Verse 1.15.4

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.15.4:

সন্ধ্যা-বন্দনাদি প্রভু করি’ ঊষঃ-কালে নমস্করি’ জননীরে পডাইতে চলে ॥ ৪ ॥

सन्ध्या-वन्दनादि प्रभु करि’ ऊषः-काले नमस्करि’ जननीरे पडाइते चले ॥ ४ ॥

sandhyā-vandanādi prabhu kari’ ūṣaḥ-kāle namaskari’ jananīre paḍāite cale || 4 ||

sandhya-vandanadi prabhu kari’ usah-kale namaskari’ jananire padaite cale (4)

English translation:

(4) The Lord performed His daily worship in the early morning, and after offering obeisances to His mother, He left for school.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

For a description of sandhyā-vandana one may refer to the Hari-bhakti- vilāsa (3.140-155).

There are two types of sandhyā—Vedic and Tantric. Of the two, Vedic sandhyā is briefly described as follows: “One should perform ācamana while chanting the mantra, oṃ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padaṃ sadā paśyanti sūrayo divīva cakṣur ātatam—’The Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu is the Absolute Truth, whose lotus feet all the demigods are always eager to see. Like the sun-god, He pervades everything by the rays of His energy. He appears impersonal to imperfect eyes.’ Thereafter a Vaiṣṇava should properly decorate himself with tilaka and after washing his hands he should perform Vedic sandhyā or Tantric sandhyā. It is stated in the Vyāsa-gītā of the Kūrma Purāṇa: ‘One should properly sit facing east on a mat made of kuśa grass and with a controlled mind he should practice prāṇāyāma three times before engaging in sandhyā meditation. This is the injunction of the Vedic literature.’ It is described in the Manu- saṃhitā: ‘A brāhmaṇa should meditate on and chant the mantra of goddess Sāvitrī, who is situated within the sun globe. Thereafter he should perform sandhyā worship.’ It is also stated: ‘A learned person should sit facing east and with a controlled mind he should chant the Sāvitrī mantra.’ The sandhyā mantras are as follows: oṃ śanna āpo dhanvanyāḥ śamanaḥ santu nūpyāḥ śannaḥ samudriyā āpaḥ śamanaḥ santu kūpyāḥ—’May the waters from the desert land, ocean, and well benefit us.’ oṃ drupād iva mumucānaḥ śvinnaḥ snāto malād iva. pūtaṃ pavitreṇevājyamāpaḥ śuddhantu mainasaḥ.—’Just as by taking bath in the pure water of a river one becomes cleansed of all dirt, similarly may this water with its pure qualities purify me from my sinful reactions.’ oṃ āpo hiṣṭhāmayo bhuvastā na ūrjje dadhātana. maheraṇāya cakṣase.—’Pure water is the basis of the world; we will relish and

worship the pure taste of water.’ oṃ yo vaḥ śivatamorasas tasya bhājayateha naḥ. uśatīr iva mātaraḥ. oṃ tasmā araṅgamāma ye yasya kṣayāya jinvatha. āpo janayathā ca naḥ.—’As a child takes shelter of a mother and his bodily limbs are produced from her, in the same way we are simply sustained by water.’ oṃ ṛtaṃ ca satyaṃ cābhīddhāt tapaso’dhy ajāyataḥ. tato rātry ajāyata tataḥ samudro ‘rṇavaḥ. samudrād-arṇavād-adhi-saṃvatsaro ‘jāyata. ahorātrāṇi vidadhad viśvasya miṣato vaśī sūrya-candramasau dhātā yathā pūrvam akalpayat. divaṃ ca pṛthivīṃ cāntarīkṣam atho svaḥ.—’Be truthful and gentle.

Perform austerity. From austerity the night is born. From night the ocean is born. From ocean the whole year is born. On the pretext of accepting the universal form, the Lord sustains days and night. Just like the previous kalpa, the Lord also created sun and moon in this kalpa. He also created days, nights, skies, worlds, heavens, and the spiritual worlds.’”

If one does not perform sandhyā then he incurs sin. It is stated: “A person devoid of sandhyā is permanently impure and useless for everything.

Whatever he does will not yield any result. O best of the brāhmaṇas, a person who neglects his sandhyā worship and endeavors for other religious activities certainly goes to thousands of hells.”

Thereafter the procedure for Tantric sandhyā is explained as follows: “One should worship the Lord of his mantra with water and various offerings. One should also worship and make offerings to the Lord’s associates and servants.” It is stated in Baudhāyana-smṛti: “A learned person worships Lord Hari by pouring oblations of ghee in fire, by offering flowers in water, by meditating on Him in the heart, and by meditating on Him as being present in the sun globe.” In the conversation between Śrī Vyāsadeva and Ambarīṣa Mahārāja described in Padma Purāṇa, it is stated: “Offering water to Hari in the sun planet and in the water is the best form of worship.”

The process of Tantric sandhyā is as follows: “Thereafter one should chant the mūla-mantra and meditate on the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa while chanting, ‘I am offering You this oblation of water.’ Chanting this, an

intelligent person should offer oblations of water to the Lord three times. One should properly meditate on Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in the sun globe, while chanting the Kāma-gāyatrī mantra ten times. Thereafter one should pray to Kṛṣṇa by saying, ‘Please forgive my offences,’ and then he should offer oblations to the sun.”