Devanagari
यस्य स्वरूपं कवयो विपश्चितो
गुणेषु दारुष्विव जातवेदसम् ।
मथ्नन्ति मथ्ना मनसा दिदृक्षवो
गूढं क्रियार्थैर्नम ईरितात्मने ॥ ३६ ॥
Verse text
yasya svarūpaṁ kavayo vipaścito
guṇeṣu dāruṣv iva jāta-vedasam
mathnanti mathnā manasā didṛkṣavo
gūḍhaṁ kriyārthair nama īritātmane
Synonyms
yasya
—
whose
;
sva
—
rūpam — form
;
kavayaḥ
—
the greatly learned sages
;
vipaścitaḥ
—
expert in ascertaining the Absolute Truth
;
guṇeṣu
—
in the material manifestation, consisting of the three modes of nature
;
dāruṣu
—
in wood
;
iva
—
like
;
jāta
—
manifested
;
vedasam
—
fire
;
mathnanti
—
stir
;
mathnā
—
with a piece of wood used for producing fire
;
manasā
—
by the mind
;
didṛkṣavaḥ
—
who are inquisitive
;
gūḍham
—
hidden
;
kriyā
—
arthaiḥ — by fruitive activities and their results
;
namaḥ
—
respectful obeisances
;
īrita
—
ātmane — unto the Lord, who is manifested .
Translation
By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Absolute Truth try to see You in everything — even in their own bodies. Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect processes involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as a person churns fire from pieces of wood, learned persons and devotees, desiring to see you, make visible your form which is invisible by performing karma and accepting its results. They do this by concentrating the mind on your name and form. I offer respects to the Lord whose nature has been described.
Learned people (kavayaḥ) and devotees (vipaścitaḥ), by the mind which is like a churning rod, desiring to see your form in your names such as Kṛṣṇa and Rāma and your blackish or green manifestations, make you appear. Just as fire (jāta-vedasam) appears by repeated friction, they make you appear by repeatedly fixing your name and form in their minds. This form remains hidden by performing karma and enjoying its results (kriyārthaiḥ), but can be seen by bhakti, if it is not mixed with karma. I offer respects to the Lord whose nature (ātmane) has been described (īrita), or to the Lord in whom there is effort (ātmane) for his form to manifest.
Or, they churn your form in their senses (guṇeṣu) such as ear and voice using the mind which hears and chants about the Lord’s name, qualities and pastimes. They make the Lord appear by determined practice of hearing and chanting using the mind. The rest of the verse would be interpreted as above.
Purport
The word
kriyārthaiḥ
means “by performing ritualistic ceremonies to satisfy the demigods.” The word
vipaścitaḥ
is explained in the
Taittirīya Upaniṣad
as follows:
satyaṁ jṣānam anantaṁ brahma;
yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ parame vyoman; so ’śnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaściteti.
As Kṛṣṇa states in
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.19)
,
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate:
“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me.” When one understands that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart and actually sees the Lord present everywhere, he has perfect knowledge. The word
jāta-vedaḥ
means “fire which is produced by rubbing wood.” In Vedic times, learned sages could bring forth fire from wood.
Jāta-vedaḥ
also indicates the fire in the stomach, which digests everything we eat and which produces an appetite. The word
gūḍha
is explained in the
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad.
Eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is understood by chanting the Vedic
mantras.
Sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntar-ātmā:
He is all-pervading, and He is within the heart of living entities.
Karmādhyakṣaḥ sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ:
He witnesses all activities of the living entity.
Sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaś ca:
The Supreme Lord is the witness as well as the living force, yet He is transcendental to all material qualities.