Śrī Dāmodara Aṣṭakam VERSE 3
इतीदृक्स्वलीलाभिरानन्दकुण्डे
स्वघोषं निमज्जन्तमाख्यापयन्तम्
तदीयेषितज्ञेषु भक्तैर्जितत्वं
पुनः प्रेमतः तं शतावृत्ति वन्दे
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaṃ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṃ
punaḥ premataḥ taṃ śatāvṛtti vande
SYNONYMS
itīdṛk: like this | sva-līlābhiḥ: by His own pastimes | ānanda-kuṇḍe: in a pool of bliss | sva-ghoṣam: His own associates (the residents of Gokula) | nimajjantam: immersing | ākhyāpayantam: proclaiming | tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu: to those who know the Lord's majesty | bhaktaiḥ: by devotees | jitatvam: the state of being conquered | punaḥ: again | premataḥ: with love | tam: unto Him | śatāvṛtti: hundreds of times | vande: I offer obeisances |
TRANSLATION
Those superexcellent pastimes of Lord Krishna's babyhood drowned the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy. To the devotees who are attracted only to His majestic aspect of Narayana in Vaikuntha, the Lord herein reveals: "I am conquered and overwhelmed by pure loving devotion." To the Supreme Lord, Damodara, my obeisances hundreds and hundreds of times.
PURPORT
Now the excellences of His guṇa-viśeṣa (attributes of His qualities) are expressed in this verse beginning with the word iti. It depicts the reason for His coming under the sway of His devotees. And furthermore, iti means "by this Damodara-līlā"; it also connotes idṛśibhiś ca - "by all Sri Krishna's supremely enchanting childhood pastimes like the Damodara-līlā." The word svasya indicates His own uncommonly divine pastimes - līlābhiḥ - by all His sportive pastimes (He drowns all the living beings of Gokula in ecstasy). This is confirmed by many statements of the Bhagavatam such as the following (10.11.7-8):
"'If you dance, then we will give you a sweet' - by these words, or by clapping their hands, the elder gopīs sometimes induced Sri Krishna to dance. Thus Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, danced just like an ordinary child. Sometimes they made Him sing, and He therefore sang just like a bewildered innocent boy. In this way, He came under the control of the cowherd women exactly like a wooden puppet on strings. Sometimes His relatives would order Him to bring their shoes, chair or measuring pot; but if He was unable to lift the article called for, He would grasp it firmly and, just to please His dear relatives, flap His elbows again and again to demonstrate His childish strength."
On the basis of these conclusions of the Bhagavatam, it is further stated - sva-ghoṣam means all the living beings dwelling in Gokula - ānanda-kuṇḍe nimajjantam - He immersed them in a deep pool brimming with liquid bliss mellows (ānanda-rasa-maya-gabhīra-jala). Therefore it is declared in the Bhagavatam verse quoted above: svānāṃ prītiṃ samudvahan - by these actions, He stimulated the complete love of His own dearmost relatives (prīti). And furthermore, the word ghoṣaḥ additionally means "the loud proclamation of His glories." Similarly, the word sva also connotes either svasya or svānām - that either His own glory or the glory of the gopas and gopīs is proclaimed by these pastimes. In this mood He personally drowned them all in pools of bliss (ānanda-kuṇḍe nimajjantam) - and they experienced a very special excellence of supreme happiness (parama-sukha).
And furthermore, it is especially noted that - tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu - unto those who are attached to knowledge of the Lord's majestic opulence (aiśvarya), and who worship Him accordingly, He declares bhaktair jitatvam - only in front of His own pure devotees does He become totally submissive, being conquered by their loving devotion; ākhyāpayantam - He has fully displaced this quality for all to see. The meaning is - "I willingly become submissive to the control of My servants who are attached to bhakti, but I will never submit Myself to those fond of jñāna." This is confirmed in the Bhagavatam (10.11.9) thus:
"Bhagavan Sri Krishna has proclaimed to the bhaktas of the universe who are fond of aiśvarya-jñāna that He is fully submissive only to His own pure devotees."
The meaning of this Bhagavatam verse is - the word tad-vidām indicates devotees who are attached to bhagavad-aiśvarya-jñāna. Or yet another meaning is - tadīyānām suggests that He displays this quality (of submission to His devotees) only in front of those who are already aware of the prabhāva or power of His most dear, favourite devotees; He does not exhibit this feature to others. The reason for such behaviour is - those who are unaware of the special glories of the Vaisnavas, and those who cultivate kevala-jñāna (impersonal knowledge) are unqualified to be presented with a display of the supremely confidential truth regarding devotion and the glories of devotion. In this mood, a further meaning of tad-vidām (from the Bhagavatam verse 10.11.9 quoted above) is - this word reveals bhṛtya-vaśyatā-vidām, or those who are unaware of Sri Krishna's quality of submitting to His devotees. Now (in Damodarashtakam) the word premataḥ denotes "with an excellence of love and devotion"; śatāvṛtti means hundreds and hundreds of times; tam - unto that īśvara - punaḥ vande - I repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances. Therefore the only thing worshipful for me is to offer my obeisances unto the superexcellence of the process of bhakti, which brings the Supreme Lord under the control of His devotees. Such a condition can never come about through aiśvarya-jñāna, or knowledge of His divine majesty. This alone is the mood of the devotee offering this specific prayer. Thus ends Sanatana Goswami's Dig-Darshini-Tika on the third shloka of Sri Sri Damodarashtakam.
"'If you dance, then we will give you a sweet' - by these words, or by clapping their hands, the elder gopīs sometimes induced Sri Krishna to dance. Thus Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, danced just like an ordinary child. Sometimes they made Him sing, and He therefore sang just like a bewildered innocent boy. In this way, He came under the control of the cowherd women exactly like a wooden puppet on strings. Sometimes His relatives would order Him to bring their shoes, chair or measuring pot; but if He was unable to lift the article called for, He would grasp it firmly and, just to please His dear relatives, flap His elbows again and again to demonstrate His childish strength."
On the basis of these conclusions of the Bhagavatam, it is further stated - sva-ghoṣam means all the living beings dwelling in Gokula - ānanda-kuṇḍe nimajjantam - He immersed them in a deep pool brimming with liquid bliss mellows (ānanda-rasa-maya-gabhīra-jala). Therefore it is declared in the Bhagavatam verse quoted above: svānāṃ prītiṃ samudvahan - by these actions, He stimulated the complete love of His own dearmost relatives (prīti). And furthermore, the word ghoṣaḥ additionally means "the loud proclamation of His glories." Similarly, the word sva also connotes either svasya or svānām - that either His own glory or the glory of the gopas and gopīs is proclaimed by these pastimes. In this mood He personally drowned them all in pools of bliss (ānanda-kuṇḍe nimajjantam) - and they experienced a very special excellence of supreme happiness (parama-sukha).
And furthermore, it is especially noted that - tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu - unto those who are attached to knowledge of the Lord's majestic opulence (aiśvarya), and who worship Him accordingly, He declares bhaktair jitatvam - only in front of His own pure devotees does He become totally submissive, being conquered by their loving devotion; ākhyāpayantam - He has fully displaced this quality for all to see. The meaning is - "I willingly become submissive to the control of My servants who are attached to bhakti, but I will never submit Myself to those fond of jñāna." This is confirmed in the Bhagavatam (10.11.9) thus:
"Bhagavan Sri Krishna has proclaimed to the bhaktas of the universe who are fond of aiśvarya-jñāna that He is fully submissive only to His own pure devotees."
The meaning of this Bhagavatam verse is - the word tad-vidām indicates devotees who are attached to bhagavad-aiśvarya-jñāna. Or yet another meaning is - tadīyānām suggests that He displays this quality (of submission to His devotees) only in front of those who are already aware of the prabhāva or power of His most dear, favourite devotees; He does not exhibit this feature to others. The reason for such behaviour is - those who are unaware of the special glories of the Vaisnavas, and those who cultivate kevala-jñāna (impersonal knowledge) are unqualified to be presented with a display of the supremely confidential truth regarding devotion and the glories of devotion. In this mood, a further meaning of tad-vidām (from the Bhagavatam verse 10.11.9 quoted above) is - this word reveals bhṛtya-vaśyatā-vidām, or those who are unaware of Sri Krishna's quality of submitting to His devotees. Now (in Damodarashtakam) the word premataḥ denotes "with an excellence of love and devotion"; śatāvṛtti means hundreds and hundreds of times; tam - unto that īśvara - punaḥ vande - I repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances. Therefore the only thing worshipful for me is to offer my obeisances unto the superexcellence of the process of bhakti, which brings the Supreme Lord under the control of His devotees. Such a condition can never come about through aiśvarya-jñāna, or knowledge of His divine majesty. This alone is the mood of the devotee offering this specific prayer. Thus ends Sanatana Goswami's Dig-Darshini-Tika on the third shloka of Sri Sri Damodarashtakam.
