Praise of Srimad Bhagavatam - from various sources

An interesting statement I came across today (KrS 182):



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That's a significant statement aklesa without any trouble wow!
azeSa saMkleza samam vidhtatte gunAnuvAda zravanaM murAreh
Endless troubles and afflictions are termunated by aural reception of the excellences of Murari.
Are you going through Krama Sandarbha by krama or at random?
I'd like to hear more of Sri Jiva Goswami's profound insights.

kiM vA paraih What use is any other ( text) Izvara sadyo hrdyavarudhyate when the supreme lord is instantly manifest in the heart, atra krtibhi zusrusibhi of the virtuous who are keen to hear, tatksnAtthere and then.
Last quarter of sloka 1.1.2

That'd be Krishna Sandarbha. No, I'm not going over in krama right now, but rather reading up on select topics.

Here is an interesting sloka spoken by Devasri Narada to the king Barhisad (Pracinbarhi), after having discoursed at length the parable of Puranjan. It's a long and sometimes arduous narrative and the divine sage conludes by telling the king;

barhiSmannetadadhyAtmaM
parokSeNa pradarzitam/
yatparokSapriyo devo
bhagavAn vizvabhAvanah//

O Barhisman. I have thus imparted knowledge of the self to you by indirect means ( alagorical acount) , for the allmighty lord and maker of the universe is fond of remaining incognito. ( 4,28,65)

I guess you could get plenty of meanings without any trouble from that, particularly the parokSapriya compound epithet Lord Krsna likes to hide I guess nAhaM prakAza sarvasya yogamAyAsamAvrtaGita 7.25, and then how Syamasundara sometimes hides in branches of the tree in Radha's court yard; in fact there are so many examples of how he is parokSapriya or fond of remaining incognito. And yet there are as many referances to suggest that he cannot hide from a devotee who has subjugated him with prema.

Namaste. On today's discourse on 'Aastha' television, Sri Kripaluji
Maharaj has chanted this verse as being the essence of Srimad
Bhagavatam while explaining the superiority of Bhagavata Dharma over
Jnana and Karma. Hope this verse also enlightens the seekers of
Beloved God!

naiSkarmyam apy acyutabhAva-varjitaM

na zobhate jnAnam alaM nirañjanam

kutaH punaH zAzvad abhadram Izvare

na hy arpitaM karma yad apy anuttamam

SB 12.12.53

Knowledge of self-realization,
even though free from all material affinity,
does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God].

What, then, is the use of even the most properly performed
fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from
the very beginning and transient by nature,
if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?

Another similar verse:

naiSkarmyam apy acyuta-bhAva-varjitaM

na zobhate jñAnam alaM nirañjanam

kutaH punaH zazvad abhadram Izvare

na cArpitaM karma yad apy akAraNam

SB 1.5.12

Knowledge of self-realization,
even though free from all material affinity,
does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God].

What, then, is the use of fruitive activities,
which are naturally painful from the very beginning
and transient by nature, if they are not
utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?

---------

Translations taken from:
http://bhagavatam.net/

Vaisnava carane dandavat.

While narrating the disposition and motions of the stellar and subteranean spheres to the royal sage Pariksit, Sir ( I mean Sri) Suka Muni recounts the Ballad of Sankarsana as sung by Devarsi Narada. Thakura Vrndavana Dasa also makes referance to this while delineating the majestic grandure of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. In chapter (canto) 25 of the 5th skandha is the description of Sri Ananta deva, his beauteous appearance, attributes and sportive deeds. All this is couched in prose in the midst of which is the five slokas that constitute the Ballad of Sankarsan.

back later

I found the prose passage preceeding these slokas very interesting, here it is;

ya eSa evam-anuzruto dhyAyamAo mumukSuNAm-anAdi-kAla-karma-vAsanA-grathitam-avidyAmayaM hRdayagranthiM sattvarajastamomayam-antar-hRdayaM gata Azu nirbhinatti tasyAnubhAvan bhagavAn svAyambhuvo nAradah saha tumburuNA sabhAyaM brahmaNah saMzlokayAmAsah/

(Bhag 5/28, paragraph 8)

The next canto 26, deals with the descriptions of the infernal regions (Hell).Having also read the descriptions of hell from Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Milton etc., I find this one the best. I haven't read Dante's Inferno, but that will be vitiated, as is Milton's, with Christianity.
Anyway, however interesting it is, it's always a relief to finish, especially with the Bhagavata narrative which then goes on in the next skandha to tell the episode of Ajamila to show how easily the torments of Hell can be avioded.

Forgive me, forgot to also post the English to above quote, which I'll ammend straight.
This from the Gita Press edition.

Heard of as aforesaid from the mouth of a preceptor and being contemplated upon ( accordingly), Sankarsana enters the heart of the seekers of release and quickly breaks asunder the knot of ignorance formed in the heart as a result of tendencies to action, existing from time without beginning and constituted of sattva, rajas, and tama gunas. The glorious Narada, son of the self-born, duly extolled ( on one occasion) with Tumburu ( the celebrated Gandharva) in the court of god Brahma ( his father), the glories of that selfsame lord ( Ananta deva) as follows.( Bhag 5, 25, para 8)

Some slight ammendments made

Then follows the five slokas of the Ballad of Sankarsana.

Jaya Nitai!

adyApiha zeSa deva sahazra zrImukhe/
gAyena caitanyayaza anta nAhi dekhe//

Even to this very day, Sesa deva, with his thousand holy mouths,
sings Caitanya's glories, but sees not the end.

CB Adi 1