Verse 2.23.77

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.23.77:

প্রভু বলে,—“কহিলাঙ এই মহা-মন্ত্র ইহা জপ’ গিযা সবে করিযা নির্বন্ধ ॥ ৭৭ ॥

प्रभु बले,—“कहिलाङ एइ महा-मन्त्र इहा जप’ गिया सबे करिया निर्बन्ध ॥ ७७ ॥

prabhu bale,—“kahilāṅa ei mahā-mantra ihā japa’ giyā sabe kariyā nirbandha || 77 ||

prabhu bale,—“kahilana ei maha-mantra iha japa’ giya sabe kariya nirbandha (77)

English translation:

(77) The Lord continued, “This is the mahā-mantra. All of you go and chant this mantra according to a prescribed number.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra should be chanted loudly at every moment. The instruction for softly chanting the mahā-mantra in “japa” is also prescribed so that no one thinks it is not meant to be chanted softly. The word nirbandha refers to chanting the holy names according to a prescribed number. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not meant to be only chanted softly nor is it prohibited from being chanted softly. Since there is an instruction for five to ten people to gather together and clap their hands while loudly chanting, it is understood that this mahā-mantra is not meant to be only chanted softly, and the process of chanting the vocative mahā-mantra along with mantras that include names ending in the fourth [dative] case has also not been ignored. By the use of the phrase sarva- kṣaṇa bala’—“Always chant,” the consideration that the mahā-mantra is

only meant to be chanted softly has been refuted.