Devanagari
श्रीराजोवाच
नारायणाभिधानस्य ब्रह्मण: परमात्मन: ।
निष्ठामर्हथ नो वक्तुं यूयं हि ब्रह्मवित्तमा: ॥ ३४ ॥
Verse text
śrī-rājovāca
nārāyaṇābhidhānasya
brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ
niṣṭhām arhatha no vaktuṁ
yūyaṁ hi brahma-vittamāḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
rājā uvāca — the King said
;
nārāyaṇa
—
abhidhānasya — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, named Nārāyaṇa
;
brahmaṇaḥ
—
of the Absolute Truth
;
parama
—
ātmanaḥ — of the Supersoul
;
niṣṭhām
—
the transcendental situation
;
arhatha
—
you may kindly
;
naḥ
—
to us
;
vaktum
—
speak
;
yūyam
—
all of you
;
hi
—
indeed
;
brahma
—
vit — tamāḥ — the most expert knowers of the Supreme .
Translation
King Nimi inquired: Please explain to me the transcendental situation of the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, who is Himself the Absolute Truth and the Supersoul of everyone. You can explain this to me, because you are all most expert in transcendental knowledge.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
King Nimi said: You, being most knowledgeable of the Lord, should speak about the svarūpa of Bhagavān, Nārāyaṇa, who is also Brahman and Paramātmā.
Hearing about dedication to Nārāyaṇa, the King then asks about the form of Nārāyaṇa. Please speak about the svarūpa (niṣṭhām) of Bhagavān called Nārāyaṇa. Later it will be said nārāyaṇe turīyākhye bhagavac-chabda-śabdite: the devotee concentrates on the fourth form, Bhagavān, called Nārāyaṇa. (SB11.15.6) “He is your deity. You know about his svarūpa by meditation, as taught by your guru.” But he is also Brahman and Paramātmā. I am asking how this one form can also be three.
Purport
According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, in the previous verse the sages informed the King,
nārāyaṇa-paro māyām aṣjas tarati dustarām:
simply by unalloyed devotion to Lord Nārāyaṇa, one can very easily cross over the ocean of material illusion. Therefore, in this verse the King is requesting specific information about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. It is significant in this verse that the King refers to the Supreme Lord as Nārāyaṇa, Brahman and Paramātmā. Although King Nimi is already understood to be a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by his question he wants to clarify that the Personality of Godhead is the highest transcendental truth. In the
Bhāgavatam
(1.2.11)
:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jṣānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.” Therefore it is to be understood that the word
nārāyaṇa
in this verse refers to the Bhagavān feature of the Supreme Lord in the spiritual world.
Generally the speculative philosophers become attracted to the impersonal Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth, whereas the mystic
yogīs
meditate upon the Paramātmā, the Supersoul within everyone’s heart. On the other hand, those who have achieved mature transcendental knowledge surrender directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, who is eternally situated in His own abode, called Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma. In
Bhagavad-gītā
Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly says,
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham:
“I am the source of the impersonal Brahman.” Similarly, it is described in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
that the Supersoul, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is a secondary plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. King Nimi wants the sages to make clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original feature of the Absolute Truth, and therefore he places his question before the next of the nine Yogendras, Pippalāyana.
According to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura the word
niṣṭhā
can also be translated as “firm faith.” In this sense, Nimi Mahārāja is inquiring about the process of developing perfect faith in the Supreme Lord (
bhagavan-niṣṭhā
).