Chapter 9: The Digvijayī Humbled

জয় জয় দ্বিজকুল-দীপ গৌরচন্দ্র। জয় জয় ভক্ত-গোষ্ঠী-হৃদয়-আনন্দ ॥ ১ জয় জয় দ্বারপাল-গোবিন্দের নাথ। জীব প্রতি কর' প্রভু শুভ-দৃষ্টি-পাত ॥ ২ জয় অধ্যাপকশিরোরত্ন বিপ্ররাজ। জয় জয় চৈতন্যের শ্রীভক্তসমাজ ॥ ৩ হেনমতে বিদ্যারসে শ্রীবৈকুণ্ঠনাথ। বৈসেন সভার করি বিদ্যা-গর্ব্ব-পাত ॥ ৪ যদ্যপিহ নবদ্বীপ পণ্ডিতসমাজ। কোট্যর্বুদ অধ্যাপক নানা-শাস্ত্র-রাজ ॥ ৫ ভট্টাচার্য্য চক্রবর্তী, মিশ্র বা আচার্য্য। অধ্যাপনা বিনা কারো নাহি কোনো কার্য্য ॥ ৬ যদ্যপিহ সভেই স্বতন্ত্র, সভে জয়ী। শাস্ত্রচর্চা হৈলে ব্রহ্মারেও নাহি সহী ॥ ৭

Translation. Glory, glory to Gauracandra, lamp of the brahmin community! Glory, glory to the very bliss of the devotees' hearts! Glory, glory to Him who is Lord even over Govinda's own gatekeeper — O Prabhu, cast Your auspicious glance upon every soul! Glory to the crest-jewel among teachers, best of brahmins! Glory, glory to Caitanya's own assembly of devotees! Thus does Śrī Vaikuṇṭhanātha sit in the midst of the assembly, tasting the mellow of learning, casting down the pride of scholarship. For although Navadvīpa's community of paṇḍitas numbers tens of millions of teachers, kings each in his own various branch of scripture — Bhaṭṭācāryas, Cakravartīs, Miśras, Ācāryas alike, none of whom has any occupation but teaching — and although every one of them is self-reliant, dependent on no one, and victorious in debate, such that even Brahmā himself would not dare enter scriptural contest with them, [Gauracandra alone sits above them all].

Explanation. Dvija-kula-dīpa — "lamp of the twice-born community": Gauracandra is here likened to a lamp illuminating the whole community of brahmins. (A variant reading has candra, "moon," in place of dīpa, "lamp.") Bhakta-goṣṭhī-hṛdaya-ānanda — He is Himself the very embodiment of the joy that fills the hearts of His devotees.

Dvārapāla-govindera nātha — "Lord even of Govinda's own gatekeeper": this epithet, identifying Gauracandra as one whose authority reaches even the guardian of Govinda's own threshold, is discussed more fully in the parallel commentary of Chapter 1 (payar 1.72); the purport is that Gauracandra is no subordinate manifestation but the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha's own doorkeeper — that is, Svayaṁ Bhagavān Himself, superior to every office and every servant within the transcendental abode.

Śrī-vaikuṇṭhanātha — "the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha": the master of the abodes of Godhead that lie beyond māyā; Svayaṁ Bhagavān Gauracandra Himself (see the commentary on Chapter 1, payar 1.109). Vidyā-garva-pāta — the casting down, the toppling, of the pride of learning.

Nānā-śāstra-rāja — just as a king brings his subjects under his sway, so those who, through the study of manifold scriptures, have gained the power to captivate an audience, or have become resplendent with learning, are so called — that is, expert in a variety of scriptures. (Variant readings give nānā-śāstra-jāta, "possessed of the scholarship born of studying manifold scriptures," and nānā-śāstra-sāja, "adorned with the splendor that is such scholarship.")

Svatantra — independent: reliant on no one else's aid in any matter of scripture. Jayī — victorious: one who defeats other paṇḍitas in scriptural debate (a variant reads sarva-jayī, "victorious over all"). The point of payar 7 is this: so accomplished are Navadvīpa's paṇḍitas that not even Brahmā, were he to enter scriptural discussion with them, could bear to withstand them — such is their collective mastery. And yet, in the very midst of this assembly of the mighty, it is Gauracandra, tasting the mellow of learning, who sits enthroned above them all, quietly bringing every scholar's pride to nothing.

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The Lord's tasting of the mellow of scholarly discourse (vidyā-rasa). The arrival at Navadvīpa of a supremely powerful digvijayī paṇḍita — a "world-conquering scholar." The anxiety and fear that seizes Navadvīpa's own paṇḍitas at his arrival, dreading the loss of Navadvīpa's honor. The defeat, at the Lord's hands, of that boon-son of Sarasvatī, the digvijayī. The Lord's lavish praise — spoken before His own disciples, even after having defeated him — of the digvijayī's scholarship and poetic genius. The digvijayī's sorrowful petition at Sarasvatī's feet, and Sarasvatī's revelation to him, in a dream, of the truth of the Lord's essential identity, together with her instruction that he take shelter at the Lord's feet. The digvijayī's taking of refuge there; the Lord's mercy upon him; and, as the fruit of that mercy, the digvijayī's renunciation of worldly life and his complete dedication of himself to the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

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V.8–9. Mahāprabhu was ceaselessly given, in those days, to ākṣepa — pointed criticism of other scholars' pretensions to learning — and this criticism reached the paṇḍitas themselves, teacher repeating it to teacher. Yet, however constantly they heard the Lord's strictures against them, not a single one among them ever found the will, or the courage, to answer Him back.

V.10–11. Such dread does the mere sight of the Lord inspire that everyone who beholds Him instinctively submits, as if by nature, becoming as it were His subject. If Mahāprabhu so much as addresses anyone directly, that person feels himself the most fortunate of servants.

V.12. Everyone who dwelt along the banks of the Ganges at Navadvīpa knew well, even from His earliest childhood, the extraordinary sharpness of Mahāprabhu's scholarly intellect.

V.13–14. This awe lives on in the innermost heart of everyone who beholds Him; by a kind of natural instinct, dread arises at the very sight of the Lord, and everyone accordingly submits to Him.

V.15–17. And yet — such is the pride born of māyā — no one is able to fathom this dread's true cause. If the Lord Himself does not choose to make His identity known, no one ever comes to know Him; He remains eternally gracious and full of joy toward all, while all remain, again and again, bewildered by His illusory potency.

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V.18. Thus, having bewildered everyone with His own play, Gauracandra continued to sport at Navadvīpa in the mellow of learning.

V.19. At that time there arrived, from elsewhere, a certain supremely renowned mahā-digvijayī — a paṇḍita of such fame as a "conqueror of the four directions" that no earlier Vaiṣṇava text so much as records his name. According to the Bhakti-ratnākara, he was named Keśava Bhaṭṭa, or Keśava Kāśmīrī, a native of Kashmir. He arrived swollen with the utmost pride.

V.20–21. He was a devoted worshipper of the Sarasvatī-mantra, and by repeating that mantra he had brought the goddess Sarasvatī herself under his control. Sarasvatī, it should be understood, is herself the very embodied form of devotion to Viṣṇu (viṣṇu-bhakti-svarūpiṇī); she resides at Viṣṇu's breast; and, viewed under a different aspect, this same universal mother is Ramā, or Lakṣmī.

V.22. By great fortune, the goddess appeared before this brahmin in visible form and granted him a boon — "You shall become tribhuvana-digvijayī, conqueror of the three worlds!" — and at a single glance from her, one attains devotion to Viṣṇu.

V.23. [At this a doubt may be raised:] what power, exactly, does becoming a "digvijayī" display? The boon of world-conquest is not, in itself, proof of the goddess's true mercy — it is at most a distant reflection, a mere trace, of her actual grace, whose real fruit is devotion to Viṣṇu.

V.24–28. Having received this boon directly from Sarasvatī, the brahmin roamed from place to place as a conqueror of the world, every scripture perpetually at the tip of his tongue, so that no one anywhere could give him a fitting answer, and no one could even follow the full extent of his arguments. Wherever he went he proclaimed himself digvijayī. In time he heard of Navadvīpa's greatness — of the boundless community of scholars gathered there — and, having in this way conquered many lands, richly endowed with wealth, horses, and elephants, he made his way, after defeating every assembly he encountered, to Navadvīpa itself.

Explanation on these verses. No older Vaiṣṇava work names this digvijayī; the Bhakti-ratnākara's identification of him with Keśava Bhaṭṭa (Keśava Kāśmīrī) is the only tradition available. On the nature of Sarasvatī: she is the embodied form of viṣṇu-bhakti itself, residing eternally at Viṣṇu's breast as His most beloved, and under a different aspect she is that same universal mother appearing as Ramā (Lakṣmī) — she who, as Lakṣmī, dwells at Viṣṇu's chest. On the boon itself: the granting of "world-conquest" is not, by itself, a mark of the goddess's deepest mercy — the deepest mercy is the awakening of devotion, and the boon of digvijaya is only the faintest outward gleam of that mercy, not its substance. Having thus received his boon, the digvijayī toured the land, defeating renowned paṇḍitas everywhere and carrying off, as his prize, wealth and elephants and horses; and when at last he heard how many celebrated scholars had gathered at Navadvīpa, he resolved to defeat them too, and arrived there with his full retinue of riches and animals.

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V.29–30. In every house, in every assembly of paṇḍitas throughout Nadīyā, a great commotion arose: "Having conquered every kingdom and every land, and taken from each a written certificate of victory, a digvijayī has come to Navadvīpa!"

V.31–34. Hearing that this was "Sarasvatī's own boon-son," the whole community of paṇḍitas fell into deep anxiety. "Among all the paṇḍitas anywhere upon Jambudvīpa, Navadvīpa alone is renowned throughout the world as having defeated every rival center of learning. Now this digvijayī has come to conquer that very place! If we let this happen, we shall hear our own disgrace proclaimed throughout the world for the rest of our lives! Who among us has the strength to contend with him? Sarasvatī herself speaks through his tongue — what mere mortal could ever debate him?"

V.35–37. Thousands upon thousands of great, learned Bhaṭṭācāryas, abandoning every other occupation, could think of nothing else. On every side an uproar arose: "Now we shall see just how much learning each of us truly possesses!"

V.38–40. All these events the payar-singers report as follows: [certain disciples] went and told their own guru, Gaurāṅga, everything: "A digvijayī has brought Sarasvatī under his sway; he goes about everywhere in triumph, bearing his certificates of victory, together with elephants, horses, palanquins, and a great retinue. He has now arrived and taken up residence at Navadvīpa."

Explanation. Jayapatra — "certificate of victory": when, in scriptural debate, one paṇḍita defeats another, he customarily receives from the defeated party a written document attesting to his victory; such a document is called a jayapatra. Jambudvīpa — this earth is said to consist of seven concentric islands (dvīpas): Jambu, Plakṣa, Śālmali, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka, and Puṣkara (Bhāgavata 5.1.32); Jambudvīpa, of which India is a part, is one of these seven, and is understood, in effect, as this visible portion of the earth. Among all the renowned centers of learning upon Jambudvīpa, Navadvīpa was famed throughout the world as pre-eminent above every other.

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V.41–42. [Every paṇḍita of Navadvīpa] now looked upon the digvijayī as his own rival, seeking to test himself against him, and each was already asking him for a written certificate of victory before any contest had even begun. Hearing His disciples speak in this anxious vein, Gauramaṇi began to smile, and spoke to them the following words of truth.

V.43–44. "Listen, brothers! I tell you this truth: pride, in any form, is never something that God tolerates. Whatever quality it is that intoxicates a person into pride, it is by that very quality that God brings about his destruction.

V.45. A tree laden with fruit, and a person genuinely endowed with virtue, are marked, without exception, by humility as their very nature.

V.46–47. Haihaya, Nahuṣa, Vena, Naraka, Rāvaṇa — every great mahā-digvijayī of whom you have ever heard — examine them well: was there ever one whose pride was not, in the end, shattered? God never tolerates arrogance.

V.48. Therefore, whatever pride of learning this brahmin now carries, you will see it too, here and now, utterly destroyed." So saying, Prabhu, laughing, went with all His disciples in the evening, in a mood of sport, to the bank of the Ganges.

Explanation. Haihaya — Kārtavīryārjuna, lord of Māhiṣmatīpura; having received a boon from Dattātreya he became thousand-armed and grew exceedingly proud, and was in the end slain at the hands of Paraśurāma. Nahuṣa — the father of King Yayāti, who, upon attaining the post of Indra, became exceedingly proud, and was afterward cursed by the great sage Agastya to take birth as a serpent. Vena — son of the royal sage Aṅga and father of King Pṛthu; grown arrogant, he committed much violence against living beings, and was in the end slain by the brahmins. (A variant reading gives Bāṇa or Bali in place of Vena.) Naraka — Narakāsura, born of the earth by Varāha-rūpa Viṣṇu; grown proud, he inflicted endless calamity upon the world's inhabitants, and was in the end slain by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Rāvaṇa — lord of Laṅkā, exceedingly proud and tyrannical, slain at the hands of Śrī Rāmacandra. Mahā-digvijayī — Haihaya and the rest were each, in their own spheres, "great conquerors of the world," and there have been others like them besides.

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V.49–52. Touching the water of the Ganges and offering it obeisance, Gaurāṅga Śrī Hari sat down on the bank of the river, His many disciples gathered round Him in a great circle, most beautifully arranged on every side. There, amid endless delightful talk of dharma and scripture, Prabhu sat contentedly on the Ganges bank.

V.53. Revealing His thoughts to no one, He mused within Himself: "By what means shall I defeat this digvijayī?"

V.54–57. "This brahmin's pride has grown very great — he believes there is no rival to himself anywhere in the world. If I defeat him in open assembly, he will feel, for the rest of his life, as good as dead within the world of men; everyone will hold him cheap, everyone will heap scorn upon him, he will lose everything, and he may die of the very grief of that public defeat. Let me rather cause him no such pain — let me defeat this digvijayī in private, in solitude, where his pride may be broken without his suffering that humiliation before others."

Explanation. In these verses (54–57) the author records the content of Mahāprabhu's private deliberation. That He would be able to defeat the digvijayī without the slightest effort, Prabhu never doubted for a moment; His only concern was how and where He might defeat him such that people would never learn of the digvijayī's defeat, and the digvijayī himself would not have to feel, before others, the grief of public humiliation. In this the Lord teaches the world that it is never proper to dishonor a respected person in front of others — even one whom it is necessary to correct.

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V.58–59. That very night the digvijayī, quite by chance, arrived at that same spot. The night was of an utterly spotless clarity, the full moon shedding its radiance everywhere, and the Ganges lay there in surpassing beauty.

Dhānaśī-rāga song: "Hari!" — crying that name, Gaura dances, arms upraised; with words of tenderness He has bound the mind of the whole world. [Refrain, repeated:] The brāhmaṇa shall suffer no grief — it is only his pride that shall be brought to nothing.

V.60. Duḥkha nā pāiba vipra, garba haiba kṣaya — this second line of the song (with the refrain "jaga-mana bāndhala karuṇa bola bali" repeated after it) completes the Lord's own inward resolve: the brāhmaṇa digvijayī himself will come to no harm or sorrow through this encounter — only his false pride will be destroyed.

V.61–70. There sat the Lord amid His disciples on the Ganges bank, His form — which enchants beings throughout the infinite universes — more captivating than anything else in existence. His moon-like face was forever touched with a smile; His two lotus eyes carried an unwavering, divine gaze; His teeth outshone pearls, His lips were reddish, His whole body tender and full of compassion. Upon His well-formed head was lovely curling hair; His neck was like a lion's, His shoulders like an elephant's — His bearing altogether extraordinary. His body was vast (suprakāṇḍa), His chest beautiful, and across it, in the manner of a sacred thread, Śrī Anantadeva Himself lay resplendent. On His forehead shone a lovely tilaka drawn with sandal-paste, His two beautiful arms hung down to His knees, His cloth was tied in the fashion of a yogapaṭṭa, and He sat with His right foot placed upon His left thigh. Thus was Prabhu engaged in expounding scripture — saying "yes" to this, "no" to that, establishing what was true by proof — while His many disciples, gathered in a great and beautiful circle on every side, sat about Him. Beholding this unprecedented sight, the digvijayī, deeply astonished, thought to himself: "Can this be Nimāñi Paṇḍita?"

Explanation. Siṃha-grīva — having a neck like a lion's. Gaja-skandha — having shoulders like an elephant's. Suprakāṇḍa śrī-vigraha — an exceptionally large, well-formed body. Kavirāja Gosvāmī describes Mahāprabhu in just this way: "His complexion like molten gold, His body immense, His voice deep as a fresh monsoon cloud" (Cc. 1.3.32); and he further specifies what "immense body" means: "one whose body, measured by his own hand-span, comes to four cubits both in height and in the span of his outstretched arms, is called nyagrodha-parimaṇḍala — and Caitanya, treasury of every virtue, has a body of exactly this nyagrodha-parimaṇḍala proportion" (Cc. 1.3.33–34). Such a "vast body," measured by one's own hand, four cubits in height and in the full span of outstretched arms, belongs only to a form of Godhead; an ordinary human body measures only three-and-a-half cubits, or seven spans, by its own hand — and it is recorded that even Brahmā of the present kalpa, himself of the soul-category, has a body of seven spans by his own measure (Bhāgavata 10.14.11). Yajña-sūtra-rūpe — in the form of the sacred thread, Śrī Anantadeva (Śeṣa-nāga) lay resplendent across Prabhu's chest. Yogapaṭṭa-cchande — see the commentary on Chapter 2, payar 7.12 [of the present edition] for the manner of tying this cloth.

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V.71–74. Standing there unnoticed, the digvijayī gazed fixedly, transfixed, at Prabhu's beauty. He asked one of the disciples, "What is His name?" The disciple answered: "This is the one known as Nimāñi Paṇḍita." Then that excellent brahmin bowed to Gaṅgā and came forward into the Lord's assembly.

V.75–77. Seeing him, Prabhu smiled a little. This same digvijayī, who was ordinarily utterly fearless, felt — on beholding Prabhu — an unaccountable dread arise within him. Prabhu, seeing this, bid him sit, treating him with the greatest courtesy. Then, in a spirit of sport, Prabhu began to question him about various matters.

Explanation. Parama-niḥśaṅka, digvijayī āra — he was a man of the utmost fearlessness, and, moreover, a digvijayī — such a person could ordinarily have no reason to fear anyone. Yet even he felt sādhvasa (dread, hesitation) on seeing Prabhu. This wonder is illustrated: "when one sees a rod, does one's arm ever rise [against it]?" — that is, it never does. The point: if a person, having no rod or weapon of his own, sees his rival advancing upon him with a raised staff, he does not raise his own arm to ward off the blow — he simply feels fear, and the will to contend departs from him. Just so, beholding Prabhu's natural, inherent power, the digvijayī's will to debate Him vanished, and dread arose in its place. Such is the svabhāva-śakti — the very nature-born potency — of Īśvara: this is simply how it is, wherever He is present.

V.78–90. The brahmin swiftly began his recitation. Who could measure the manifold splendor of his words? It was as if a hundred storm-clouds thundered at once, so grave and thunderous was the cadence of his poetry. Sarasvatī herself was enthroned upon his tongue — whatever he spoke stood as unassailable proof; what human power could ever find fault with it, since no one anywhere could even follow such profound learning? The Lord's many thousands of disciples were struck speechless, hearing his recitation, and cried out, "Rāma! Rāma! How astonishing! Could a mere human ever produce such utterance?" Every marvel of word-ornamentation that exists in the world was there in his poetry, and nothing beyond it remained even to be described. Even those most deeply versed in every branch of scripture found his diction difficult even to follow, let alone equal. In this way the digvijayī went on reciting, swiftly and without pause, for the better part of an hour, and still showed no sign of finishing. When at last he paused for breath, Śrī Gaurasundara, smiling, spoke.

Explanation. Druta — rapidly, without pause, unceasingly, and with great forcefulness and pride. Kavirāja Gosvāmī records the same episode: "Hearing this, the brahmin began, in his pride, to recite; within the space of an hour he recited a hundred verses in praise of the Ganges" (Cc. 1.16.34). Atyanta-pramāṇa — beyond dispute, unimpeachable, flawless. Śabda — a science treating of the manifold meanings of words. The digvijayī employed such words that even paṇḍitas most expert in semantics found them difficult to fathom.

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V.91–93. "Whatever meaning you intended in choosing your words, no one can grasp it unless you yourself explain it. So kindly give the exposition yourself — whatever meaning you assign to each word will stand as the authoritative proof of what you meant." Hearing Prabhu's utterly captivating words, the excellent brahmin began to expound his own verses.

V.94–99. No sooner had he begun the exposition than Prabhu, at that very moment, found fault with it in three places — the beginning, the middle, and the end. "All these," Prabhu said, "are mere śabdālaṅkāras [figures of sound] — and to establish, according to the canons of scripture, that they are used correctly here, is exceedingly difficult, well nigh impossible. What, then, was the intention with which you employed them? Tell me." So said Gaurāṅga Śrī Hari. Now this great digvijayī, this very boon-son of Sarasvatī, found no resolution whatever coming to him; his intelligence had utterly deserted him. He offered this reply and that, but could produce no satisfying answer; and whatever he did say, Gaurasundara found fault with it. All his brilliance had fled — to where, no one could say. The brahmin himself no longer understood what he was saying, let alone anyone else.

Explanation. Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura tells us only that there was fault in the digvijayī's exposition, without specifying what the faults were or on what scriptural authority Prabhu based His judgment. Kavirāja Gosvāmī, narrating the same episode at greater length in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, both names the specific faults in the digvijayī's verse and cites the very rules of poetics by which Mahāprabhu exposed them. Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura's account is not devoid of merit — the digvijayī's verse did possess genuine merits as well as faults — but Vṛndāvana Dāsa did not dwell on the merits; Kavirāja Gosvāmī records them too, and Kavirāja Gosvāmī himself acknowledges that he is expanding what Vṛndāvana Dāsa left only briefly sketched: "Thus did Prabhu accomplish the digvijayī's defeat. Vṛndāvana Dāsa has told this story in brief; he did not bring out clearly the analysis of fault and merit. I offer obeisance to him for the portion he has told. Hearing this, the digvijayī judged himself accursed" (Cc. 1.16.23–25).

Kavirāja Gosvāmī records that among the many verses the digvijayī had composed in praise of the Ganges, it was one particular verse that became the subject of scrutiny. That verse ran (reconstructed from the garbled source): mahad idam ābhāti sattataṁ nitarāṁ yad eṣā śrī-viṣṇoś caraṇa-kamalotpatti-subhagā, dvitīya-śrī-lakṣmīr iva sura-narair arcya-caraṇā bhavānī-bhartuḥ śirasi vibhavaty adbhuta-guṇā — "How this [Ganges] shines forth, forever and exceedingly wondrous, she who has her auspicious origin in the lotus feet of Śrī Viṣṇu; like a second Śrī Lakṣmī, her feet worshipped by gods and men alike, she abides, of astonishing glory, upon the very head of Bhavānī's Lord [Śiva]."

Reciting this verse, Prabhu said to the digvijayī: "Tell me — what merit or fault does this verse hold?" The digvijayī answered: "There is no trace of fault in it — only the merit of simile (upamālaṅkāra) and a touch of alliteration." Prabhu said: "Let me say something — please do not be angry. Tell me what fault exists in this verse of yours. Your poetic genius is the fruit of your deity's favor; examined carefully, both merit and fault can be discerned. So set that pride aside, and examine the verse yourself." The poet replied: "Whatever I have spoken is the very essence of the Vedas. You are but a grammarian — you have not studied the science of rhetoric. What could you possibly know of the essence of poetic art?" Prabhu then said: "That is exactly why I ask you — kindly examine it and explain its merits and faults to me. I myself have not studied rhetoric; I have only heard it discussed here and there. And yet, even so, I find in this verse many faults as well as merits." Hearing this, the poet said: "Then tell me — what merit, what fault?" Prabhu replied: "I will name the merits — please, do not be angry. This verse contains five faults, and five ornaments. I shall explain them one by one; listen, and judge for yourself" (Cc. 1.16.42–51). Thereafter Prabhu showed, at length, exactly what those five faults and five figures of poetic merit were (see Cc. 1.16.52–77 and its commentary for the full analysis). At the end Prabhu said: "These are, in brief, the five faults and the five ornaments — examine further, and you will find still more besides. Your poetic genius is the gift of your deity's favor; yet examine it carefully, and it will certainly fall to the charge of fault. Poetry composed with proper discernment becomes wholly flawless; adorned with true ornament, its meaning shines resplendent." Hearing Prabhu's exposition, the digvijayī was astonished; no word would issue from his mouth, his very genius stood stunned; he wished to say something, but no answer came to him (Cc. 1.16.78–82).

A question may be raised here. Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura had earlier said (payars 75–76) that the mere sight of Prabhu had, by His own influence, produced sādhvasa — dread — in the digvijayī's heart, such that he had no courage even to argue with Him as a rival. And yet, from Kavirāja Gosvāmī's account quoted above, we learn that the digvijayī mocked Prabhu, calling Him a mere "grammarian" and the like. What is the purport of this? The answer is this: it is true that the digvijayī felt fear, and it is equally true that this fear left him without the courage to debate Prabhu directly. But his pride had not yet been dissolved. That pride still lived in him is proven by his very words: "there is no trace of fault in the verse — rather it has merit." That, even while afraid at the sight of Prabhu, he yet found the boldness to voice his own arrogance here, was itself a wondrous device of Sarasvatī's grace. It was precisely in order to shatter his pride, and thereby open for him the opportunity to attain Prabhu's mercy, that Sarasvatī displayed this particular grace-device (kṛpā-bhaṅgī): first she let his pride and his mockery of Prabhu come out through his own mouth, thereby exposing the true extent of his pride; and afterward, by clouding his intelligence and rendering him incapable of answering Prabhu's questions, she shattered that very pride. Later, when the grief-stricken digvijayī, after offering prayers of praise to Sarasvatī, fell asleep, the goddess mercifully revealed to him the real truth and instructed him to take shelter at Prabhu's feet (see payars 118–148 below).

A further question may arise. Prabhu had earlier resolved (see payars 53–57 above) that He would not defeat the digvijayī in front of others, but would break his pride in private. And yet here He exposes the many faults in the digvijayī's verse, and silences him, in the very presence of His own disciples — publicly displaying the digvijayī's defeat. What, then, is the purport of this? The purport is this: whatever a person says, however great his learning or genius, if any fault exists in it, it is proper to point that fault out, however unwelcome the correction may be. "That advice is beneficial there which is truly for one's good, even though it be utterly unpleasant" (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.13.44). It was for this reason — so that the digvijayī might never again commit such faults, and would always weigh his words and figures of speech with proper discernment — that Prabhu pointed out the flaws in his verse; He did so entirely for the digvijayī's own benefit. And even while pointing out these faults, Prabhu displayed not the slightest arrogance or haughtiness. When the digvijayī had said to Him, "You are but a grammarian — you have not studied rhetoric; what could you know of the essence of poetic art?" — Prabhu showed no offense whatever; He answered simply, "I have not studied rhetoric; I have only heard it discussed" — and only then, quite naturally, went on to name the digvijayī's faults.

A related question may still be asked: since Prabhu could just as well have shown the faults in private, why did He instead expose them before His disciples, thereby demonstrating the digvijayī's inferiority to them? The answer is this: Prabhu's disciples, dazzled by the digvijayī's fluent recitation, had been utterly captivated by him (see payars 85–88 above); they had no idea that any fault existed in his words at all. It was entirely fitting, for their own benefit and to dispel their delusion, that Prabhu should show them the faults in his very presence. But did they not then come to regard the digvijayī as inferior — and did not Prabhu thereby diminish the digvijayī's honor in their eyes? The answer is this: seeing the digvijayī's defeat, Prabhu's disciples indeed made ready to laugh — but Prabhu forbade every one of them from doing so (see payars 109–110 below). Nor did Prabhu stop merely at forbidding their laughter: in order to awaken in His disciples' hearts a feeling of reverence and honor toward the digvijayī, He lavishly praised, in their very presence, the glory of his poetic genius, and, at the same time, expressed His own humility. "Then all the disciples began to laugh; Prabhu forbade them, and spoke to the poet: 'You are a great paṇḍita, crest-jewel among great poets; from whose mouth issues such wondrous poetic speech! Your poetic power is like the very current of the Ganges — nowhere do I see a poet equal to you. Bhavabhūti, Jayadeva, and Kālidāsa — even their poetry shows the presence of fault. This discernment of merit and fault I hold to be a small thing; it is the power to compose poetry that I truly esteem. Do not hold against me the mere restlessness of childhood. I am not equal to your own disciples. Go home today, and tomorrow we shall meet again; I shall hear from your own mouth a discourse on scripture'" (Cc. 1.16.92–98). After hearing these words of Prabhu, no trace of contempt for the digvijayī could remain in the hearts of His disciples; their hearts filled instead with reverence and honor toward him.

But how could a verse of Sarasvatī's own boon-son come to contain any fault at all? Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura himself answers this question through the mouth of Sarasvatī (see payars 130–132 below). Kavirāja Gosvāmī, too, writes: "In truth, it was Sarasvatī herself who caused him to compose an impure verse; at the very moment of scrutiny she veiled his intelligence" (Cc. 1.16.91). As already explained above, this was itself one of Sarasvatī's own gracious devices toward the digvijayī.

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V.100–101. Prabhu said: "Let that be — recite something else for us." But the digvijayī found that even the power to recite anything at all had left him. What wonder is there, after all, in his being so overwhelmed in Prabhu's presence? — even the Vedas themselves grow bewildered in the presence of the One before whom he now stood.

V.102–103. Anantadeva himself, four-faced Brahmā, and five-faced Śiva — by whose very glance the infinite universes come into being — even they grow bewildered in the presence of that same One. What wonder, then, is this brahmin's bewilderment before Prabhu?

V.104. Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and every other form of yogamāyā — even their mere shadow bewilders the infinite universes.

V.105. They too grow bewildered in His presence; and it is for this very reason that they remain forever behind Him, never directly before Him.

V.106. Even the compilers of the Veda [Vyāsa and the rest] become bewildered in His presence — what wonder, then, is the digvijayī's bewilderment before Him?

V.107. For a mere human being, such feats [of bewildering the Vedas, Ananta, Brahmā, Śiva, and Lakṣmī-Sarasvatī] are certainly impossible — hence I say, His deeds are of the very greatest order.

V.108. In essence: whatever deeds the Lord performs, He performs all of them for the deliverance of souls suffering the pain of worldly bondage.

Explanation. Unable to draw any answer from the digvijayī regarding the Ganges verse, and seeing his grief, Prabhu, wishing to turn his mind elsewhere, told him to leave that subject and recite something else — but the digvijayī found that even his capacity to do so had vanished. What wonder is there in this? — the point is made through an a fortiori argument: if even the Vedas grow bewildered in His presence, what wonder that a mere paṇḍita should?

Ananta, Catur-mukha, Pañcānana — Anantadeva, four-faced Brahmā, and five-faced Śiva — figures by whose very glance the infinite universes come into being, and yet who themselves grow bewildered in the presence of "yāra," of Gaura; for Śrī Gaura is, in essential nature, none other than Parabrahman Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, and hence everyone without exception grows bewildered in His presence. Śruti declares of Parabrahman: "He alone is the controller [of all]" (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.12) — He alone brings everyone else under His sway; by His own influence — the influence of His inconceivable potency, form, qualities, and sweetness — everyone is enchanted and rendered subject to Him. The thousand-mouthed Anantadeva, enchanted and made subject by Parabrahman Śrī Kṛṣṇa's qualities and sweetness, forever sings His glories. Brahmā, enchanted and made subject by His inconceivable potency, performs the work of creation at His command, and Hara (Śiva) performs the work of universal destruction; Brahmā himself has said as much: "I create at His appointment, and Hara destroys at His will" (Bhāgavata 2.6.32). The Bhāgavata itself narrates, in the episode of Brahmā's own bewilderment (Brahma-vimohana-līlā), how thoroughly Brahmā was enchanted by Kṛṣṇa's inconceivable potency. And Śrī Śiva, enchanted by the very sweetness of the Lord's name, chants the name of Rāma and takes boundless delight in it — as he himself has told the goddess Bhagavatī: "Rāma, Rāma, Rāma — I delight, O fair-faced one, in Rāma, enchanter of the mind; the name of Rāma equals [Viṣṇu's own] thousand names" (Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa 72.335). And the Kaṭha Upaniṣad declares Parabrahman to be "the ruler of all that has been and all that shall be" (2.1.13) — the ruler (īśāna) of all beings across the three times. It is by bewildering everyone through His own potency that He governs all; and even those who never behold Him directly are, nonetheless, bewildered by Him and made to act in submission to Him. What wonder, then, can there be that those who do stand in His very presence should be overcome by that same bewilderment?

Yogamāyā — Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own spiritual potency (cit-śakti): "yogamāyā is cit-śakti, the transformation of pure goodness" (Cc. 2.21.85). In his Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī commentary on Bhāgavata 10.29.1, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī glosses "yogamāyā" as "the supreme, inconceivable potency" — another name for the very same cit-śakti, since, being inseparable from His own essential nature, it is also called svarūpa-śakti. The eternal associates who inhabit the Lord's various transcendental abodes are themselves the embodied forms of this cit-śakti or svarūpa-śakti. Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī, too, are the Lord's eternal associates, and are therefore likewise embodied forms of yogamāyā, of cit-śakti, of svarūpa-śakti — hence it is said: "Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and however many other forms yogamāyā, or svarūpa-śakti, assumes." "Their shadow" — the shadow of Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and the rest. Here the external, material māyā is called the "shadow" of "Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and the rest" — that is, of yogamāyā or cit-śakti. External māyā is the outward, external portion of yogamāyā or cit-śakti — just as a snake's shed skin, though discarded, remains in truth a part of the snake himself. Like yogamāyā, external māyā too possesses a bewildering power; but where yogamāyā bewitches the Lord's own eternal associates [into ever more intimate loving service], external māyā, material in form yet empowered by the Lord's own potency, bewitches instead the outward-facing (bahirmukha) conditioned souls.

Since Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and the rest are the embodied forms of yogamāyā, and since their very shadow — external māyā — bewilders the infinite universes and their outward-facing inhabitants, one can hardly measure how great their own bewitching power must be. And yet even they, upon coming into the presence of Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Gaura-Kṛṣṇa) Himself, grow bewildered; for this very reason they never remain directly before Him, but always stay behind Him, rendering Him service from that position.

Veda-kartā — the compilers of the Veda, Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa and others (a variant reading gives "Śeṣa," the thousand-mouthed Anantadeva, in place of "sarva"). What wonder is there, then, that the digvijayī should grow bewildered in His presence?

E-saba kārya — the bewildering even of so great a paṇḍita as the digvijayī. Dṛḍha — firm, certain. E sakala karma baḍa — such deeds [of bewildering even the Vedas, Ananta, Brahmā, Śiva, and Lakṣmī-Sarasvatī] are of the very highest order; for since He, as Parabrahman, is Himself the greatest of all realities, His deeds too are correspondingly the greatest — unsurpassed and without equal.

Mūle yata kichu, ityādi — the essential point is this: whatever deeds Īśvara Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Gaurachandra performs, He performs them all for the deliverance of souls afflicted by the suffering of material existence. It is by the influence of māyā alone that a soul suffers this worldly misery: it was under māyā's influence that the digvijayī, cultivating false identification with the body, felt pride in his worldly learning and poetic genius, and that very pride only tightened his bondage to māyā all the more. It was for his deliverance that Prabhu produced this bewilderment in him, and thereby caused him to speak the flawed words discussed above (see the commentary on payar 99 above).

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V.109–110. As the digvijayī thus fell into open defeat, the disciples grew eager to laugh — but Prabhu restrained every one of them, and spoke sweet words to the brahmin instead.

V.111–112. "Go today to your lodging, and rest well; tomorrow we shall discuss all of this together with you. You too have grown weary from so much recitation, and much of the night has already passed — go and lie down."

V.113–117. Such is Prabhu's gentle way: even one whom He defeats never feels grief on that account. Of all the teachers there in Navadvīpa, He never fails, even after defeating them, to console and please every one of them afterward: "Go home today; sit with your books; tomorrow, when I question you, be ready with your answer." Even in victory He never breaks anyone's spirit — such is His playful nature that everyone comes away from Him only with affection. It is for this very reason that every paṇḍita in Navadvīpa holds Prabhu so dear in his heart.

V.118–119. Prabhu then returned home with His disciples, while the digvijayī remained behind, his heart filled with deep shame. Grieving, he pondered within himself: "Sarasvatī herself granted me her boon —"

Explanation. The disciples' laughter (payar 109) was the laughter of mockery: this was, after all, a digvijayī of such towering pride that he had believed no paṇḍita anywhere in the world was fit even to debate him — and now, seeing him defeated at Prabhu's hands, the disciples could not contain their amusement. Prabhu forbade them all from laughing (see the commentary on payar 99 above), and, in order to dispel the contempt that had arisen in His disciples' hearts toward the digvijayī, spoke to him these tender words recorded in the following payars.

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V.120–121. "— among all who are accomplished in Nyāya, Sāṅkhya, Pātañjala [Yoga], Mīmāṃsā, Vaiśeṣika, and Vedānta, I have never once, anywhere in this world, encountered anyone even capable of debating me, let alone of defeating me.

V.122–124. And yet a brahmin who teaches mere grammar to children has defeated me — such, it seems, is the working of providence! Sarasvatī's own boon now appears to have failed — and this has thrown my mind into the gravest doubt. Or has some fault of mine arisen against the goddess herself? Is that why my very genius has faltered and failed me?

V.125. This very night, without fail, I shall discover the cause." So saying, the brahmin sat down to repeat his mantra.

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V.126–129. Having repeated his mantra, the sorrowing brahmin lay down and fell asleep. In his dream Sarasvatī appeared before him, casting her merciful glance upon that fortunate brahmin, and began to speak a most secret truth: "Listen, excellent brahmin! I shall now make known to you what even the Veda keeps hidden — but if you reveal a word of this to anyone, your life will, without fail, be cut short at once.

V.130–131. He at whose hands you have suffered defeat is, most certainly, the Lord of infinite universes. I am His eternal handmaiden at His lotus feet — and yet, even so, I feel ashamed to stand before Him face to face."

In proof of this statement, a verse of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata is quoted — Brahmā's own words addressed to Nārada:

বিলজ্জমানয়া যস্য স্থাতুমীক্ষাপথেঽমুয়া। বিমোহিতা বিকত্থন্তে মমাহমিতি দুর্ধিয়ঃ ॥

Translation. Those of confused intellect, bewildered by that very [māyā] which is herself ashamed even to stand within the path of His glance, boast — "this is mine," "I am this." [I, Brahmā, offer my obeisance unto that very Bhagavān Vāsudeva.] (Bhāgavata 2.9.2, following immediately upon Brahmā's preceding declaration to Nārada: "I meditate upon and offer obeisance unto that Bhagavān Vāsudeva, whom people, bewildered by His unconquerable māyā, call the world's own guru.")

Explanation. Since it is said, in the verse immediately preceding this one, that people are bewildered by the Lord's own unconquerable māyā and thereby come to call Brahmā himself "the guru of the universe," it is clearly understood that the "her," who feels ashamed even to stand within Bhagavān Vāsudeva's line of sight, is that very māyā — the Lord's own external potency, of the nature of inert matter, composed of the three guṇas. Why does she feel this shame? Śrīdhara Svāmī writes in his commentary: "Thinking, 'He knows my deceitfulness,' she feels ashamed to remain within His sight." Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, in his Krama-sandarbha, writes: "Because she is constituted of tamas and the other guṇas she is inherently flawed, whereas He, being of the nature of a mass of sat-cid-ānanda, is flawless — and it is this recognition that makes her ashamed to come within His sight." Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī, in his Sārārtha-darśinī, writes: "Thinking, 'He knows my deceitfulness,' she — like an unfaithful wife — feels ashamed to stand before His gaze; that is, she remains, as it were, at His back. Here 'facing away from Him' should be understood as His 'back' — for it is only where one turns away from Vāsudeva that her power operates; in the presence of Vāsudeva she has no power at all." It is by the influence of this external māyā, in her bewitching power, that the soul who turns away from God nurtures the false identification of self with body, considers the body's comforts to be "mine," and, intoxicated by the body's beauty and qualities and by an abundance of pleasurable possessions, boasts of himself.

However this may be, let us consider, with the help of the commentaries quoted above, exactly what māyā's "deceitfulness" consists in. Cakravartī-pāda compares māyā to an unfaithful wife. It is the very nature (dharma) of a wife to please her husband through sincerity, and to serve him directly, with her whole heart, body and mind surrendered. One who does not do this, but instead renders that same service to another man, cannot in truth be said to possess the nature of a wife — she cannot in truth even be called a "wife." Her wifehood is a sham; for even while abandoning the service of her own husband to serve another man, she still presents herself as her husband's wife, using that very identity as a cover to conceal her own corruption. Such a woman is the unfaithful wife, and the root of her deceit lies in the fault of her own corruption. Māyā, too, possesses just such a deceitfulness. She is, in her essential nature, Bhagavān Vāsudeva's own potency, and the one and only duty of a potency is to render its possessor loving service directly. Since māyā is Bhagavān Vāsudeva's own potency, her duty too should be to serve Vāsudeva alone, pleasing His heart through direct, loving service. But māyā does not do this. Instead of rendering Bhagavān Vāsudeva such service, she employs her own bewitching power to serve those souls of confused intellect who have turned away from Him — becoming, for their sake, an object of sense-enjoyment that satisfies their senses, transforming herself into their very object of enjoyment, and thereby pleasing them. Māyā is thus exactly like the unfaithful wife: without rendering the service that is her own essential nature — service to Vāsudeva — and rendering service instead to those who have turned away from Vāsudeva, she nonetheless continues to present herself as His potency. The root of this deceitfulness lies in her own flawed, guṇa-constituted nature — "because she is constituted of tamas and the rest, she is inherently flawed" (Śrī Jīva). In truth, precisely because māyā, opposed to spirit, is constituted of the three material guṇas, she can never touch Bhagavān Vāsudeva, who is a mass of sat-cid-ānanda; māyā encircles only the external world. "This entire [universe] is, indeed, encircled by māyā; māyā does not touch the Self — hence it is said that [the universe] is externally encircled by māyā" (Nṛsiṁha-pūrva-tāpanī Upaniṣad 5.1).

Now, as to why Sarasvatī quotes this particular Bhāgavata verse: she has just said, "I am His eternal handmaiden at His lotus feet," and, in the very same breath, "yet I feel ashamed to come before Him face to face" — and it is this second statement, not the first, that the Bhāgavata verse supports. The point may be put this way. Sarasvatī speaks here with the underlying premise that Bhagavān Vāsudeva of the Bhāgavata verse and "the Lord of infinite universes," Gauracandra, at whose hands the digvijayī has been defeated, are one and the same essential reality; she declares herself His eternal handmaiden at His lotus feet, and, in that same breath, His seeing her face to face something she feels ashamed of. Now, one who is His eternal handmaiden, who serves Him always in the very presence of His lotus feet, could hardly have reason to feel shame at standing before Him, or to raise a question about being absent from His presence — how, indeed, could such a one be His "eternal handmaiden" without ever being present before Him? And yet the māyā described in the Bhāgavata verse is so deeply ashamed that she can never even come within the path of His glance, remaining always out in the external world, among those who have turned away from Vāsudeva. This is why it was said above that the Bhāgavata verse supports not the first half of Sarasvatī's statement, but the second.

One might then ask: if Sarasvatī truly is His eternal handmaiden at His lotus feet, why does she also say she feels shame at coming before Him, and cite this very verse in support? The answer lies in what has already been explained above (payar 104): Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and the rest are yogamāyā, or cit-śakti itself, and their shadow — external māyā — bewilders the infinite universe. From this we learn that Sarasvatī, being the untouched, spiritual embodiment of cit-śakti, finds it in no way impossible to remain, as a handmaiden, at Gauracandra's lotus feet in direct service — indeed, this is her very own essential duty. But her shadow, the material, three-guṇa-constituted māyā, cannot come even within the range of the sat-cid-ānanda Gauracandra's glance; her domain is the infinite universe alone. Even though māyā cannot approach Gauracandra directly, she nonetheless, while remaining within the illusory external world, continues to serve Him there — a service of obedience to His command, a service that consists of guarding the illusory wealth of that external world. "Beneath that [transcendental sky] lies her own abode, beyond the Virajā river, holding the infinite universes, its countless chambers; it is called the abode of the goddess (Devī-dhāma), where the conditioned souls dwell, and there māyā, guarding the goddess of that world, abides as its servant" (Cc. 2.21.38–39). Thus, in this very payar, Sarasvatī has made known that both as Sarasvatī and as her own shadow, the goddess Māyā, she is Gauracandra's servant: as Sarasvatī, she serves Him directly, present at His lotus feet; as Māyā, though she cannot come near His lotus feet, she serves Him from within the external world by carrying out His command. In this way Sarasvatī informed the digvijayī that in whatever form, and in whatever place, she may abide, she is, at all times and everywhere, Gauracandra's servant — and it is precisely to convey this truth that she quotes the Bhāgavata verse.

There is a further point worth noting about her shame. Even as the embodied form of cit-śakti, as Sarasvatī, she feels a certain shame in relation to Gauracandra, just as she does in her form as external māyā — but the nature of this shame is not the same in both cases. Māyā's shame is rooted in fear born of her own fault; Sarasvatī's shame is mingled with love. This love-mingled shame is, in truth, a kind of tender hesitation (saṅkoca) — the very hesitation a devoted wife feels, enchanted by her husband's qualities and wholly devoted to him, who neither wishes for her husband's real defeat nor would ever argue against him so as to defeat him in fact, nor would ever lend support to any real rival of his. Just so, out of sheer enchantment with Gauracandra's own qualities, Sarasvatī feels this same hesitation or shame — as her own words in the next payar bear out.

V.132–135. "It is I, brahmin, who have all this while spoken through your very tongue — but in His presence I find no power left in me to speak at all. What, indeed, is this to me? — even the Lord Śeṣa-deva, who expounds the Veda with a thousand tongues, whom Brahmā, Śiva, and the rest themselves worship — even that Śeṣa grows bewildered in whose very presence! He is Parabrahman: eternal, pure, undivided, imperishable; and though utterly complete and infinite, He dwells, ever whole, within the heart of every being.

Explanation. Āmi se boliye — "It is I who spoke," Sarasvatī tells the digvijayī: it was she who spoke through his tongue [in composing his verses], but in Gauracandra's presence she found no power to speak at all — see, in this connection, the discussion of shame at the end of the preceding sloka-commentary. Ajā-bhava-ādi — Brahmā, Śiva, and the rest, who worship Anantadeva. Śrī Gaurachandra is Parabrahman: eternal (trikāla-satya), pure (eternally untouched by māyā), undivided (all-pervading, infinite, whole — incapable, unlike a stone chipped from a quarry, of being broken into fragments), and imperishable (undiminishing, unfallen). Paripūrṇa hai, baise sabhāra hṛdaya — though utterly complete, or infinite, He nonetheless dwells within the heart of every being as the indwelling Paramātmā. The heart is an exceedingly tiny space; one who is complete or infinite could not, ordinarily, be contained within so small a space — yet Śrī Gaurachandra, though Parabrahman, the infinite reality itself, remains, through the power of His inconceivable potency, wholly complete even while residing as Paramātmā within the soul's tiny heart. He is "smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest" (śruti); through His inconceivable potency He becomes, though "greater than the greatest" — that is, of the very largest magnitude — smaller even than an atom, and yet, even when smaller than an atom, remains still the very largest of all realities; for supreme magnitude, or completeness, or infinitude, is His own essential attribute, and the essential attribute of a thing never departs from it. It is not that He dwells within the heart of a soul as some fragment chipped away, like a piece cut from a stone — for He is "undivided," incapable of being divided at all. One who is complete, or infinite, has, by definition, no "outside"; and one with no "outside" cannot be split apart the way a piece of stone can, for a stone can be broken only because it has an outside, only because there exists space beyond it — but since there is no space beyond Him, His division is altogether impossible.

V.136–137. "Devotion, knowledge, learning, whatever is auspicious or inauspicious — how much of this shall I explain to you? Hear: it is from Him that all forms of dissolution proceed — and that very Lord you have beheld directly, in the form of a brahmin.

Explanation. These two verses declare that devotion, knowledge, and the like, as well as creation, maintenance, and dissolution, all proceed from Gaurachandra alone. It is by Gaurachandra's mercy alone that devotion, transcendental knowledge (or, equally, worldly knowledge), and learning (both the higher and the lower learning) can arise in the heart. Auspicious and inauspicious deeds, too — the disposition toward good or evil action, arising according to the impressions left by one's fructifying karma — occur only by Gaurachandra's own prompting. Beginning with the Brahma-sūtra "kartā śāstrārthavattvāt" (2.3.33) and continuing through several further sūtras on the soul's agency, Vyāsadeva concludes: "[The soul's agency depends] on the Supreme [Parabrahman]; for that is what the scripture teaches" (2.3.41) — the soul's very capacity to act has Parabrahman as its cause. Śruti too declares: "This very Being causes him whom He wishes to elevate from these worlds to perform good deeds; and this very Being causes him whom He wishes to cast down from these worlds to perform evil deeds" (Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad 3.8). The Gītā likewise says: "Īśvara dwells in the heart of every being, O Arjuna, causing all beings, mounted as though on a machine, to wander about by the power of māyā" (Gītā 18.61). Dṛśyādṛśya — all things, whether within the range of sight or beyond it (a variant reading, duṣyāduṣya, gives instead "whatever is faulty or faultless"). Sakala pralaya — every kind of dissolution. Dissolution is of three kinds: the naimittika or occasional dissolution (Brahmā's dissolution, at the end of each of his days, of the seven Pātālas together with Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, and Svaḥ); the prākṛtika or mahā-dissolution (the destruction of the entire material universe at the completion of Brahmā's hundred-year lifespan); and the ātyantika dissolution, which is not the destruction of the universe or any part of it at all, but the final, complete dissolution of a particular soul's bondage to māyā. (A variant reading gives pravarta, "manifestation" or "origination," in place of pralaya, "dissolution" — in which case the sense is that devotion, knowledge, learning, the auspicious and inauspicious, the seen and the unseen, all take their origin from Gaurachandra.) Vipra-rūpe — in the form of a brahmin [i.e., Gaurachandra Himself] (a variant reading gives viśva-rūpe, "in His universal form"). That the Supreme Brahman Himself has, of His own accord, transformed into this universal form is known from the Brahma-sūtra "ātma-kṛteḥ pariṇāmāt" (1.4.26), supported by the śruti: "That [Brahman] Himself created Himself [as the universe]" (Taittirīya Upaniṣad, Brahmānanda-vallī 7) — yet even while so transformed into the universal form, He remains, by the power of His inconceivable potency, wholly unchanged in Himself: "for it is precisely within the Self that such manifold transformations [without real change] are possible" (Brahma-sūtra 2.1.28).

V.138–143. "All beings, from Brahmā downward, experience pleasure and pain — know, O brahmin, that all of this occurs by His command alone. The Matsya, Kūrma, and every other incarnation you have ever heard of — that very Prabhu is all of them, brahmin; there is no second beside Him. He it is who, as Varāha, established the earth; He it is who, as Nṛsiṁha, protected Prahlāda. He it is who, as Vāmana, was Bali's very life, and from whose toenail the Ganges herself was born. He it is who descended at Ayodhyā and, through boundless pastimes, slew the wicked Rāvaṇa. He it is who is called the son of Vasudeva and of Nanda — and now He has become a brahmin's son, delighting Himself in the mellow of learning.

Explanation. Āvrahmādi — from Brahmā downward. Uhāna ājñāya — by His (Gaurachandra's) own command every soul experiences pleasure and pain in accordance with the fruit of its own actions; it is Parabrahman alone who bestows the fruit of every action: "for the possibility [of such disparate results among souls] follows from [the Lord's dispensation of] the fruit" (Brahma-sūtra 3.2.38). (A variant reading gives "by His own māyā" in place of "by His own command" — meaning, it is by the influence of Gaurachandra's own māyā-potency that beings perform actions bound to fruition, and thereby reap their fruits.) Since Brahmā of the present kalpa belongs to the soul-category, his experience of pleasure and pain is spoken of here as an example. Ei prabhu sarva — this same Prabhu, Gaurachandra, is all of it — Matsya, Kūrma, and every other incarnation or manifestation of Godhead. Dui nāhi āra — there exists no second besides this very Gaurachandra; He is that very reality the śruti proclaims: "One only, without a second." The purport is that Matsya, Kūrma, and the other forms of Godhead are not independent, self-sufficient realities standing apart from Gaurachandra — they are all Gaurachandra's own various manifestations. Varāha — a particular incarnation of the Lord: when the earth once lay submerged beneath the waters of dissolution, He descended and, raising it upon His tusks, restored and established it. Kṣiti-sthāpayitā — the establisher of the earth. Prahlāda-rakṣitā — the protector of Prahlāda; Bhagavān Nṛsiṁhadeva rescued Prahlāda from the torment of Hiraṇyakaśipu.

Bāmana — see the commentary on Chapter 1, payar 1.6.15. Balira jīvana — though Vāmanadeva took everything from Bali by a ruse, He afterward showed him such extraordinary mercy that He is called "Bali's very life" (see Chapter 1, payars 1.6.44–45). Vasudeva-nanda-putra — the son of Vasudeva and also the son of Mahārāja Nanda; that is, this is none other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself.

V.144–148. "Does even the Veda itself know the true nature of His incarnation? Only if He Himself reveals it can anyone know it — otherwise, who could possibly have the power? Whatever mantra of mine you have repeated, becoming digvijayī was never its true fruit. The real fruit of that mantra you have now received: you have beheld, face to face, the Lord of infinite universes. Go quickly, brahmin! Go to His feet, and offer your very body in surrender to Him. Do not take these words for a mere dream — moved by the power of your mantra-japa, I have revealed to you what even the Veda itself keeps concealed."

Explanation. Yata kichu mantra... digvijayi-pada phala nā haya tāhāra — Sarasvatī tells the digvijayī, "Whatever mantra of mine you have repeated, your becoming a digvijayī was never its principal fruit." Ananta-brahmāṇḍa-nātha sākṣāte dekhilā — the true, principal fruit of repeating my mantra is direct vision of Gaurachandra, the Lord of infinite universes — and that fruit you have now obtained. Sarasvatī now gives the digvijayī her final instruction: deha giyā samarpaṇa karaha uhāne — go, and offer your body in surrender at His feet; take shelter of Him in every respect. Svapna-hena nā māniha — do not regard these words as though they were merely a dream. Mantra-vaśe kahilāṅ — bound by the power of your own mantra-repetition [that is, moved by your devotion], I have spoken to you what even the Veda keeps secret or hidden (see the commentary on Chapter 1, payar 1.164).

V.149–150. So saying, Sarasvatī vanished from sight, and the excellent, supremely fortunate brahmin awoke. The very moment he awoke, that excellent brahmin set out, in the earliest hours of dawn, for Prabhu's presence.

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V.151–153. Coming before Prabhu, the brahmin fell prostrate in daṇḍavat; Prabhu, in turn, lifted him up and took him into His embrace. Prabhu said: "Why, brother! What is this behavior?" The brahmin replied: "It is only what Your own gracious glance has caused." Prabhu said: "You, yourself a digvijayī — why, then, do you treat Me this way?"

V.154–159. The digvijayī said: "Listen, O king among brahmins! Simply by worshipping You, every purpose is fulfilled. In this Kali-yuga, in the very form of a brahmin, You are Nārāyaṇa Himself — who has the power to recognize You? Even then, when You questioned me, doubt arose within my mind, and no words at all would come to me. That You, though wholly free of pride, are yet the Lord of all — as the Veda itself declares — I have now seen to be true, and it could never be otherwise. Three times over You defeated me, and yet all the while You preserved my honor — could this be anything but the very power of Godhead? Therefore You are, beyond all doubt, Nārāyaṇa Himself.

V.160–163. "Gauḍa, Tirhut, Delhi, Kāśī, and beyond them Gujarat, Vijayanagara, Kāñcī, and Purī; Helaṅga, Telaṅga, Oḍra, and however many other lands hold any assembly of paṇḍitas anywhere in this world — to find fault with my words is far beyond the power of any of them; there is not one among them even capable of following what I say. Yet I, such as I am, could not settle a single conclusion in Your presence — where, then, did all my learning go?

V.164–168. "This feat of Yours is no wonder at all, for the goddess herself has declared: 'You are the very Lord of Sarasvatī.' It was in a most auspicious hour that I came to Navadvīpa — I have beheld You, though I lay drowning in the well of worldly existence. Bewildered, bound by the desire born of ignorance, I have wandered about, forgetting the truth, cheating myself. By divine fortune I have at last obtained sight of You — now, with Your own auspicious glance, grant me release. To do good to others is Your very nature; beside You there is no other refuge, no one else so compassionate."

Explanation. Sarva-īśa bede kahe — that You are the Lord of all is what the Veda itself declares (a variant reading has "this [Prabhu], all the Vedas declare," in place of "the Veda declares"). Gauḍa — the ancient name of Bengal. Tirota — Tirhut/Mithilā (see the commentary on Chapter 1, payar 1.2.39). Ḍillī — present-day Delhi. Kāśī — the holy place Vārāṇasī. Gujjarāṭa — present-day Gujarat. Vijayanagara and Kāñcī — see the commentary on Chapter 1, payars 1.6.396 and 1.6.319. Purī — Śrī-kṣetra, Nīlācala [Jagannātha Purī]. Heḷaṅga — this place-name is not identified in any source known to this commentary. Teḷaṅga — Tailaṅga, the region stretching from Gañjām, between the Godāvarī and Kṛṣṇā rivers, to Rājamahendrī. Oḍa — Orissa. (A variant of this whole payar reads: "however many assemblies of paṇḍitas exist in the world — I have defeated them all.") Ḍubiyāṅ — though drowning; bhava-kūpe — in the well of material existence. Avidyā-vāsanā-bandhe — bound by desire born of ignorance (māyā). Śaraṇya — worthy of being taken shelter of (a variant reads "there is none other than You").

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V.169–171. "Give me, O great one, such instruction that no evil desire may ever again arise in my heart." Thus, offering many words of humble entreaty, the digvijayī, in the deepest humility, sang his praise. Hearing the brahmin's humble plea, Śrī Gaurasundara, smiling, spoke to him in reply.

V.172–179. "Listen, excellent brahmin, you are truly most fortunate — you, upon whose very tongue Sarasvatī herself resides! To think, 'I shall achieve world-conquest,' is not the true fruit of learning; only when one, having gained learning, worships the Lord, does everyone rightly call it learning. Understand this with full attention: when the soul departs, leaving the body behind, neither wealth nor any deed of valor accompanies it. For this very reason great souls abandon everything and, with firm resolve, dedicate themselves to the Lord's service. Therefore, brahmin, abandon all this entanglement, and go without delay to worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa's feet. For as long as death has not yet come upon you, serve Kṛṣṇa with unwavering resolve. Know this for certain: the true fruit of all learning is only this — that the mind's every inclination should turn toward Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. This is the great instruction I give you: devotion to Viṣṇu alone is the one truth, in this boundless ocean of birth and death."

V.180–182. So saying, Mahāprabhu, well pleased, embraced the brahmin, pressing him close. Receiving the embrace of the very Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, the brahmin was released, that instant, from every bondage. Prabhu said: "Brahmin! Abandon all pride, and go, and worship Kṛṣṇa, showing compassion to every living being.

Explanation. Digvijaya kariba, ityādi — the very notion "I shall achieve world-conquest through learning" is not the real fruit that learning bears. Īśvare bhajile, ityādi — it is only when one, having acquired learning, worships the Lord, that everyone truly calls it learning (see the commentary on Chapter 1, payar 1.8.49). Deha chāḍiyā calile — when the individual soul departs, leaving the body behind — that is, at the time of death. Pauruṣa — wealth, position, and honor won by one's own effort and valor. Dṛḍha-citta (variants: dṛḍha-bhakti, unwavering devotion; kṛṣṇa-citta, "mind fixed single-mindedly on Kṛṣṇa") — with a firm and undivided heart. Cāpiyā — pressing him close to His chest.

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V.183–184. "Whatever Sarasvatī has told you, brahmin — see that you never repeat it to anyone else afterward. To reveal what the Veda itself keeps secret brings the destruction of one's own lifespan, and know for certain that it brings misfortune in the world beyond as well."

V.185–189. Receiving Prabhu's command, that excellent brahmin offered Him repeated prostrate obeisance, worshipping His lotus feet again and again, and, feeling himself supremely blessed and fulfilled, took his leave. By Prabhu's own command, devotion, renunciation, and true realization took up residence, that very instant, in the brahmin's body. Where now had the brahmin's digvijayī-pride gone? He had become humbler than a blade of grass. His elephants, his horses, his palanquins, his wealth, every possession he owned — all of it he distributed among the people.

V.190–191. And the digvijayī departed, utterly unattached, alone — such is Śrī Gaurasundara's own wondrous play. This is simply the natural character of His mercy: whoever receives it abandons even the seat of a king to take up the life of a mendicant.

V.192–194. In this Kali-yuga, the witness of this truth is Śrī Dabīra Khāsa, who abandoned the pleasures of royal office to dwell, in delight, in the forest [of Vṛndāvana]. That very opulence which the world so covets — even when it falls into the hands of a servant of Kṛṣṇa, he casts it aside. The world regards a kingdom and its comforts as "happiness" — but only for as long as it remains ignorant of the glory of the happiness found in devotion.

V.195–197. Let the happiness of a kingdom be set far aside — even the happiness of liberation itself is counted a trifling thing by Kṛṣṇa's own followers; without the Lord's own auspicious glance, nothing at all is truly attained, and it is for this very reason that the Veda enjoins worship of the Lord. Thus did the digvijayī attain liberation — such is the wondrous story of Gaurasundara.

Explanation. Tāhā pāche, ityādi — the purport is: do not reveal to anyone else whatever Sarasvatī has told you. Bhakti — devotion to Kṛṣṇa; virakti — renunciation of worldly life; vijñāna — direct realization: the lived recognition that the fulfillment of human life lies in worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone. Pātrasāt kariyā — distributing among the people (a variant reading for this whole line has: "he gave everything away, distributing it among them all"). Asaṅga — alone, solitary; or, unattached to worldly life. Svābhāvika dharma — his own essential, inherent nature.

Śrī Dabīra Khāsa is none other than Śrīpāda Rūpa Gosvāmī — "Dabīra Khāsa" being the title of his court office, not his given name. He served as private secretary (dabīra khāsa) to Gauḍeśvara Hussain Shah; his elder brother, Śrīpāda Sanātana Gosvāmī, held the still higher office of "Sākara Mallika," or chief minister, under that same Hussain Shah — "Sākara Mallika" too being a court title, not Sanātana's own name. That the dabīra khāsa already bore the name "Rūpa," even before his meeting with Mahāprabhu at Rāmakeli, is known from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta: it was at Rāmakeli that Mahāprabhu and Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana first met. When Prabhu had gone to Rāmakeli: "At midnight the two brothers came into Prabhu's presence. First they met with Nityānanda and Haridāsa; the two of them then informed Prabhu: 'Rūpa, the Sākara Mallika, has come to see You'" (Cc. 2.1.173–174). Hearing their words of humble self-deprecation, Prabhu said to them: "Listen, Rūpa, Dabīra Khāsa — you two brothers are My own servants of old. From this day your names shall be Rūpa and Sanātana; abandon this humility, for your humility breaks My heart" (Cc. 2.1.194–195). Here again Prabhu first addresses the dabīra khāsa as "Rūpa," and only afterward says, "From this day your two names shall be Rūpa and Sanātana" — from which it is clear that the dabīra khāsa already bore the name Rūpa before ever meeting Mahāprabhu. That the sākara mallika's name was likewise already Sanātana is known from the testimony of his own nephew, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, who records that Rūpa and Sanātana's father was named Kumāradeva, and that among his sons, three became "the very best among the most exalted Vaiṣṇavas" — first Śrī Sanātana; his younger brother, named Śrī Rūpa; and, third, Śrī Vallabha — "who, having unhesitatingly abandoned their [worldly] kingdom, and having obtained the extraordinary mercy of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, attained the very empire of devotion at the feet of Murāri [Kṛṣṇa]" (Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's own concluding verse to his Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī). This Śrī Jīva was himself the son of Śrī Vallabha, the younger brother of Rūpa and Sanātana; Vallabha too served under Hussain Shah, under the court title "Anupama" — yet Jīva, in his verse, never once mentions that title, naming him only by his given name, Śrī Vallabha, alongside Śrī Sanātana and Śrī Rūpa. From this it is understood that just as "Anupama" was laid over Vallabha's own given name as a court title, so too were "Sākara Mallika" and "Dabīra Khāsa" laid, as court titles, over the given names of Sanātana and Rūpa respectively — a point made still clearer by Jīva's own words, "thereafter, having obtained the extraordinary mercy of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, they attained the very empire of the treasure of devotion to Kṛṣṇa."

One may ask: if they already went by their own given names, Sanātana and Rūpa, even before beholding Mahāprabhu's feet, then what is the purport of His saying, "from this day your names shall be Rūpa and Sanātana"? The purport is this: Prabhu was making known to them that from that day forward they would be known only by their given names, with their court titles — "Dabīra Khāsa" and "Sākara Mallika" — no longer attached; and this signified, by implication, that they would take no further part in royal service, and so would have no further use for titles proper to that service. And indeed, from the very next day, neither of them engaged in the king's affairs again. Rājya-sukha chāḍi — abandoning the pleasures of ruling, abandoning affairs of state: Śrīpāda Rūpa, though he held the very highest office in royal service, counted it as nothing and abandoned it. Araṇye vilāsa — he dwelt, in transcendent delight, in the forest called Vṛndāvana, the very site of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own pastimes.

V.195, continued. Mokṣa-sukha — the bliss of the five kinds of liberation, beginning with sālokya. Those whose sole desire is service to Kṛṣṇa's feet do not, of themselves, want any form of liberation at all — and even should the Lord Himself offer it to them unasked, they will not accept it: "Sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya, or even oneness with Me — My people do not accept these, even when offered, apart from My own service" (Bhāgavata 3.29.13). Alpa māne — they consider it a trifling thing, for liberation does not accord with the soul's own essential, constitutional nature (see the commentary on Chapter 1, ślokas 1.2.3–4).

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V.198–201. That the digvijayī had been defeated by Śrī Gaurasundara — this, everyone throughout the town of Nadīyā came to hear, and all were struck with the greatest astonishment: "Nimāñi Paṇḍita is indeed a man of the greatest learning! The very one before whom the digvijayī went down in defeat and departed — never have we heard of so great a paṇḍita anywhere. Nimāñi Paṇḍita's pride is now fully vindicated — only now has His true learning become known!"

V.202–204. Some said: "If this brahmin would only study Nyāya, He would surely become a Bhaṭṭācārya beyond all challenge." Others said: "Brothers! Let us all together confer on Him the title 'Vādi-siṃha' — Lion among Debaters!" So extraordinary is the power of His māyā that, even after witnessing all these wonders, no one had the power to recognize who He truly was.

V.205–209. In this way, throughout the whole of Navadvīpa, everyone, each among his own following, proclaimed Prabhu's glorious fame to the very heavens. Obeisance at the feet of the residents of Navadvīpa, who had the good fortune to witness all these pastimes! Whoever hears of Gaurāṅga's victory over the digvijayī shall never, anywhere, suffer defeat himself. Gaurāṅga's mellow of learning is supremely captivating — whoever hears of it becomes His very own follower. Know Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Nityānanda-candra to be one and the same truth — Vṛndāvana Dāsa sings at the pair of Their feet.

Explanation. Sarva-īśa bede kahe, and the astonishment of payars 199–205, together record what impression the residents of Navadvīpa formed of Prabhu after His defeat of the digvijayī. Nyāya — the science of logic; one expert in Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and the like is called a Bhaṭṭācārya. Vādi-siṃha — "a lion, in strength, before any rival debater." Māyāra baḍāñi — the influence of Prabhu's own māyā is so extraordinary that, having witnessed all these unprecedented events, no one could come to know His essential identity; everyone took Him only for an extraordinary paṇḍita. Prabhura saṅkīrti, ityādi — since no one knew His true, essential nature, no one could proclaim that; everyone instead proclaimed only the fame of His outward scholarship, as though that alone were the essence of His glory. Tāra anucara — a servant, a kiṅkara, of Śrī Gaurāṅga. (On the closing verse, see the commentary on Chapter 1, payar 1.2.85.)

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ইতি শ্রীচৈতন্যভাগবতে আদিখণ্ডে দিগ্বিজয়ি-বিমোচনং নাম নবমোহধ্যায়॥ ৯॥

Thus ends the Ninth Chapter, entitled "The Liberation of the Digvijayī," in the Ādi-khaṇḍa of Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata.