SB 10.13.50

SB 10.13.50

Devanagari

चन्द्रिकाविशदस्मेरै: सारुणापाङ्गवीक्षितै: । स्वकार्थानामिव रज:सत्त्वाभ्यां स्रष्टृपालका: ॥ ५० ॥

Verse text

candrikā-viśada-smeraiḥ sāruṇāpāṅga-vīkṣitaiḥ svakārthānām iva rajaḥ- sattvābhyāṁ sraṣṭṛ-pālakāḥ

Synonyms

candrikā viśada — smeraiḥ — by pure smiling like the full, increasing moonlight ; sa aruṇa — apāṅga — vīkṣitaiḥ — by the clear glances of Their reddish eyes ; svaka arthānām — of the desires of His own devotees ; iva just as ; rajaḥ sattvābhyām — by the modes of passion and goodness ; sraṣṭṛ pālakāḥ — were creators and protectors .

Translation

Those Viṣṇu forms, by Their pure smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own devotees, as if by the modes of passion and goodness.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Those Viṣṇu forms, by Their pure smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own devotees, as if by the modes of passion and goodness. KB 10.13.50 Another significant feature of the Viṣṇu forms was that all of Them were looking transcendentally beautiful. Their smiling resembled the moonshine, and Their glancing resembled the early rising of the sun. Just by Their glancing They showed Themselves to be the creators and maintainers of the modes of ignorance and passion. Viṣṇu represents the mode of goodness, Brahmā represents the mode of passion, and Lord Śiva represents the mode of ignorance. Therefore as the maintainer of everything in the cosmic manifestation, Viṣṇu is also the creator and maintainer of Brahmā and Lord Śiva.

Purport

Those Viṣṇu forms blessed the devotees with Their clear glances and smiles, which resembled the increasingly full light of the moon ( śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇam ). As maintainers, They glanced upon Their devotees, embracing them and protecting them by smiling. Their smiles resembled the mode of goodness, protecting all the desires of the devotees, and the glancing of Their eyes resembled the mode of passion. Actually, in this verse the word rajaḥ means not “passion” but “affection.” In the material world, rajo-guṇa is passion, but in the spiritual world it is affection. In the material world, affection is contaminated by rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, but in the śuddha-sattva the affection that maintains the devotees is transcendental. The word svakārthānām refers to great desires. As mentioned in this verse, the glance of Lord Viṣṇu creates the desires of the devotees. A pure devotee, however, has no desires. Therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī comments that because the desires of devotees whose attention is fixed on Kṛṣṇa have already been fulfilled, the Lord’s sidelong glances create variegated desires in relation to Kṛṣṇa and devotional service. In the material world, desire is a product of rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, but desire in the spiritual world gives rise to a variety of everlasting transcendental service. Thus the word svakārthānām refers to eagerness to serve Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana there is a place where there was no temple, but a devotee desired, “Let there be a temple and sevā, devotional service.” Therefore, what was once an empty corner has now become a place of pilgrimage. Such are the desires of a devotee.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The brightness of their smiles made the moon light lament. They looked forward with pink eyes. They appears as creators and maintainers of the desires of their devotees worthy of mercy, through rajas and sattva modes, with the pink of their eyes (rajas) and white of the smiles (sattva).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Their glances were like pure moonlight because of the profuse inner smiles. This is according to Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary. Or, they had smiling glances, like pure moon light. A word in a compound can be used in an adverbial sense as in mṛdu-pācaka: cooking gently. They glanced for fulfilling the desires of their devotees (svaka)-- those who were fully devoted. They were creators by their reddish glances. Their eyes were red because they were intoxicated by the hearts of their devotees, since they desired to serve the devotees. They were protectors by their smiling white glances because they nourished and protected the devotees who had withered away by considering themselves unqualified. The word iva indicates a comparison. Rajas and sattva are compared to the red and white components of the glance and its creative and protective aspects.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

By their smiling glances these forms fulfilled the desires of their devotees (svakārthānām). These forms producted (srastṛ) the devotees’ various desires in relation to the Lord. And they protected and nourished those devotees who thought they were unqualified. Iva is an ornament. Or the glances were like (iva) rajas and sattva, being red and white. The glances were the creators, by being occasional, and the smiles were like the maintainers, being constant. Or the glances and smiles carried both functions mixed.