Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary)
by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja | 2005 | 440,179 words | ISBN-13: 9781935428329
The Brihad-bhagavatamrita Verse 1.3.59, English translation, including commentary (Dig-darshini-tika): an important Vaishnava text dealing with the importance of devotional service. The Brihad-bhagavatamrita, although an indepent Sanskrit work, covers the essential teachings of the Shrimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-purana). This is verse 1.3.59 contained in Chapter 3—Prapancatita (beyond the Material Plane)—of Part one (prathama-khanda).
Verse 1.3.59
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.3.59:
भगवान् इव सत्यं मे त एव परम-प्रियाः ।
परम-प्रार्थनीयश् च मम तैः सङ्गमः ॥ ५९ ॥bhagavān iva satyaṃ me ta eva parama-priyāḥ |
parama-prārthanīyaś ca mama taiḥ saṅgamaḥ || 59 ||O Nārada, I am honestly saying that just as Bhagavān is most beloved, His devotees are most beloved to me. My highest aspiration is to have the association of those devotees.
Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda
(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)
“O Nārada, I am truly telling you that all these devotees of Bhagavān such as Nandīśvara are just as dear as myself and no less beloved.”
This matter is also explained by Śivajī to the Ten Pracetās in the Fourth Canto (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.24.30):
अथ भागवता यूयं प्रियाः स्थ भगवान् यथा
न मद् भागवतानां च प्रेयान् अन्यो’स्ति कर्हिचित्atha bhāgavatā yūyaṃ priyāḥ stha bhagavān yathā
na mad bhāgavatānāṃ ca preyān anyo’sti karhicit“O sons of King Pracetā, you are all devotees of Śrī Bhagavān, therefore you are as beloved to me as Bhagavān. Moreover, no other persons are more dear to me than the devotees of Śrī Bhagavān.”