Devanagari
ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगेन कर्मणामुद्धरन् जटा: ।
हिरण्यकेश: पद्माक्ष: पद्ममुद्रापदाम्बुज: ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
jṣāna-vijṣāna-yogena
karmaṇām uddharan jaṭāḥ
hiraṇya-keśaḥ padmākṣaḥ
padma-mudrā-padāmbujaḥ
Synonyms
jṣāna
—
of scriptural knowledge
;
vijṣāna
—
and application
;
yogena
—
by means of mystic yoga
;
karmaṇām
—
of material actions
;
uddharan
—
uprooting
;
jaṭāḥ
—
the roots
;
hiraṇya
—
keśaḥ — golden hair
;
padma
—
akṣaḥ — lotus-eyed
;
padma
—
mudrā — marked with the sign of the lotus
;
pada
—
ambujaḥ — having lotus feet .
Translation
By mystic yoga and the practical application of knowledge from the scriptures, Kapila Muni, who is characterized by His golden hair, His eyes just like lotus petals and His lotus feet, which bear the marks of lotus flowers, will uproot the deep-rooted desire for work in this material world.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O daughter of Manu! In order to uproot karma by the methods of jṣāna and vijṣāna, with golden hair, lotus eyes, lotus feet marked with the lotus, this Lord, killer of the demon Kaitabha, entering your womb, will travel over the world, cutting the knot of ignorance and false knowledge.
Brahmā speaks to Devahūti. Jṣanam means knowledge of God without form, and vijṣānam means knowledge of God with form. By these methods he will travel the earth to uproot (uddharan) the roots or vāsanā of karma. He will cut the knot in the heart made of ignorance concerning one’s svarūpa (avidyā) and false knowledge (samśaya).
Purport
In this verse the activities and bodily features of Kapila Muni are very nicely described. The activities of Kapila Muni are forecast herein: He will present the philosophy of Sāṅkhya in such a way that by studying His philosophy people will be able to uproot the deep-rooted desire for
karma,
fruitive activities. Everyone in this material world engages in achieving the fruits of his labor. A man tries to be happy by achieving the fruits of his own honest labor, but actually he becomes more and more entangled. One cannot get out of this entanglement unless he has perfect knowledge, or devotional service.
Those who are trying to get out of the entanglement by speculation are also doing their best, but in the Vedic scriptures we find that if one has taken to the devotional service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can very easily uproot the deep-rooted desire for fruitive activities. Sāṅkhya philosophy will be broadcast by Kapila Muni for that purpose. His bodily features are also described herein.
Jṣāna
does not refer to ordinary research work.
Jṣāna
entails receiving knowledge from the scriptures through the spiritual master by disciplic succession. In the modern age there is a tendency to do research by mental speculation and concoction. But the man who speculates forgets that he himself is subject to the four defects of nature: he is sure to commit mistakes, his senses are imperfect, he is sure to fall into illusion, and he is cheating. Unless one has perfect knowledge from disciplic succession, he simply puts forth some theories of his own creation; therefore he is cheating people.
Jṣāna
means knowledge received through disciplic succession from the scriptures, and
vijṣāna
means practical application of such knowledge. Kapila Muni’s Sāṅkhya system of philosophy is based on
jṣāna
and
vijṣāna.