Verse 3.1.121

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 3.1.121:

এই মত স্তুতি করে শ্রী-গৌরসুন্দর শুনিযা জাহ্নবী-দেবী লজ্জিত অন্তর ॥ ১২১ ॥

एइ मत स्तुति करे श्री-गौरसुन्दर शुनिया जाह्नवी-देवी लज्जित अन्तर ॥ १२१ ॥

ei mata stuti kare śrī-gaurasundara śuniyā jāhnavī-devī lajjita antara || 121 ||

ei mata stuti kare sri-gaurasundara suniya jahnavi-devi lajjita antara (121)

English translation:

(121) When Śrī Gaurasundara offered prayers in this way, Jāhnavī-devī felt embarrassed.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

In the Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha (68) it is stated:

yo ‘sau nirañjano devaś cit-svarūpī janārdan aḥsa eva drava-rūpeṇa gaṅgāmbho nātra saṃśayaḥ

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Janārdana, whose form is completely spiritual and who is always free from material contact, personally appears in the form of the Ganges river water. Of this there is no doubt.” In Śrī Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā (2.3) it is stated:

ānanda-nirjharamayīm aravinda-nabha- pādāravinda-makarandamaya-pravāham

taṃ kṛṣṇa-bhaktim iva mūrtimatiṃ sravantīṃ vande maheśvara-śiro-ruha-kunda-mālām

“I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Gaṅgādevī. She is a cascade of bliss, a stream of nectar from the lotus feet of Śrī Hari, and the personification of devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She is like a garland of jasmine flowers situated on the head of Lord Śiva.” Also in Śrī Hari- bhakti-kalpa-latikā (1.14) it is stated:

ārūḍhā hara-mūrdhānaṃ yat-pāda-sparśa-gauravāt trailokyaṃ cāpunād gaṇgā kim tasya mahimocyate

“How can the glories of the Supreme Lord be described? The Ganges,

who is carried on the head of Śiva and who purifies the three worlds, is glorified by the touch His lotus feet.” In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (9.9.9) it is stated:

tatheti rājñābhihitaṃ sarva-loka-hitaḥśivaḥ dadhārāvahito gaṅgāṃ pāda-pūta-jalāṃ hareḥ

“When King Bhagīratha approached Lord Śiva and requested him to sustain the forceful waves of the Ganges, Lord Śiva accepted the proposal by saying, `Let it be so.’ Then, with great attention, he sustained the Ganges on his head, for the water of the Ganges is purifying, having emanated from the toes of Lord Viṣṇu.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (9.9.15) it is stated:

sanniveśya mano yasmiñ chraddhayā munayo ‘malāḥ traiguṇyaṃ dustyajaṃ hitvā sadyo yātās tad-ātmatām

“Great sages, completely freed from material lusty desires, devote their minds fully to the service of the Lord. Such persons are liberated from material bondage without difficulty, and they become transcendentally situated, acquiring the spiritual quality of the Lord. This is the glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” In the Mahābhārata (Vana-parva 85.90) it is stated:

sarvaṃ kṛte yuge puṇyaṃ tretāyāṃ puṣkaraḥ smṛtam dvāpare tu kurukṣetraṃ gaṅgā kali-yuge smṛtā

“All holy places bestow piety in Satya-yuga, whereas Puṣkara is most auspicious in Tretā-yuga. Kurukṣetra is especially auspicious in Dvāpara- yuga, and the Ganges is most auspicious in Kali-yuga.” In the Mahābhārata (Vana-parva 85.96) it is stated: na gaṅgā sādṛśaṃ tīrthaṃ na devaḥ keśavāt paraḥ—“There is no holy place like the Gaṅgā, and there is no Deity superior to Lord Keśava.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.70.44) it is stated:

yasyāmalaṃ divi yaśaḥ prathitaṃ rasāyāṃ bhūmau ca te bhuvana-maṅgala dig-vitānam mandākinīti divi bhogavatīti cādho

gaṅgeti ceha caraṇāmbu punāti viśvam

“My dear Lord, You are the symbol of everything auspicious. Your transcendental name and fame is spread like a canopy all over the universe, including the higher, middle, and lower planetary systems. The transcendental water that washes Your lotus feet is known in the higher planetary systems as the Mandākinī River, in the lower planetary systems as the Bhogavatī and in this earthly planetary system as the Ganges. This sacred, transcendental water flows throughout the entire universe, purifying wherever it goes.” One should also discuss Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.41.13-16).

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (5.17.3) it is stated:

tataḥ sapta ṛṣayas tat prabhāvābhijñā yāṃ nanu tapasa ātyantikī siddhir etāvatī bhagavati sarvātmani vāsudeve ‘nuparata-bhakti-yoga- lābhenaivopekṣitānyārthātma-gatayo muktim ivāgatāṃ mumukṣava iva sabahu-mānam adyāpi jaṭā-jūṭair udvahanti.

“The seven great sages [Marīci, Vasiṣṭha, Atri, and so on] reside on planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Ganges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts of hair on their heads. They have concluded that this is the ultimate wealth, the perfection of all austerities, and the best means of prosecuting transcendental life. Having obtained uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they neglect all other beneficial processes like religion, economic development, sense gratification, and even merging into the Supreme. Just as jñānīs think that merging into the existence of the Lord is the highest truth, these seven exalted personalities accept devotional service as the perfection of life.” In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (8.21.4) it is stated:

dhātuḥ kamaṇḍalu-jalaṃ tad urukramasya pādāvanejana-pavitratayā narendra svardhuny abhūn nabhasi sā patatī nimārṣṭi loka-trayaṃ bhagavato viśadeva kīrtiḥ

“O King, the water from Lord Brahmā’s kamaṇḍalu washed the lotus feet of Lord Vāmanadeva, who is known as Urukrama, the wonderful actor.

Thus that water became so pure that it was transformed into the water of the Ganges, which went flowing down from the sky, purifying the three worlds like the pure fame of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (9.9.12-14) it is stated:

yaj-jala-sparśa-mātreṇa brahma-daṇḍa-hatā api sagarātmajā divaṃ jagmuḥ kevalaṃ deha-bhasmabhiḥ

“Because the sons of Sagara Mahārāja had offended a great personality, the heat of their bodies had increased, and they were burnt to ashes. But simply by being sprinkled with water from the Ganges, all of them became eligible to go to the heavenly planets. What then is to be said of those who use the water of mother Ganges to worship her?

bhasmībhūtāṅga-saṅgena svar yātāḥ sagarātmajāḥkiṃ punaḥśraddhayā devīṃ sevante ye dhṛta-vratāḥ

“Simply by having water from the Ganges come in contact with the ashes of their burnt bodies, the sons of Sagara Mahārāja were elevated to the heavenly planets. Therefore, what is to be said of a devotee who worships mother Ganges faithfully with a determined vow? One can only imagine the benefit that accrues to such a devotee.

na hy etat param āścaryaṃ svardhunyā yad ihoditam ananta-caraṇāmbhoja- prasūtāyā bhava-cchidaḥ

“Because mother Ganges emanates from the lotus toe of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Anantadeva, she is able to liberate one from material bondage. Therefore whatever is described herewith about her is not at all wonderful.”

Vālmīki has written:

tvat-tīre taru-koṭarāntar-gato gaṅge vihaṅgo varaṃ tvan-nīre narakānta-kāriṇi varaṃ matsyo ‘tha vā kacchapaḥ

naivānyatra madāndha-sindhura-ghaṭā-saṅghaṭṭa-ghaṇṭā-raṇat- kāra-trasta-samasta-vairi-vanitā-labdha-stutir bhū-patiḥ

“O Gāṅgā, O destroyer of hell, a bird within the hollow of a tree on your shore and a fish or tortoise within your waters are better than a king living elsewhere, even if that king has received praise from all his enemies’ wives, who have been frightened by the ringing of the colliding bells on his troop of mad elephants.

ukṣā pakṣī turaga uragaḥ ko ‘pi vā vāraṇo vā- vārīṇaḥ syāṃ janana-maraṇa-kleśa-duḥkhāsahiṣṇuḥ

na tv anyatra pravirala-raṇat-kaṅkaṇa-kvāṇa-miśraṃ vāra-strībhiś camara-marutā vījito bhūmi-pālaḥ

“Let me become an ox, a bird, a horse, a snake, an elephant, or any other lowly creature intolerant of the sufferings of birth and death. I do not want to go elsewhere, even as a king fanned with camaras by courtesans whose bracelets sweetly tinkle.

abhinava-viṣa-vallī pāda-padmasya viṣṇor madana-mathana-mauler mālatī-puṣpa-mālā

jayati jaya-patākā kāpy asau mokṣa-lakṣmākṣa pita-kali-kalaṅkā jāhnavī naḥ punātu

“She is a young myrrh creeper at the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu, and the garland of mālatī flowers on the headdress of Him, the conqueror of

Cupid. All victory to her, whose victory flag is marked with the sign of liberation. May she, Jāhnavī, who dispels the contamination of Kali, purify us.

yat tat tāla-tamāla-śāla-sarala-vyālola-vallī-latā- cchannaṃ sūrya-kara-pratāpa-rahitaṃśaṅkhendu-kuṇḍojjvalam

gandharvāmara-siddha-kinnara-vadhū-tuṅga-stanāsphalitaṃ snānāya prati-vāsaraṃ bhavatu me gāṅgaṃ jalaṃ nirmalam

“May the pure waters of the Ganges be there every day for me to bathe in. Those waters are covered by the trembling vines and creepers of the tāla, tamāla, śāla, and sarala trees; free from the burning heat of the sun’s rays; brilliant like the white conchshell and the halo of the moon; and gently struck by the prominent breasts of the Gandharva, demigod, Siddha, and Kinnara women.

gāṅgaṃ vāri mano-hāri murāri-caraṇa-cyutam tripurāri-śiraś-cāri pāpa-hari punātu mām

“The waters of the Ganges, emanating from the feet of Murāri, enchant the mind. They rest on the head of Lord Tripurāri and destroy all sin. May those waters purify me.

pāpāpahāri duritāri taraṅga-dhāri dūra-pracāri girirāja-guhā-vidāri

jhaṅkāra-kāri hari-pāda-rajo-vihāri gāṅgaṃ punātu satataṃśubha-kāri vāri

“May the always auspicious waters of the Ganges purify me. That water dispels all sins. It is the enemy of distress, it bears many waves, it travels far, it splits open the caves of the Himālaya, it makes a murmuring sound, and it sports in the dust of Lord Hari’s feet.”

Śrī Śaṅkarācārya has stated:

varam iha nīre kamaṭho mīnaḥkiṃ

vā tīre saraṭaḥ kṣīṇaḥ

atha vā gavyutau śva-paco dīnas tava dūre na nṛpati-kulīnaḥ

“A tortoise or fish in this water, a feeble lizard on the river’s shore, and a wretched dog-eater in a nearby pasture are better than a royal prince far away from you.”

Śrī Jāhnavī incarnated to deliver the inhabitants of the material world, therefore there is nothing equal to the Ganges. Although Śrī Gaurasundara is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He increased the glories of His servants and maidservants.