Showing posts with label Sankaradeva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sankaradeva. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

The Glory of the Supreme Illuminator ("Vastu prakāśa," Nāma Ghoṣā 371-75)

 bastu-prakāśa


harināma rase, baikuṇṭha prakāśe
prema-am
tara nadī .

śrīmanta śakare, pāra bhāi dilā

bahe brahmāṇḍaka bhedi .. 371

gowindara prema, amtara nadī

bahe baikuṇṭhara parā .

cāri puruārtha, tāhāra nijharā

harināma mūla dhārā .. 372

haribhakti dāna, diā jagataka

tārilā sasāra sindhu .

henaa kpālu, śakara bināi

nāhi nāhi āra bandhu .. 373

hari bhakatira, pātilanta hāa

śakare jagata juri .

rāmanāma ratna, behāā jagate

calaa baikuṇṭha purī .. 374

śrīmanta śakara, hari bhakatara

jānā yena kalpataru .

tāhānta bināa, nā-i nā-i nā-i

āmāra parama guru .. 375


The Glory of the Supreme Illuminator


The nectar-flavored joy emanating from the Dispeller of Suffering’s glories forms in Nescienceless City

a river of nectarine love.

Sankara, endowed with the Lord’s evolutive power, has broken its embankments

and it now flows down, piercing the entire creation. 371

The river of nectar-love, of the Chief of Sensory Receptors,

flows down from Vaikuntha.

The four purposes of human life—they are its waterfalls;

Hari’s glory is the principal stream. 372

Giving the gift of pure devotion to Hari, he has enabled

the entire world to cross the ocean of births and deaths.

Apart from such a compassionate Sankara,

we do not have any other friend. 373

Sankara has established, all throughout the world,

the market of Hari-bhakti.

Doing trade in the gem of Rama nama, the entire world

now goes to the city of Vaikuntha. 374

Srimanta Sankara is the wish-fulfilling    tree, know,

of the pure devotees of Hari.

Apart from him, we have no other, no other, no other (shelter);

he is our supreme illuminator. 375


[Translation done on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Śaṅkaradeva (05-10-2022).]

Friday, August 17, 2018

Sankaradeva’s Anadi Patana : The Plan of the Earth

Text Followed: Śrīmadbhāgavata, edited and published by Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva Saṅgha, P. 56.

কহিবো নৃপতি সৃষ্টি লীলা কথা পাছে .
শুনা যেনমতে বসুমতী ৰহি আছে ..
পৃথিৱীৰ অধে সাত পাতালৰ তলে .
ব্ৰহ্মাণ্ডক বেঢ়িয়া কেৱলে আছে জলে .. ১৭ ..


kahibo nṛpati sṛṣṭi līlā kathā pāche .
śunā yenamate basumatī rahi āche ..
pṛthivīra adhe sāta pātālara tale .
brahmāṇḍaka beḍhiẏā kevale āche jale .. 17 ..

I now proceed to tell, O king, the facts pertaining to the Lord’s playful activity of creation.

How this earth is situated, please listen carefully to it. 
Below the earth, deep to even the seven subterranean depths, 
this universe is bounded solely by water. 17

কূৰ্ম্মৰূপে হৰি আছা জলৰ উপৰে .
পঞ্চাশ কোটি প্ৰহৰ বহল কলেৱৰে ..
কূৰ্ম্মৰ উপৰে সৰ্পৰূপে ভগৱন্ত .
হাজাৰেক ফণা সমে আছন্ত অনন্ত .. ১৮ ..

kūrmmarūpe hari āchā jalara upare .
pañcāśa koṭi prahara bahala kalevare ..
kūrmmara upare sarparūpe bhagavanta .
hājāreka phaṇā same āchanta ananta .. 18 ..
 

Manifesting as the great tortoise, The Remover of Suffering,
in a body spanning 50 crores of “great-distances,” is present above these waters.
Above kurma, the Lord of All Opulence exists in the form of the great snake—
Ananta, the Infinite One, with his thousands of hoods. 18


সূৰ্য্য সম জ্বলৈ মহা ফণী মণি যত .
শৃঙ্গে সমন্বিতে যেন ধৱল পৰ্ব্বত ..
তাৰ আঠ ফণা আঠ দিশে গৈল বহি .
আছে আঠ দিগ্‌গজ উপৰে তাৰ ৰহি .. ১৯ ..

sūryya sama jbalai mahā phaṇī maṇi yata .
śṛṅge samanbite yena dhavala parbbata ..
tāra āṭha phaṇā āṭha diśe gaila bahi .
āche āṭha dig–gaja upare tāra rahi .. 19 ..

The great hood-gems, they sparkle with the intensity of the sun—
a white mountain, as it were, with its great cliffs!
His eight hoods have gone in all the eight directions
and the eight “direction-elephants” are perched atop them! 19
 

দ্বাদশ হাজাৰ প্ৰহৰৰ পন্থ কায় .
দেৱাসুৰ নাগগণে জপন্ত সদায় ..
বলৰ দৰ্পত আতি মহালীলা কৰি .
আঠো আঠ পৰ্ব্বত পিঠিত আছে ধৰি .. ২০ ..
 

dbādaśa hājāra praharara pantha kāẏa .
devāsura nāgagaṇe japanta sadāẏa ..
balara darpata āti mahālīlā kari .
āṭho āṭha parbbata piṭhita āche dhari .. 20 ..

With bodies spanning 12, 000 “great-distances,”
they are the object of veneration for the devas, the asuras and the tribe of snakes (nagas).
In arrogance deriving from strength, doing great sports, 

these eight, again, are holding eight mountains on their backs! 20
 

পৰ্ব্বতৰ উপৰত সসাগৰা মহী .
যেন চাঙ্গখান আলগতে আছে ৰহি ..
যি দিশৰ দিগ্‌গজ লৰাৱে নিজ কায় .
সি দিশৰ পৰা জানা ভূমিকম্প যায় .. ২১ ..
 

parbbatara uparata sasāgarā mahī .
yena cāṅgakhāna ālagate āche rahi..
yi diśara dig–gaja larāve nija kāẏa .
si diśara parā jānā bhūmikampa yāẏa .. 21 ..

And, (finally), atop the mountain, is situated the earth together with her oceans— 

like a raised platform maintaining its distance from the ground! 
From whichever direction an elephant moves its own body, 
from that quarter, know, an earthquake emanates! 21

যেতিক্ষণে তোলৈ হামি কচ্ছপ অনন্তে .
সাতোখান মেৰু মহী মন্দৰ পৰ্য্যন্তে ..
সাগৰ সহিতে সৱে কৰৈ টলবল .
দেখিয়ো কৄষ্ণৰ ইটো যোগমায়াবল .. ২২ ..

yetikṣaṇe tolai hāmi kacchapa anante .
sātokhāna meru mahī mandara paryyante ..
sāgara sahite save karai ṭalabala .
dekhiẏo kṝṣṇara iṭo yogamāẏābala .. 22 ..

At whichever instant either Ananta or the tortoise raises a yawn,
the seven Merus, the earth, all the way up to Mt. Mandara,
along with the oceans—all experience tremulation!
Witness this marvelous life-sustaining material prowess of Krsna! 22

Friday, April 29, 2016

The Revelation of Truth (bastu prakāśa): A Translation of a Passage from the Nama Ghosa



bastu prakāśa

parama amūlya ratna, harira nāmara peā
ā
ti gupta sbarūpe āchila .
lokaka k
pāe hari, śakara sbarūpe āsi
muda bh
āgi samastake dila .. 100
harin
āma premarasa, amta nidhika bāndhi
gupta kari thaila dewaga
e .
da
ālu śakare pāi, tuli muda bhāgi dilā
sukhe pāna kare sarbbajane .. 101
harin
āma gupta bhaila, manuyata pūjā raila
buli ra
ga kare dewa sarbba .
hena harin
āma dharmma, śakare bidita kari
c
ūra kailā dewatāra garbba .. 102

The Revelation of Truth (bastu prakāśa)

The chest containing the supremely precious gem of Hari’s name
was kept in extremely secret form.
Out of compassion (
kpā) for the people of this world, The Remover of Affliction, coming in Sankara’s form,
broke the lid and gave to all. 100
The treasure of the nectarine juice of Love of God (
prema rasa) was locked up and
kept secretly by the
devas.
The kind (
daālu) Sankara, finding it, brought it up and broke the seal;
all people now drink in happiness. 101
“The path of pure devotion (
harināma) has become secret; our sacerdotalism (pūjā) has remained in man’s midst;”
so saying, all the
devas do celebration.
By propagating such a religion (
dharmma) of Hari Nama, Sankara
has smashed into pieces the pride of the
devas. 102

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Sankaradeva’s Philosophy: A Bare Introduction



Sankaradeva’s philosophy is a very real philosophy. By ‘real’ we mean that, here, neither the world is figmental nor is the embodied personality, a mere emergent phenomenon. Both are real. But, there is discussion on the nature of this reality—specifically on what constitutes the essential nature of the entities (tattva) known as unconscious (jada) and conscious (caitanya).  The entities of the jada category are found to be wholly material; the caitanya is purely spiritual. And this difference between them is critical. It determines worship in Sankaradeva. 

There is a search for the supreme entity. This entity is Isvara (God, the Lord). He is caitanya. He is termed as the supreme truth (satya). He is pure personality (purusa). The living beings (jiva) are also, in truth, pure personalities. They are entities in their own right, only they are not the supreme entity. The jivas, it may be mentioned here, although subject to affective influences, have a lot of free will and they can put this free will to whatever use they want. In fact, one of the main reasons behind the troubles of the jiva is that he puts his free will to bad use.  

It is only God, the supreme entity, who is the cause of the world. ‘World’ here refers to the entire material creation and not merely the earth (or even the universe). Perhaps ‘cosmos’ would be a better word than ‘world’ to serve as the analog for the jagat of the text which is also conceptualized as some sort of a ‘cosmic egg’ or, in more literal terms, ‘the egg formed by the supreme spirit’ (brahmanda). We have elaborate passages in the Bhagavata, particularly in the third book—and these are taken up for rendering by Sankaradeva and his community of renderers—, dealing specifically with the creation of this ‘cosmic egg.’ There is a process of material evolution there which would surely appear interesting to the members of the scientific community. What makes the study of this process more exciting is that it seems to have striking microcosmic, i.e. embryological, linkages. 

God is the initiator of this process of material evolution that rolls out to make the creation. The aim of this study is to make the learner aware of the nature of his surrounding reality—both internal as well as external. It is to awaken in him the realization that it is only the entities of the unconscious, jada category that are subject to this evolution and that, being spiritual, he is not subject to such an evolution at all. This paves the way for pure devotion to God, the head of the spiritual family. Naturally, one has to stop emulating the material units and take charge of the microcosm as a spiritual personality.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Translation of the Third Chapter of the Bhagavata of Sankaradeva Entitled Anadi Patana (Cosmogenesis): The Tale of the Great Material Dissolution


|| মহাপ্ৰলয়ৰ কথা ||

কহিলো তোহ্মাত পৃথিৱীৰ স্থিতি কথা |
মহা প্ৰলয়ৰ আৱে শুনিয়ো ব্যৱস্থা ||
যেৱে গৈল এক শত বৰিষ ব্ৰহ্মাৰ |
ৰুদ্ৰৰূপে কৰে হৰে জগত সংহাৰ || ২৩ ||
অধে ঊৰ্দ্ধে শৰীৰৰ নেদেখি প্ৰমাণ |
ভ্ৰুকূটি কূটিল মুখ দেখি হৰে প্ৰাণ ||
আউল জাউল জটা জুট হাতত ত্ৰিশূল |
ঘোৰ মূৰ্ত্তি ধৰি কৰে প্ৰজাক নিৰ্ম্মূল || ২৪ ||
কিলকিল কৰি হাসৈ নৰ মুণ্ডমালী |
পৰ্ব্বতৰ শৃঙ্গ যেন দন্ত দুই পালি ||
সহস্ৰ সহস্ৰ প্ৰজা মুখে ধৰি ডাটি |
মৰমৰি মুণ্ড চোবাৱন্ত দান্তে আতি || ২৫ ||
জঙ্কাৰন্ত মাথা স্বৰ্গবাসী যায় দূৰ |
চৰণৰ প্ৰহাৰে পৰ্ব্বত হোৱে চূৰ ||
ঘোৰ ৰিঙ্গ দিয়া দিগ্‌গজক খোঞ্চা মাৰি |
উপৰক তুলি নচুৱান্ত ত্ৰিপুৰাৰি || ২৬ ||
ৰুধিৰে দিগিধ দেহা কৰি ঘোৰ ধ্বনি |
তিনি গোটা চক্ষু যেন জ্বলন্ত অগনি ||
তেজে ঘোৰ আটাস নিৰ্ঘাত বজ্ৰ পৰে |
স্বৰ্গ-মৰ্ত্ত্য পাতাল একত্ৰ হুয়া লৰে || ২৭ ||
জগত সংহৰে হৰে পৰম বিক্ৰম |
অন্তকৰো অন্তক যমৰো মহাযম ||
এহিমতে ৰুদ্ৰে যেৱে প্ৰজা সংহাৰয় |
শুনা আৰো যেনমতে মিলিলা প্ৰলয় || ২৮ ||
বাহ্ৰয় বৰিষ মানে ভৈলা অনাবৃষ্টি |
নুপজয় শস্য নষ্ট হোৱে প্ৰজা সৃষ্টি ||
বাহ্ৰ গোটা সূৰ্য্যে তাপ কৰে একেবাৰে |
বহয় শোষক বায়ু হৃদয় বিদাৰে || ২৯ ||
সাগৰকো শুষিলা সূৰ্য্যৰ ৰশ্মিজালে |
জগত প্ৰলয় যায় গ্ৰসি আসে কালে ||
বায়ু সূৰ্য্যে নিশক্ত কৰিলা যেৱে ৰাজ |
অনন্তৰ মুখৰ অগনি হোৱে বাজ || ৩০ ||
হাজাৰেক মুখে বিষ বহ্নি বাজ হুই |
পাতালকো দহিয়া উৰ্দ্ধক উধাই জুই ||
সাতো পৃথিৱীত বহ্নি লাগিলেক চানি |
পোৰৈ সাতো স্বৰ্গ যেন তুলাত অগনি || ৩১ ||
ব্ৰ্হ্মাণ্ডক দহিলেক বাহিৰে ভিতৰে |
তপত লোহাৰ যেন দেখি নিৰন্তৰে ||
ৰক্তবৰ্ণ ব্ৰহ্মাণ্ড বহ্নিৰ পায়া চোট |
দেখি যেন দগধ গোময় পিণ্ড গোট || ৩২ ||
জগতক দহি যেৱে বহ্নি ভৈল শান্ত |
বাহ্ৰয় বৰিষ মেঘে বৰিষে একান্ত ||
দোৰ্ঘোৰ শৱদে পৰৈ চৌপাশে নিৰ্ঘাত |
মেঘৰ গৰ্জ্জনে ঘনে ঘনে বজ্ৰপাত || ৩৩ ||
বৰিষয় শিলাসৱ পৰ্ব্বত আকাৰ |
কৰৈ মহা প্ৰলয় প্ৰাণীৰ ক্ষয়ঙ্কাৰ ||
প্ৰমত্ত হস্তীৰ শুণ্ডে যেন ধাৰা জল |
অৱিচ্ছেদে পৰি চৰাচৰে গৈলা তল || ৩৪ ||
দশোদিশ পুৰি জল ঊৰ্দ্ধক ঊধাইল |
ব্ৰহ্মাণ্ড গোটক গৈয়া ক্ষণেকে বুড়াইল ||
অগনিৰ দাহে চূৰ্ণীকৃত ভৈল অণ্ড |
জলতে মিসাইলা ইটো মহামহীখণ্ড || ৩৫ ||
অগনিত পৰি জল সমস্তে শুখাইল |
বায়ুত পশিয়া পাচে বহ্নিয়ো লুকাইল ||
মহা বায়ু লীন গৈল মহা আকাশত |
আকাশো পশিল অহঙ্কাৰৰ গৰ্ভত || ৩৬ ||
মহত্ত্বত লীন গৈল মহা অহঙ্কাৰ |
মহত্ত্ব পশিলা প্ৰকৃতিত পুনৰ্ব্বাৰ ||
মহাপ্ৰকৃতিয়ো পুৰুষতে গৈলা লীন |
নথাকিল আন একো পুৰুষত ভিন || ৩৭ ||
নাহি জল নাহি স্থল নাহিকে আকাশ |
নাহি মহা বায়ু মহা সূৰ্য়্যৰ প্ৰকাশ ||
নাহি শীত উষ্ণ ঋতু নাহি ৰাত্ৰি দিন |
সমস্তে সংসাৰ গৈল ঈশ্বৰতে লীন || ৩৮ ||
প্ৰকৃতিৰো ঈশ্বৰ পুৰুষ স্বতন্তৰ |
নাহি যিটো ব্ৰহ্মৰ বাহিৰ অভ্যন্তৰ ||
জগতৰ জীৱ উদৰতে দিয়া বাস |
কেৱলে ঈশ্বৰ কৃষ্ণ কৰন্ত প্ৰকাশ || ৩৯ ||
অনাদি ঈশ্বৰ যিটো ব্ৰহ্ম নিৰঞ্জন |
জ্ঞানময় আনন্দ যে সত্য সনাতন ||
নয়ন কমল মুদি যোগ নিদ্ৰা ছলে |
আপুনাকে চিন্তি মাত্ৰ আছন্ত কেৱলে || ৪০ ||

The Tale of the Great Material Dissolution

I have told you about how the earth is staying.
Now listen to the plan of ultimate material dissolution (mahāpralaya).
When a hundred years of Brahma have passed,
Hara (time), in the form of The Wailer (Rudra), destroys the creation. 23
The upper and lower limits of his body cannot be seen.
His brow is contracted in anger; seeing his face, one’s vital-air is removed.
Extremely disarranged is his matted hair; he has a trident in hand.
Holding a form most dreadful, he annihilates the subjects. 24
The human-heads strung together on his neck in the manner of a garland—they let out the most frightening rippling laughter.
The two rows of his teeth are like the mountain-peaks.
Holding thousands and thousands of subjects very firmly in his mouth,
he chews on their heads with his teeth, making a crackling sound. 25
When he shakes his head, the denizens of heaven are displaced;
by the blows of his feet, mountains are smashed.
With a terrible sadistic roar, he pierces the elephants of the quarters
and, holding them aloft, he tosses them into the air, the slayer of demon Tripura. 26
His entire body is besmeared with blood; he makes a terrible sound.
His three eyes are like blazing infernos.
His terrible violent laughter causes fierce thunderbolts to fall.
Heaven, earth and netherworld—the people of all three realms flee all at once. 27
With supreme valor, Hara destroys the creation.
The terminator of all terminators, the great death even of Yama.
In this manner, when Rudra annihilates the subjects,
listen further, to how the great dissolution arrives. 28
There occurs drought—twelve long years go without rain.
Crops do not grow; the production of the subjects is ruined.
Twelve suns, as it were, scorch the earth simultaneously.
The moisture-sucking winds blow, searing the heart. 29
The great web of sunrays sucks even the oceans dry.
The creation goes to its doom; kala—great time—devours.
With the entire kingdom thus enfeebled by the actions of the sun and the wind,
the fire of Ananta’s mouth begins to emerge. 30
The poison-fire, emanating from his thousand mouths,
burns up even the netherworld to a cinder; the fire then leaps upwards.
All the seven earths catch fire from all sides.
All seven heavens burn like ginned cotton on fire. 31
From both within and outside, the cosmos (brahmāṇḍa) is burnt to a cinder.
It resembles, all throughout, iron, red-hot.
The blood-red colored cosmos, receiving the blow of this great fire,
looks like a roundish lump of burnt cowdung. 32
When, after burning the creation, the fire has become quiet,
for twelve years, then, the clouds shower rain uninterruptedly.
With very dreadful sounds, shafts of lightning fall on all sides.
Clouds rumble and roar; very frequently, lightning strikes. 33
Stones of the size of mountains shower down.
They cause the supreme material destruction, the annihilation of all creatures.
Like the wild elephants’ trunks are the incessant jets of water.
Falling continuously, they submerge the entire creation. 34
Inundating the ten directions, the waters rose to higher levels.
In an instant, they went and sank the entire cosmos.
By the heat of fire, the cosmic-egg had become pulverized.
This great earth-fragment had dissolved in the waters. 35
Falling into the fire, now, all the water dried up.
Entering into the wind, subsequently, the great-fire too disappeared.
The great-wind merged back into the great-sky.
The sky also entered into the womb of ahamkara. 36
Into mahat tattva, great ahamkara got merged.
The mahat tattva—the first created substance—entered once again into unmanifested primal-matter (prakṛti).
Great prakrti also merged back into the supreme pure-personality (puruṣa).
Apart from purusa, there did not remain any other entity. 37
There is no water, no earth, no sky;
there is no great-wind, no great-sun’s light.
There is no winter and summer season, no day and night.
The entire creation has merged back into the Lord. 38
That supreme purusa who is the only independent entity—who is the lord even of prakrti.
That supreme spirit (brahma) which has got no interior or exterior.
Giving residence to all the personalities of the creation in his belly,
solely, Lord Krsna remains, shining. 39
That Lord who is bereft of origin, who is spotlessly pure supreme spiritual personality.
The personality of bliss that is full of knowledge; the eternal, supreme truth;
shutting His lotus-eyes on the pretext of going into yoga nidra, meditative sleep,
contemplating Himself, He remains solely. 40

Eka Sarana : The Most Perfect Implementation of the Bhagavata

Sankaradeva's religion, in the opinion of this author, is the most perfect implementation of the ideology embodied in the text of the Bh...