Verse 2.1.24

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.24:

तद्-अर्थम् उचितं स्थानम् एकं वैकुण्ठतः परम् ।
अपेक्षितम् अवश्यं स्यात् तत् प्रकाश्योद्धरस्व माम् ॥ २४ ॥

tad-artham ucitaṃ sthānam ekaṃ vaikuṇṭhataḥ param |
apekṣitam avaśyaṃ syāt tat prakāśyoddharasva mām || 24 ||

tat-artham–for this reason; ucitam–suitable; sthānam–abode; ekam–one; vaikuṇṭhataḥ param–superior to Vaikuṇṭha; apekṣitam–desired; avaśyam–necessarily; syāt–there may be; tat–that; prakāśya–by revealing; uddharasva–kindly deliver; mām–me.

For Śrī Nanda, Yaśodā, and the other Vrajavāsīs, there must surely be an abode far superior to Vaikuṇṭha. That place certainly exists. Therefore, kindly reveal that abode and save me from an ocean of sorrow.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

This verse beginning with tad-artham concludes the topic of this inquiry. Śrī Uttarā says, “It is only appropriate that Śrī Nanda and Śrī Yaśodā attain another destination far superior to Vaikuṇṭha. For this abode to be suitable for all their enjoyment of transcendental happiness, it should be free from even a trace of the mood of opulence and majesty, or aiśvarya, towards Śrī Bhagavān. In this realm, the perspective of seeing the Lord with awe and reverence must be abandoned. This realm must be without a scent of such imperfection, which weakens the treasure of devotees’ pure love. It must embody ordinary, human-like relationships, which are the heart’s desire of devotees who are filled with love and who have disassociated themselves from jñāna, or knowledge of the Lord’s majesty. This realm must be served by the Lord’s beloved devotees who are absorbed in and are relishing–enthralled and delighted, with hair standing on end in ecstasy–the nectar of loving exchanges with the Lord (prema-rasa), which is transcendental to this world and to the world beyond. It must be fully nourished by the rasa of indescribable supreme bliss. It must be sweeter than the sweetest, more excellent than the most excellent abode, and it must possess the ultimate limit of all captivatingly charming, variegated, supreme excellence. The secret of this realm is revealed by Śrī Nārada’s singing, accompanied by his vīṇā. Śrī Nārada is always satisfied, fixed in the ultimate state of tasting the honey of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. It is reasonable that such an appropriate and unique abode would exist, and it is certainly possible that it does.

“However, due to it being a very confidential destination, I am unable to grasp it with my meager intelligence. Therefore, I am drowning in a fearsome ocean of distress, filled with continuous waves of doubt and great whirlpools of illusion. Please deliver me from this terrible ocean of sorrow by revealing that destination.

“On this very Bhū-maṇḍala, the divine Śrī Mathurā-purī is present. It is the most suitable abode for the residents of Vraja because it facilitates the pleasure pastimes of Śrī Nanda and the other Vrajavāsīs with their beloved Lord. However, since the abode of Mathurā is within the material universe, ignorant people with mundane vision witness that its residents are subject to material transformations of the body, and thus they suspect that the sacred Mathurā is a product of the illusory (māyika) energy, like ordinary places.”

An alternate understanding of the divinity of Śrī Mathurā is that one obtains all types of perfections simply upon reaching Śrī Vaikuṇṭha. But since attainment of such perfection may not be evident in Śrī Mathurā, ignorant people may doubt whether Mathurā is able to grant the ultimate goal of human life. Still another reading of this verse is that since the holy abode of Mathurā is on earth, which is the planet of mortals (martya-loka), ignorant people suspect that it will be destroyed at the time of the cosmic annihilation, just as earth is. Alternatively, it can be said that since Mathurā’s nature is confidential, people may doubt its ability to manifest the same transcendental glories that are found in such places as Śrī Vaikuṇṭha. Moreover, they may not have heard that Bhagavān’s pastimes are eternally manifest in Mathurā. Therefore, it is to be understood that all these doubts leave them bewildered.

Further on, a series of questions and answers will reveal the true nature of Goloka, which is the abode suitable for Śrī Nanda and others. Within the discussion on Goloka, the superiority of Bhagavān’s pleasurable pastimes in earthly Mathurā will also be established. Regarding the transcendental abode (dhāma) of Mathurā on this earthly plane, it has been said that although it is within the material world, nevertheless, it is the pastime place of Śrī Bhagavān and His servants, and it is as dear to Him as His servitors. Therefore, without a doubt, this dhāma can never be considered māyika, or illusory, in nature.

In this connection, there is a statement by Śrī Nārada (Śrī Bṛhadbhāgavatāmṛta 2.5.55):

नाना-विधास् तस्य परिच्छदा ये नामानि लीलाः प्रियभूमयश् च
सत्यानि नित्यान्य् अखिलानि तद्वद् एकान्यनेकानि च तानि विद्धि

nānā-vidhās tasya paricchadā ye nāmāni līlāḥ priyabhūmayaś ca
satyāni nityāny akhilāni tadvad ekānyanekāni ca tāni viddhi

Śrī Bhagavān’s associates, names, various pastimes, favored land for His pastimes, and so on are all eternal, Absolute Reality, and they are all-pervading and omnipotent (vibhuvastu) like Him. Although they are all one, they appear in many forms. Consequently, this earthly Mathurā is also eternal, real, all-pervading, and omnipotent.

Śrī Nārada’s words easily establish that Śrī Mathurā-dhāma is transcendental and eternal. In spite of this, those who are ignorant and neophyte will only notice the residents’ external changes of body and so on. Factually, these external symptoms are designed to cheat the non-devotees and to increase the pleasure of the devotees. For example, during Śrī Bhagavān’s manifest pastimes on earth, even though nondevotees also received His darśana, it should be understood that they neither experienced happiness nor realized His divine magnificence, despite His being the embodiment of the highest bliss. These points shall be explained later in the description of Tapoloka. Dhāma-tattva, the intrinsic truth about the holy abode, is confidential in nature; thus the deluding of non-devotees becomes an admirable quality.

Śrī Uttarā continues, “Śrī Mathurā-dhāma is always eternal. Even at the time of cosmic annihilation, it is not destroyed. Especially, Mathurā is situated on the top of Śrī Sudarśana cakra, which is the embodiment of the time factor (kāla)–the destroyer of everything in the material world. Therefore, time never affects Śrī Mathurā, at all, what to speak of Śrī Mathurā’s having any fear of it. Because the greatness of Śrī Mathurā-dhāma is an esoteric secret, although everyone has heard of Mathurā’s incomparable glories, ignorant people have not realized them. It should be understood that these types of doubts and questions arise because people have not heard the Lord’s pastimes are going on in Mathurā eternally.”

The point being made is that when one realizes the glories of Śrī Goloka, one also realizes that bhauma-dhāma, the holy abode of Mathurā on earth (the land of Vraja), is equally glorious. In fact, the glories of Mathurā on earth are somewhat superior even to those of Śrī Goloka. Later Śrī Nārada will reveal this truth. The reason for this is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally appears in this abode at a special time along with all His other expansions and manifestations in order to experience the pleasure of His pastimes that He cannot experience anywhere else.

“Only at the time of total cosmic annihilation does this abode of Mathurā disappear. But even though it cannot be seen by people, it nevertheless remains manifest. In other words, by the influence of the spiritual potency named antardhāna, which is the power of disappearance, earthly Mathurā-dhāma becomes one with Śrī Goloka.” Another understanding is that earthly Mathurā remains situated in its original place above Sudarśana cakra. Alternatively, it is said that it does not remain manifest at its usual place. “Therefore, because Mathurā is not accessible to the vision of common people, it seems that Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes are not taking place in earthly Vraja. However, Śrī Bhagavān is eternally performing pastimes there with His associates.

“Therefore, since Goloka alone corresponds to this abode of Mathurā, it is the only place where Śrī Bhagavān can sport happily, performing pastimes unrestrictedly. This proves that Śrī Goloka alone is the supreme abode to be attained.”

Further on in the text, as has been done above, Śrī Nārada will give examples to establish the superior glories of the earthly Vraja-maṇḍala in comparison to Śrī Goloka. Here it has been established that Goloka and earthly Vraja are nondifferent from one another. Thus, proving the greatness of one of these abodes automatically validates the glories of the other. The conclusion is that they are united. In this way, all doubts have been properly reconciled.