SB 3.4.19

SB 3.4.19

Devanagari

इत्यावेदितहार्दाय मह्यं स भगवान् पर: । आदिदेशारविन्दाक्ष आत्मन: परमां स्थितिम् ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

ity āvedita-hārdāya mahyaṁ sa bhagavān paraḥ ādideśāravindākṣa ātmanaḥ paramāṁ sthitim

Synonyms

iti āvedita thus being prayed to by me ; hārdāya from the core of my heart ; mahyam unto me ; saḥ He ; bhagavān the Personality of Godhead ; paraḥ Supreme ; ādideśa instructed ; aravinda akṣaḥ — the lotus-eyed ; ātmanaḥ of Himself ; paramām transcendental ; sthitim situation .

Translation

When I thus expressed my heartfelt desires unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the lotus-eyed Lord instructed me about His transcendental situation.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When I asked the lotus-eyed Lord what I desired in my heart, he explained to me his supreme position. He explained this to me, and not to Maitreya. He explained the eternal abodes in Dvārakā and other places, the places of pastimes (sthitim). He spoke about the inconceivable energy by which non-action and action co-exist in the Lord. This was not revealed by Śukadeva, or by Uddhava to Vidura. It was revealed by the Lord himself, to Uddhava alone, and to no one else, because there was not yet an authoritative conclusion on this matter. It is said in Laghu-bhagavatāmṛta: tat tan na vāstavaṁ cet syāt vidyāṁ buddhi-bhramas tadā | na syād evety acintyaiva śaktir līlāsu kāraṇam || yathā yathā ca tasyecchā sā vyanakti tathā tathā || If contradiction was not a fact, then those wise sages would not have been bewildered. Thus the inconceivable energy is the cause of the pastimes of the Lord. Whenever the Lord desires, his inconceivable energy makes its appearance and acts.

Purport

The words paramāṁ sthitim are significant in this verse. The Lord’s transcendental situation was not even spoken of to Brahmā when the four verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.9.33-36) were explained. This transcendental situation comprises His dealings with devotees engaged in transcendental loving service, as exhibited at Dvārakā and Vṛndāvana. When the Lord explained His specific transcendental situation, it was meant for Uddhava only, and therefore Uddhava particularly said mahyam (“unto me”), although the great sage Maitreya was also sitting there. Such a transcendental situation is hardly understood by those whose devotion is mixed with speculative knowledge or fruitive activities. The Lord’s activities in confidential love are very rarely disclosed to the general devotees who are attracted by devotion mixed with knowledge and mysticism. Such activities are the inconceivable pastimes of the Lord.