Devanagari
सूत उवाच
ब्रह्मनद्यां सरस्वत्यामाश्रम: पश्चिमे तटे ।
शम्याप्रास इति प्रोक्त ऋषीणां सत्रवर्धन: ॥ २ ॥
Verse text
sūta uvāca
brahma-nadyāṁ sarasvatyām
āśramaḥ paścime taṭe
śamyāprāsa iti prokta
ṛṣīṇāṁ satra-vardhanaḥ
Synonyms
sūtaḥ
—
Śrī Sūta
;
uvāca
—
said
;
brahma
—
nadyām — on the bank of the river intimately related with Vedas, brāhmaṇas, saints, and the Lord
;
sarasvatyām
—
Sarasvatī
;
āśramaḥ
—
cottage for meditation
;
paścime
—
on the west
;
taṭe
—
bank
;
śamyāprāsaḥ
—
the place named Śamyāprāsa
;
iti
—
thus
;
proktaḥ
—
said to be
;
ṛṣīṇām
—
of the sages
;
satra
—
vardhanaḥ — that which enlivens activities .
Translation
Śrī Sūta said: On the western bank of the river Sarasvatī, which is intimately related with the Vedas, there is a cottage for meditation at Śamyāprāsa which enlivens the transcendental activities of the sages.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Sūta said: There is a hermitage for sages called Śamyāprāsa, favorable for many sacrifices, situated on the west bank of the Sarasvatī River where brāhmaṇas take shelter.
Purport
For spiritual advancement of knowledge a suitable place and atmosphere are definitely required. The place on the western bank of the Sarasvatī is especially suitable for this purpose. And there is the
āśrama
of Vyāsadeva at Śamyāprāsa. Śrīla Vyāsadeva was a householder, yet his residential place is called an
āśrama.
An
āśrama
is a place where spiritual culture is always foremost. It does not matter whether the place belongs to a householder or a mendicant. The whole
varṇāśrama
system is so designed that each and every status of life is called an
āśrama.
This means that spiritual culture is the common factor for all. The
brahmacārīs,
the
gṛhasthas,
the
vānaprasthas
and the
sannyāsīs
all belong to the same mission of life, namely, realization of the Supreme. Therefore none of them are less important as far as spiritual culture is concerned. The difference is a matter of formality on the strength of renunciation. The
sannyāsīs
are held in high estimation on the strength of practical renunciation.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Brahma-nadyām can mean river of the Vedas, of the brāhmaṇas, of austerity, of the Lord. Amara-koṣa says vedas tattvaṁ tapo brahma brahmā vipraḥ prajāpatir: the word brahma can mean Veda, truth, austerity, the brahman, Lord Brahmā, a brāhmaṇa, and a progenitor.