Devanagari
यो वै भारतवर्षेऽस्मिन् क्षेमाय स्वस्तये नृणाम् ।
धर्मज्ञानशमोपेतमाकल्पादास्थितस्तप: ॥ ६ ॥
Verse text
yo vai bhārata-varṣe ’smin
kṣemāya svastaye nṛṇām
dharma-jṣāna-śamopetam
ā-kalpād āsthitas tapaḥ
Synonyms
yaḥ
—
who
;
vai
—
indeed
;
bhārata
—
varṣe — in the holy land of Bhārata (India)
;
asmin
—
this
;
kṣemāya
—
for the welfare in this life
;
svastaye
—
and for the welfare in the next life
;
nṛṇām
—
of men
;
dharma
—
with maintenance of religious standards
;
jṣāna
—
spiritual knowledge
;
śama
—
and self-control
;
upetam
—
enriched
;
ā
—
kalpāt — from the very beginning of Lord Brahmā’s day
;
āsthitaḥ
—
executing
;
tapaḥ
—
austerities .
Translation
From the very beginning of Brahmā’s day Lord Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi has been undergoing austere penances in this land of Bhārata while perfectly performing religious duties and exemplifying spiritual knowledge and self-control — all for the benefit of human beings in both this world and the next.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
From the very beginning of Brahmā's day Lord Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi has been undergoing austere penances in this land of Bhārata while perfectly performing religious duties and exemplifying spiritual knowledge and self-control—all for the benefit of human beings in both this world and the next.
KB 10.87.6
This great sage incarnation of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, has been undergoing great penances and austerities from the very beginning of the creation to teach the inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa how to attain the highest perfectional stage of going back to Godhead. His austerities and penances are exemplary practices for the human being.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Narayana rsi was performing austerities from the beginning of the first day of Brahma (akalpat) for the welfare of men now and in next life (ksemaya svastaye).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
This verse shows the reason why he is called a sage, and describes pastimes of compassion.
He was situated in austerity, his sva-dharma, endowed with jñāna, dharma and śama in order to teach the people, for auspiciousness in this life (kṣemāya) and future life (maṅgalāya).
Dharma means processes suitable for bhakti. Jñāna means knowledge of the Lord. Śama means contemplation of the Lord. He was so engaged from the beginning of Brahmā’s day.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
This verses gives the reason for the Lord being a sage. It was his great mercy to the world. He performed penance in Bharata which is famous as the place of karma in all the worlds (asmin).
aho amīṣāṁ kim akāri śobhanaṁ
prasanna eṣāṁ svid uta svayaṁ hariḥ
yair janma labdhaṁ nṛṣu bhāratājire
mukunda-sevaupayikaṁ spṛhā hi naḥ
The devatās sing: What pious acts did these residents perform, or was the Lord simply pleased with them, by which they attained a birth suitable for service to Mukunda in the area of Bhārata, whereas we can only desire this, but not attain it? SB 5.19.21
Or he performed penances there for you (asmin). Thus the word indicates the place’s auspiciousness. Vai means famous. He performed penance for liberation (kṣemāya) and happiness (svastaye) of humanity or for the happiness in this life and the next. The penance was endowed with dharma, jñāna and was fixed on the Lord (śama). He did this personally to teach the people. This is explained in Mokṣa-dharma. Śama is what is superior to dharma and jñāna. He started the penance on the first day of Brahmā (ākalpāt).