BY: SUN STAFF
Dec 20, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION TWENTY-FOUR
Seeing that (Sri Sankaracarya had not only avoided the Srimad Bhagavatam, but respected it), out of fear that Vaishnavas might fall for the monistic commentary written by Sankara's disciples, such as Punyaranya and others, Sri Madhvacarya wrote a gloss (Bhagavat-tatparya) on Srimad Bhagavatam explaining the real path. This we have heard from the Vaishnavas.
Therefore, the following statements from Bhagavatam are appropriate. From the First Canto (1.3.41): "Sri Vyasadeva, after extracting the cream of all the Vedas and Itihasas, imparted this (Srimad Bhagavatam) to his son (Sukadeva), who was the best of the self-realized souls."
And the Twelfth Canto (12.13.15): "The Srimad Bhagavatam is indeed the essence of all Vedanta. He who is satisfied by hearing its nectar-like words takes no stock in anything else."
And again in the First Canto (1.1.3): "O expert and thoughtful men on the Earth, relish the Srimad Bhagavatam continuously until liberation. It is the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls."
Therefore, in the same Canto (1.2.3): "Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto him (Sukadeva), the spiritual master of all the sages, the son of Vyasadeva, who, out of his great compassion for those gross materialists, who struggle to cross over the darkest regions of material existence, spoke this most confidential Purana, the cream of all Vedic knowledge, the supreme torchlight of transcendental knowledge, after having personally assimilated it by his experience."
These verses indicate that the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam is the emperor of all other philosophies. They also indicate the superiority of Sri Suka to all present, by his taking his seat in the midst of the assembled sages, as the preceptor of the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
Here Srila Jiva Gosvami reveals the reason for Srila Madhvacarya's gloss on the Bhagavatam. Sankaracarya wrote some poems glorifying Lord Krishna's pastimes as told in Bhagavatam, but some of his followers, not understanding his true intention, took this as license to include the Bhagavatam as part of the Mayavada canon. Some of them commented on the Bhagavatam and somehow managed to screw out an impersonal conclusion, such as Punyaranya's commentary, which is now lost. Srila Madhvacarya, wanting to protect Vaishnavas from being misled, wrote his gloss called Bhagavat-tatparya.
Since Srimad Bhagavatam has already been established as the topmost pramana, Jiva Goswami now shows its significance by quoting from it. This serves to bolster the reader's faith in the Bhagavatam, and to show that from here on he will use it as evidence in his analysis. Jiva Gosvami also reveals the eminence of the Srimad Bhagavatam owing to its brilliant prime speaker, Sukadeva Gosvami. Vyasdeva taught Sukadeva because he was Vyasa's most brilliant student, and Sukadeva chose to study Bhagavatam, because it is the most brilliant book.
Although Srila Vyasadeva had many disciples he taught the Bhagavatam only to Sukadeva. His reason was not that he was biased in favor of his son; rather Sukadeva was atma-vatam varam, "The best of the self-realized souls", which means he had no ulterior motive. Because he had no personal ambition he could understand the true purport of the Bhagavatam, which is the essence of the Vedas, Vedanta, and Itihasas. By comparison Vyasadeva did not consider His other disciples qualified to receive the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Just as the most essential part of a tree is its sweet, juicy fruit, so the Srimad Bhagavatam has been compared to a succulent fruit, with no skin or stone in it. That is to say nothing is to be discarded in the Bhagavatam. Verses 1.1.3 and 1.2.3. are quoted in this section to show the versatility and importance of the Bhagavatam both for conditioned as well as liberated souls. The speaker was free of ulterior motive and he had realized its significance and so he was elected to speak even in the assembly of learned sages. This implies the superiority of Sukadeva over all the assembled sages by dint of his being proficient in reciting the Srimad Bhagavatam. Thus the Srimad Bhagavatam alone should be analyzed to know sambandha, abhideya, and prayojana.
Next, Srila Jiva Gosvami shows the importance of the speaker, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami.
Go to Section Twenty-five
Return to Section Twenty-three
