Devanagari
नमस्तुभ्यं भगवते वासुदेवाय वेधसे ।
सर्वभूताधिवासाय शान्ताय बृहते नम: ॥ २९ ॥
Verse text
namas tubhyaṁ bhagavate
vāsudevāya vedhase
sarva-bhūtādhivāsāya
śāntāya bṛhate namaḥ
Synonyms
namaḥ
—
I offer my respectful obeisances
;
tubhyam
—
unto You
;
bhagavate
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
vāsudevāya
—
Lord Vāsudeva
;
vedhase
—
the creator of everything
;
sarva
—
bhūta — adhivāsāya — present everywhere (within the heart of every living entity and within the atom also)
;
śāntāya
—
peaceful, as if completely inactive
;
bṛhate
—
the greatest of all
;
namaḥ
—
I offer my respectful obeisances .
Translation
O Lord Vāsudeva, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the creator of the entire cosmic manifestation. You live as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart and are smaller than the smallest, yet You are greater than the greatest and are all-pervading. You appear completely silent, having nothing to do, but this is due to Your all-pervading nature and Your fullness in all opulences. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I offer respects to you, the supreme Lord Vāsudeva, residing in all living entities. I offer respects to the great Lord who is peaceful.
“By what practice does one absorb the mind in Kṛṣṇa?” One does this by offering respects, by meditation and chanting. When Ambarīṣa was the emperor of the seven islands, it is understood that Yayāti was the ruler of Bhārata-varṣa. [Note: SB 9.18.46 describes Yayāti as the ruler of the seven islands. This must mean seven varṣas out of nine belonging to Bhārata-varṣa. Simultaneously Ambarīśa ruled the seven islands made by the seven oceans. ] Ambarīṣa is the eighth in the following line: Brahmā, Marīci, Kaśyapa, Vivasvān, Śrāddhadeva, Naghava, Nābhāga and Ambarīṣa. Yayāti was eighth in the following line: Brahmā, Atri, Candra, Budha, Purūrava, Āyu, Nahuṣa and Yayāti. Because of the influence of Ambarīṣa, Yayāti, who was absorbed in material enjoyment, developed great devotion. Because of Yayāti’s association, Devayānī also developed great devotion. When the dynasty from the sun and moon begin simultaneously and when the emperors of the sun dynasty rule the seven islands, the kings of the moon dynasty rule Bhārata-varṣa. When the members of the moon dynasty become emperors of the seven islands, then the members of the sun dynasty become the kings of Bhārata-varṣa. This is how the sovereignty of the dynasties of the sun and moon operate.
Thus ends the commentary on the Nineteenth Chapter of the Ninth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
Chapter Twenty
Puru’s Descendents: Śakuntalā
Purport
How Devayānī became self-realized by the grace of her great husband, Mahārāja Yayāti, is described here. Describing such realization is another way of performing the
bhakti
process.
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
“Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.” (
Bhāg.
7.5.23)
Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam,
hearing and chanting, are especially important. By hearing from her husband about the greatness of Lord Vāsudeva, Devayānī certainly became convinced and surrendered herself unto the lotus feet of the Lord (
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
). This is knowledge.
Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate.
Surrender to Vāsudeva is the result of hearing about Him for many, many births. As soon as one surrenders unto Vāsudeva, one is liberated immediately. Because of her association with her great husband, Mahārāja Yayāti, Devayānī became purified, adopted the means of
bhakti-yoga,
and thus became liberated.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “King Yayāti Achieves Liberation.”