Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary)
by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja | 2005 | 440,179 words | ISBN-13: 9781935428329
The Brihad-bhagavatamrita Verse 2.1.134, 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 2.1.134 contained in Chapter 1—Vairagya (renunciation)—of Part two (prathama-khanda).
Verse 2.1.134
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.134:
हा हा धृतः करण्डान्तर् अस्थाने परमेश्वरः ।
किम् अप्य् असौ न चाभुङ्क्ते निद्रा तु क्षुधया कथम् ॥ १३४ ॥hā hā dhṛtaḥ karaṇḍāntar asthāne parameśvaraḥ |
kim apy asau na cābhuṅkte nidrā tu kṣudhayā katham || 134 ||hā hā–alas! alas!; dhṛtaḥ–placed; karaṇḍa-antaḥ–inside a wooden box; asthāne–in an inappropriate place; parama-īśvaraḥ–the Lord; kim api–anything; asau–He; na–not; ca–also; abhuṅkta–has eaten; nidrā–sleep; tu–indeed; kṣudhayā–while hungry; katham–how?
“Alas! Alas! He has shut my Lord Jagadīśvara in a wooden box. The Lord has not eaten anything. How will He sleep if He is hungry?”
Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda
(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)
Dhṛta, or nikṣipta, means ‘has deposited.’ Asthāne means ‘a place unfit for the Supreme Lord.’ Responding to the previous verse, the Mathurā brāhmaṇa might say, “After worshiping the Lord, one’s duty is to place the Deity in a designated place. Therefore, the brāhmaṇa did just that.”
In response, Gopa-kumāra speaks the line beginning with kim apy asau. Not seeing any food offerings to allay the Lord’s hunger, he thinks, “My Supreme Lord has not eaten anything. How will He be able to sleep if He is hungry?”