and Nārada can understand its actual form and meaning. Ordinary human beings cannot comprehend all of the intricacies and subtleties of Vedic sound, but if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness one can immediately understand the conclusion of all Vedic knowledge, namely Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, the original source of Vedic knowledge. Foolish persons devote their vital air, senses and mind to sense gratification and thus do not understand the transcendental value of the holy name of God. Ultimately, the essence of all Vedic sound is the holy name of the Supreme Lord, which is not different from the Lord Himself. Since the Lord is unlimited, His holy name is equally unlimited. No one can understand the transcendental glories of the Lord without the Lord’s direct mercy. By offenselessly chanting the holy names Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one can enter into the transcendental mysteries of Vedic sound. Otherwise the knowledge of the
Vedas
will remain
durvigāhyam,
or impossible to penetrate.