Devanagari
त्वद्दत्तया वयुनयेदमचष्ट विश्वं
सुप्तप्रबुद्ध इव नाथ भवत्प्रपन्न: ।
तस्यापवर्ग्यशरणं तव पादमूलं
विस्मर्यते कृतविदा कथमार्तबन्धो ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
tvad-dattayā vayunayedam acaṣṭa viśvaṁ
supta-prabuddha iva nātha bhavat-prapannaḥ
tasyāpavargya-śaraṇaṁ tava pāda-mūlaṁ
vismaryate kṛta-vidā katham ārta-bandho
Synonyms
tvat
—
dattayā — given by You
;
vayunayā
—
by knowledge
;
idam
—
this
;
acaṣṭa
—
could see
;
viśvam
—
whole universe
;
supta
—
prabuddhaḥ — a man rising from sleep
;
iva
—
like
;
nātha
—
O my Lord
;
bhavat
—
prapannaḥ — Lord Brahmā, who is surrendered unto You
;
tasya
—
his
;
āpavargya
—
of persons desiring liberation
;
śaraṇam
—
the shelter
;
tava
—
Your
;
pāda
—
mūlam — lotus feet
;
vismaryate
—
can be forgotten
;
kṛta
—
vidā — by a learned person
;
katham
—
how
;
ārta
—
bandho — O friend of the distressed .
Translation
O my master, Lord Brahmā is fully surrendered unto You. In the beginning You gave him knowledge, and thus he could see and understand the entire universe, just as a person awakens from sleep and visualizes his immediate duties. You are the only shelter of all persons who desire liberation, and You are the friend of all who are distressed. How, therefore, can a learned person who has perfect knowledge ever forget You?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O Lord! The jṣānī-bhakta surrendered to you sees this universe through knowledge given by you, like a sleeping person who has woken up. O friend of the suffering devotee! How can the person who has attained knowledge through you forget your lotus feet which are the shelter of the jijṣāsu-bhakta seeking liberation?
You alone possess all powers. You are to be worshipped by those who have knowledge, by the devotees, who have knowledge given by you. Those surrendered to you (bhavat-prapannaḥ) such as Brahmā and the Kumāras, or jṣānī-bhaktas, saw the universe by knowledge (vayunayā) given by you. How? They see like a person who was sleeping, and then wakes up. How can a person who knows the favor you have given him ever forget your lotus feet, which are the shelter of the inquisitive devotee (jijṣāsu-bhakta), qualified for liberation (apavargya)? One who, obtaining knowledge from you, and does not worship you, is ungrateful. O friend of the suffering devotee (ārta-bhakta)! It should be understood that this verse mentions the three types of devotees according to the Gītā verse 7.16.
Purport
The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be forgotten even for a moment by His surrendered devotees. The devotee understands that the Lord’s causeless mercy is beyond his estimation; he cannot know how much he is benefited by the grace of the Lord. The more a devotee engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord, the more encouragement is supplied by the energy of the Lord. In the
Bhagavad-gītā
the Lord says that to those who are constantly engaged in devotional service with love and affection, the Supreme Personality of Godhead gives intelligence from within and thus they may make further progress. Being so encouraged, the devotee can never forget, at any moment, the Personality of Godhead. He always feels obliged to Him for having achieved increased power in devotional service by His grace. Saintly persons like Sanaka, Sanātana and Lord Brahmā were able to see the entire universe, by the mercy of the Lord, through knowledge of the Lord. The example is given that a person may apparently abstain from sleep all day, but as long as he is not spiritually enlightened he is actually sleeping. He may sleep at night and perform his duties in the daytime, but as long as he does not come to the platform of working in spiritual enlightenment he is considered to be always sleeping. A devotee, therefore, never forgets the benefit derived from the Lord.
The Lord is addressed here as
ārta-bandhu,
which means “friend of the distressed.” As stated in
Bhagavad-gītā,
after many, many births of executing severe austerities in search of knowledge, one comes to the point of real knowledge and becomes wise when one surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Māyāvādī philosopher, who does not surrender unto the Supreme Person, is understood to be lacking in real knowledge. The devotee in perfect knowledge cannot forget his obligation to the Lord at any moment.