Verse 1.1.3

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.1.3:

स्व-दयित-निज-भावं यो विभाव्य स्व-भावात् सु-मधुरम् अवतीर्णो भक्त-रूपेन लोभात् ।
जयति कनक-धामा कृष्ण-चैतन्य-नामा हरिर् इह यति वेशः श्री-शची-सूनुर् एषः ॥ ३ ॥

sva-dayita-nija-bhāvaṃ yo vibhāvya sva-bhāvāt su-madhuram avatīrṇo bhakta-rūpena lobhāt |
jayati kanaka-dhāmā kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmā harir iha yati veśaḥ śrī-śacī-sūnur eṣaḥ || 3 ||

As Śrī Kṛṣṇa thought, ‘the pure devotion which My devotees possess towards Me is sweeter than My love for them,’ He descended in Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma, in Gauḍadeśa, out of greed to taste the sweet prema of His devotees. Śrī Gaurahari, who has accepted the golden effulgent dress of a renunciant with the divine name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, is radiantly present in all excellence!

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

One might wonder here whether anyone is capable of describing even a small particle of the sweetness of the love of the gopīs. In spite of realizing this, why then are you engaged in describing it? To settle this doubt the author says that although the answer to this question was given in the first verse’s commentary, still he is now describing the sought-after meaning of the previously mentioned reply. He is describing the super-excellence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya-deva with the lines beginning with sva-dayita to obtain the mercy of the dearmost avatāra of Śrī Bhagavān, who is the grand spiritual master that delivers all low and destitute persons, and preaches bhakti-rasa endowed with the pre-eminence of nāma-saṅkīrtana.

Nija-bhāva indicates here that the ecstatic prema that Śrī Hari possesses towards His own devotees is indeed sweet and most excellent. The love that the devotees have for Śrī Hari is remarkably sweeter and more excellent than Śrī Hari’s love for the devotees. Considering this, Śrī Hari descended in the form of a devotee or beloved servant with the greed of obtaining that same mood. In what place did he descend? He descended in Śrī Navadvīpa of bhūloka that is within Gauḍa maṇḍala. That same Śrī Sacīnandana Hari is effulgently present with the topmost excellence. How did Śrī Hari descend? With a luster of molten gold (kanaka-kānti), namely, He is Gaurāṅga-sundara. In the original text beginning with śrī-śacīsūnur eṣaḥ, the author’s use of the word eṣaḥ suggests that the author directly experienced His presence at the time of composing this book—this is what is being conveyed here.

In the previous age at the closure of Dvāpara-yuga, Śrī Hari could not describe personally the sweetness of the gopīs’ love. However, at this time He personally tastes that prema through the medium of the saṅkīrtana of His own names. This proves the great excellence of the avatāra of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.

Śrī Bhagavān has personally stated (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.14.16):

निरपेक्षं मुनिं शान्तं निर्वैरं सम-दर्शनम्
अनुव्रजाम्य् अहं नित्यं पूयेयेत्य् अङ्घ्रि-रेणुभिः

nirapekṣaṃ muniṃ śāntaṃ nirvairaṃ sama-darśanam
anuvrajāmy ahaṃ nityaṃ pūyeyety aṅghri-reṇubhiḥ

I shall sanctify the universe by the footdust of My devotees. One cannot obtain bhakti without first accepting the dust of the lotus feet of My devotees, and My sweetness cannot be experienced without that devotion. Indeed, I will personally inaugurate such a decree. Therefore just like My own devotees, I shall become submerged in My own sweet mellows through devotional service. Considering this, I shall become a follower of the devotees who are possessionless, who meditate on My form and other attributes, who are peaceful, devoid of enmity and possessed of impartial vision.

By these words, Śrī Bhagavān personally declares in the most complete way the eminence of His devotees as greater than His own eminence. The purport is that, “I cannot repay the devotees who render causeless devotional service unto Me…how shall I become sanctified and free from this debt? Thinking like this, I shall follow the devotees and become decorated by their footdust…”

Such a yearning by the Lord only began to sprout during the avatāra of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Now in the beautiful form of Śrī Gaurasundara, He personally followed and showed that just as much as devotees possess devotion for Bhagavān, similarly Bhagavān also possesses devotion for His devotees. Therefore, the use of the word nitarām in the previous verse is especially appropriate.

Another meaning to be extracted from this exposition is from the phrase bhakta-rūpena (beautiful appearance of a devotee) in the original verse, “He has descended with Śrī Rūpa, who belongs to Gauḍadeśa and who is the foremost of Vaiṣṇavas.” Śrī Rūpa is the son of the great soul Śrī Kumāra who belongs to Karnāṭaka, who is an ācārya in the lineage of twice-born brāhmaṇas, a family lineage of world famous preceptors. Here, yati veśaḥ has been appended as a relative to the context, but He descended only as bhakta-rūpa, a devotee in divine form only, not in the form of a sannyāsī (yati-rūpa) or a sannyāsī by dress only—this is the underlying meaning. The reason for this is as follows: By assuming the dress and leading role of a sannyāsī, Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari personally engaged in nāma-saṅkīrtana and offered prayers like a devotee for distributing the mellows of His own devotional service. Therefore, He is to be celebrated as a bhakta. Śrī Śacīnandana especially distributed everywhere this rare, loving devotional service of Bhagavān in Kali-yuga. For this reason, it is told that He is the avatāra of Bhagavān.

Regarding this, Śrīpāda Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya says (Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-naṭaka 6.43):

कालान् नष्टं भक्ति-योगं निजं यः प्रदुष्कर्तुं कृष्ण-चैतन्य-नामा
अविर्भूतस् तस्य पादारविन्दे गाढं गाढं लीयतां चित्त-भृङ्गः

kālān naṣṭaṃ bhakti-yogaṃ nijaṃ yaḥ praduṣkartuṃ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmā
avirbhūtas tasya pādāravinde gāḍhaṃ gāḍhaṃ līyatāṃ citta-bhṛṅgaḥ

By the influence of time, the process of devotional service unto Him almost disappeared and to revitalize that bhakti-yoga He descended, accepting the name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Let the bumblebee of my heart become absorbed in His beautiful lotus feet.