SB 1.18.14

SB 1.18.14

Devanagari

को नाम तृप्येद् रसवित्कथायां महत्तमैकान्तपरायणस्य । नान्तं गुणानामगुणस्य जग्मु- र्योगेश्वरा ये भवपाद्ममुख्या: ॥ १४ ॥

Verse text

ko nāma tṛpyed rasavit kathāyāṁ mahattamaikānta-parāyaṇasya nāntaṁ guṇānām aguṇasya jagmur yogeśvarā ye bhava-pādma-mukhyāḥ

Synonyms

kaḥ who is he ; nāma specifically ; tṛpyet get full satisfaction ; rasa vit — expert in relishing mellow nectar ; kathāyām in the topics of ; mahat tama — the greatest amongst the living beings ; ekānta exclusively ; parāyaṇasya of one who is the shelter of ; na never ; antam end ; guṇānām of attributes ; aguṇasya of the Transcendence ; jagmuḥ could ascertain ; yoga īśvarāḥ — the lords of mystic power ; ye all they ; bhava Lord Śiva ; pādma Lord Brahmā ; mukhyāḥ heads .

Translation

The Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa [Govinda], is the exclusive shelter for all great living beings, and His transcendental attributes cannot even be measured by such masters of mystic powers as Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Can anyone who is expert in relishing nectar [rasa] ever be fully satiated by hearing topics about Him?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

What knower of rasa could be satisfied with the topics of the Lord who is the sole, supreme shelter of the greatest devotees? Even those who are masters of yoga and the devatās headed by Brahmā and Śiva, cannot find an end to the spiritual qualities of the Lord who is without material qualities.

Purport

Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā are two chiefs of the demigods. They are full of mystic powers. For example, Lord Śiva drank an ocean of poison of which one drop was sufficient to kill an ordinary living being. Similarly, Brahmā could create many powerful demigods, including Lord Śiva. So they are īśvaras, or lords of the universe. But they are not the supreme powerful. The supreme powerful is Govinda, Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is the Transcendence, and His transcendental attributes cannot be measured even by such powerful īśvaras as Śiva and Brahmā. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is the exclusive shelter of the greatest of all living beings. Brahmā is counted amongst the living beings, but he is the greatest of all of us. And why is the greatest of all the living beings so much attached to the transcendental topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa? Because He is the reservoir of all enjoyment. Everyone wants to relish some kind of taste in everything, but one who is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord can derive unlimited pleasure from such engagement. The Lord is unlimited, and His name, attributes, pastimes, entourage, variegatedness, etc., are unlimited, and those who relish them can do so unlimitedly and still not feel satiated. This fact is confirmed in the Padma Purāṇa: ramante yogino ’nante satyānanda-cid-ātmani iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate “The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rāma.” There is no end to such transcendental discourses. In mundane affairs there is the law of satiation, but in transcendence there is no such satiation. Sūta Gosvāmī desired to continue the topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa before the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya, and the sages also expressed their readiness to hear from him continuously. Since the Lord is transcendence and His attributes are transcendental, such discourses increase the receptive mood of the purified audience.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

“It is true that association of devotees is praiseworthy because without that one cannot attain a taste for hearing about Kṛṣṇa. We have attained that taste! Then what should we say about continuous association?” With that intention they speak this verse. If a person is knowledgeable about rasa, how can he be satisfied with the discussion of that person who is the sole and supreme shelter of the greatest devotees? This indicates the great sweetness of Kṛṣṇa. His great power is then indicated. Those who are masters of yoga, they also cannot find an end to the spiritual qualities of the Lord who is without material qualities (aguṇasya).