Verse 1.1.20

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.1.20:

পার্বতী-প্রভৃতি নবার্বুদ নারী লঞা সঙ্কর্ষণ পূজে শিব, উপাসক হঞা ॥ ২০ ॥

पार्वती-प्रभृति नवार्बुद नारी लञा सङ्कर्षण पूजे शिव, उपासक हञा ॥ २० ॥

pārvatī-prabhṛti navārbuda nārī lañā saṅkarṣaṇa pūje śiva, upāsaka hañā || 20 ||

parvati-prabhrti navarbuda nari lana sankarsana puje siva, upasaka hana (20)

English translation:

(20) Along with Pārvatī and innumerable maidservants, Lord Śiva engages in the worship of Saṅkarṣaṇa.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī glorifies Saṅkarṣaṇa before Parīkṣit Mahārāja in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (5.25.1) as follows: “Lord Ananta is the predominating Deity of the material mode of ignorance as well as the false ego of all conditioned souls. When a conditioned living being thinks, ‘I am the enjoyer, and this world is meant to be enjoyed by me,’

this conception of life is dictated to him by Saṅkarṣaṇa. Thus the mundane conditioned soul thinks himself the Supreme Lord.” See also Śrīdhara Svāmī’s Bhāvārtha-dīpikā commentary on this verse. In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.2.13) the Supreme Lord says to Yogamāyā: “The son of Rohiṇī will also be celebrated as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of being sent from the womb of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (5.17.16) it is said: “In Ilāvṛta-varṣa, Lord Śiva is always encircled by ten billion maidservants of Goddess Durgā, who minister to him. The quadruple expansion of the Supreme Lord is composed of Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Saṅkarṣaṇa.

Saṅkarṣaṇa, the fourth expansion, is certainly transcendental, but because his activities of destruction in the material world are in the mode of ignorance, He is known as tāmasī, the Lord’s form in the mode of ignorance. Lord Śiva knows that Saṅkarṣaṇa is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always meditates upon Him in trance by chanting the following mantra.” The mantra chanted by Lord Śiva is found in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (5.17.17-24).

Śrīla Madhvācārya writes in his commentary on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (5.17.17): “In Ilāvṛta-varṣa, the Lord is worshiped by Lord Śiva, who is considerate to the jīvas and dependent on the Supersoul.”

In the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.2.97-98, 1.3.1, and 2.3.66) it is stated: “Lord Śiva worships the most enchanting, equally powerful and opulent Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, who is adored with cāmaras and an umbrella and surrounded by associates. Is it not wonderful that even Śiva accepts Saṅkarṣaṇa as his worshipable Lord? In Śivaloka, Nārada Muni watches the most opulent Śiva become absorbed while chanting and dancing in the mood of a devotee as he worships Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. Although Śiva is the lord of the universe, he accepts the mood of a servant and eternally worships the thousand-headed Śeṣa with love.”

In his description of the līlā-avatāras in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 87-88) Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī writes: “He who is the second expansion of the catur-vyūha in Goloka is known as Saṅkarṣaṇa. He

merges with Śeṣa, who supports all universes, and then appears as Lord Balarāma, a līlā-avatāra. Śeṣa has two forms—one supports all universes, and one serves as the bed for the Viṣṇu incarnations. The former Śeṣa is the empowered incarnation of Saṅkarṣaṇa and is therefore also known as Saṅkarṣaṇa.” In the description on the prābhava and vaibhava features of the Lord in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 62) it is stated: “Lord Ananta, the plenary portion of Śrī Baladeva who holds the universes on His hoods, resides in Pātālaloka. This Saṅkarṣaṇa recited Śrīmad Bhāgavatam to the brāhmaṇas and sages headed by the four Kumāras. His neck is beautified with a forest flower garland, His hoods are decorated with brightly shining jewels, He is dressed in blue garments, and He holds a plow, club, and trident in His hands.” Again, in the description on the catur-vyūha expansions of the Lord in the Laghu- bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 167), it is stated: “As the second expansion of the catur-vyūha, Śrī Saṅkarṣaṇa is the vilāsa-vigraha of Vāsudeva, the first expansion of the catur-vyūha. Since He is the reservoir of all living entities, He is also known as jīva.”