Devanagari
विचक्षणोऽस्यार्हति वेदितुं विभो-
रनन्तपारस्य निवृत्तित: सुखम् ।
प्रवर्तमानस्य गुणैरनात्मन-
स्ततो भवान्दर्शय चेष्टितं विभो: ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
vicakṣaṇo ’syārhati vedituṁ vibhor
ananta-pārasya nivṛttitaḥ sukham
pravartamānasya guṇair anātmanas
tato bhavān darśaya ceṣṭitaṁ vibhoḥ
Synonyms
vicakṣaṇaḥ
—
very expert
;
asya
—
of him
;
arhati
—
deserves
;
veditum
—
to understand
;
vibhoḥ
—
of the Lord
;
ananta
—
pārasya — of the unlimited
;
nivṛttitaḥ
—
retired from
;
sukham
—
material happiness
;
pravartamānasya
—
those who are attached to
;
guṇaiḥ
—
by the material qualities
;
anātmanaḥ
—
devoid of knowledge in spiritual value
;
tataḥ
—
therefore
;
bhavān
—
Your Goodness
;
darśaya
—
show the ways
;
ceṣṭitam
—
activities
;
vibhoḥ
—
of the Lord .
Translation
The Supreme Lord is unlimited. Only a very expert personality, retired from the activities of material happiness, deserves to understand this knowledge of spiritual values. Therefore those who are not so well situated, due to material attachment, should be shown the ways of transcendental realization, by Your Goodness, through descriptions of the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The wise person, giving up material happiness, can realize the happiness of the Lord who is beyond measure and then take to bhakti, setting an example for others. Describe the pastimes of the Lord for those materialists who are pushed by the guṇas of matter.
Purport
Theological science is a difficult subject, especially when it deals with the transcendental nature of God. It is not a subject matter to be understood by persons who are too much attached to material activities. Only the very expert, who have almost retired from materialistic activities by culture of spiritual knowledge, can be admitted to the study of this great science. In the
Bhagavad-gītā
it is clearly stated that out of many hundreds and thousands of men only one person deserves to enter into transcendental realization. And out of many thousands of such transcendentally realized persons, only a few can understand the theological science specifically dealing with God as a person. Śrī Vyāsadeva is therefore advised by Nārada to describe the science of God directly by relating His transcendental activities. Vyāsadeva is himself a personality expert in this science, and he is unattached to material enjoyment. Therefore he is the right person to describe it, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, is the right person to receive it.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is the topmost theological science, and therefore it can react on the laymen as medicinal doses. Because it contains the transcendental activities of the Lord, there is no difference between the Lord and the literature. The literature is the factual literary incarnation of the Lord. So the laymen can hear the narration of the activities of the Lord. Thereby they are able to associate with the Lord and thus gradually become purified from material diseases. The expert devotees also can discover novel ways and means to convert the nondevotees in terms of particular time and circumstance. Devotional service is dynamic activity, and the expert devotees can find out competent means to inject it into the dull brains of the materialistic population. Such transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His subsequent followers exhibited expert dexterity in this connection. By following the same method, one can bring the materialistic men of this age of quarrel into order for peaceful life and transcendental realization.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Please condemn other paths and describe the glories of the Lord only!
It was said in the previous verse that the people devoid of proper discrimination (itaraḥ janaḥ) were certain that you recommended the material path. Now, those people who have discernment (vicakṣaṇaḥ) can understand the happiness of the Lord, giving up material pleasure (nivṛttitaḥ), since the Lord is beyond time (ananta-pārasya) and measurement whereas material pleasure is very limited. Understanding that the happiness of the Lord is unlimited, he will perform bhakti for attaining that happiness. By seeing the preference of the discerning person for bhakti the undiscerning person will also take up the process. Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ: whatever actions the superior person performs others will follow. (BG 3.21) For this reason (tataḥ) describe those pastimes of the Lord. Show the pastimes of the Lord in order to liberate those who are devoid of discrimination (anātmanaḥ), pushed by the guṇas of material nature. O Lord! This address to the Lord implies: “This is possible because that even such a person, giving up all else and performing pure bhakti will attain your bliss.”
Or the verse has another meaning. “But if the people do not think of giving up their path, even now if I follow your instruction and preach bhakti with rejection of all else, they will reject this scripture.” No, it is not so. In this world not all people are undiscerning. Discerning people do exist (vicakṣaṇaḥ) and they can understand the happiness of the Lord who is devoid of an end by time (ananta-pārasya) -- who is even now existing (pra + vartamānasya). Things which are temporary can be measured. He has a body without material guṇas (guṇaiḥ anātmanaḥ), a body of eternity, knowledge and bliss — which is not possible to measure.