Devanagari
एवं विमृश्य सुधियो भगवत्यनन्ते
सर्वात्मना विदधते खलु भावयोगम् ।
ते मे न दण्डमर्हन्त्यथ यद्यमीषां
स्यात् पातकं तदपि हन्त्युरुगायवाद: ॥ २६ ॥
Verse text
evaṁ vimṛśya sudhiyo bhagavaty anante
sarvātmanā vidadhate khalu bhāva-yogam
te me na daṇḍam arhanty atha yady amīṣāṁ
syāt pātakaṁ tad api hanty urugāya-vādaḥ
Synonyms
evam
—
thus
;
vimṛśya
—
considering
;
su
—
dhiyaḥ — those whose intelligence is sharp
;
bhagavati
—
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
anante
—
the unlimited
;
sarva
—
ātmanā — with all their heart and soul
;
vidadhate
—
take to
;
khalu
—
indeed
;
bhāva
—
yogam — the process of devotional service
;
te
—
such persons
;
me
—
my
;
na
—
not
;
daṇḍam
—
punishment
;
arhanti
—
deserve
;
atha
—
therefore
;
yadi
—
if
;
amīṣām
—
of them
;
syāt
—
there is
;
pātakam
—
some sinful activity
;
tat
—
that
;
api
—
also
;
hanti
—
destroys
;
urugāya
—
vādaḥ — the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Lord .
Translation
Considering all these points, therefore, intelligent men decide to solve all problems by adopting the devotional service of chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is situated in everyone’s heart and who is a mine of all auspicious qualities. Such persons are not within my jurisdiction for punishment. Generally they never commit sinful activities, but even if by mistake or because of bewilderment or illusion they sometimes commit sinful acts, they are protected from sinful reactions because they always chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Considering in this way, the intelligent people accept bhakti-yoga to the infinite Lord with their whole mind. They cannot be punished by me. If they happen to commit sin, chanting the Lord’s name destroys that sin.
Brahmā has said:
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko 'pi ciraṁ vicinvan
My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know you, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years. SB 10.14.29
Thus, the knowers of scripture do not know the truth about the Lord, but those who do not know scripture, by obtaining the mercy of the Lord and becoming purified in intelligence, developing discrimination, worship the Lord. Such persons worship the Lord with all their minds (sarvaṭmanā), not for the purpose of performing daily or occasional rites, not even occupying one part of his mind with these ideas. They are not to be punished for avoiding performance of daily or occasional rites of karma-yoga. If by accident they commit some forbidden act, kīrtana (vādaḥ) destroys the sin.
Purport
In this regard Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes the following verse from the prayers of Lord Brahmā (
Bhāg.
10.14.29
):
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan
The purport is that even though one is a very learned scholar of the Vedic
śāstras,
he may be completely unaware of the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His name, fame, qualities and so forth, whereas one who is not a great scholar can understand the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he somehow or other becomes a pure devotee of the Lord by engaging in devotional service. Therefore this verse spoken by Yamarāja says,
evaṁ vimṛśya sudhiyo bhagavati:
those who engage in the loving service of the Lord become
sudhiyaḥ,
intelligent, but this is not so of a Vedic scholar who does not understand Kṛṣṇa’s name, fame and qualities. A pure devotee is one whose intelligence is clear; he is truly thoughtful because he engages in the service of the Lord — not as a matter of show, but with love, with his mind, words and body. Nondevotees may make a show of religion, but it is not very effective because although they ostentatiously attend a temple or church, they are thinking of something else. Such persons are neglecting their religious duty and are punishable by Yamarāja. But a devotee who commits sinful acts, which he may do unwillingly or accidentally because of his former habits, is excused. That is the value of the
saṅkīrtana
movement.