Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya: Chapter 1: Part 1

|| OM namo bhagavate vasudevaya OM ||

ओं श्रीमदानन्दतीर्थभगवत्पादाचार्यविरचितः
श्री महाभारततात्पर्यनिर्णयः
अथ प्रथमोऽध्यायः
(सर्वशास्त्रतात्पर्यनिर्णयः )
ओं । नारायणाय परिपूर्णगुणार्णवाय विश्वोदयस्थितिलयोन्नियतिप्रदाय ।
ज्ञानप्रदाय विबुधासुरसौख्यदुःखसत्कारणाय वितताय नमो नमस्ते । १.१ ।

1) I bow to that Lord Narayana, who is the ocean of all attributes, who is responsible for the creation, sustenance, destruction and conduct of the Universe, who gives knowledge, who is the reason behind bliss to suras and sorrow to asuras, and who is omnipresent and unique and special.

आसीदुदारगुणवारिधिरप्रमेयो नारायणः परतमः परमात्स एकः ।
सं शान्तसं विदखिलं जठरे निधाय लक्ष्मीभुजान्तरगतः स्वरतोऽपि चाग्रे । १.२ ।

2) Lord Narayana, who is beyond comprehension, and who is greater than Mahalakshmi who is greater than Lord Brahma and others, who has the entire knowledge in his own mind and who has the entire Universe in his stomach, rested between the shoulders of Lakshmi, though he is completely self satisfied.

तस्योदरस्थजगतः सदमन्दसान्द्रस्वानन्दतुष्टवपुषोऽपि रमारमस्य ।
भूत्यै निजाण्स्रितजनस्य हि सृज्यसृष्टावीक्षा बभूव परनामनिमेषकान्ते । १.३ ।

3) The Lord, who has the entire Universe in his stomach, even though he has complete and ever present bliss without any deficiency, for the upliftment of the souls under his refuge, had a desire to create those worthy of being created, at the end of the Pralaya called “para”.

दृष्ट्वा स चेतनगणान् जठरे शयानानानन्दमात्रवपुषः सृतिविप्रमुक्तान् ।
ध्यानं गतान् सृतिगतां श्च सुषुप्तिसं स्थान् ब्रह्मादिकान् कलिपरान्मनुजां स्तथैक्षत् । १.४ ।

4) That Lord, had a look at the entire group of chetanas. He looked at those uttama muktas who are completely liberated from samsara and who have their own natural bliss as their body and are immersed in meditation (of the Lord). He looked at Brahma and other noble souls, Kali and other evil souls and other mixed souls who were resting. He also looked at the other mixed souls and lesser souls who had been liberated.

स्रक्ष्ये हि चेतनगणान् सुखदुःखमध्यसम्प्राप्तये तनुभृतां विहृतिं ममेच्छन् ।
सोऽयं विहार इह मे तनुभृत्स्वभावसम्भूतये भवति भूतिकृदेव भूत्याः । १.५ ।

5) Desirous of my vihara, I shall create chetanas so they obtain joy, sorrow or mixed nature according to their natural being. This act of mine shall allow the three types of jivas to express their “nature” completely and also allow Mahalakshmi’s opulence.

इत्थं विचिन्त्य परमः स तु वासुदेवनामा बभूव निजमुक्तिपदप्रदाता ।
तस्याज्ञयैव नियताऽथ रमाऽपि रूपं बभ्रे द्वितीयमपि यत्प्रवदन्ति मायाम् । १.६ ।

6) Thinking in this manner, the Supreme Lord took the form of Vasudeva, a form which gives eternal bliss (Moksha) to his people. Then Mahalakshmi, who is forever under the control of the Lord, took her second form upon the orders of the Lord. That form is known as ‘Maya’.

सङ्कर्षणण्स्च स बभूव पुनः सुनित्यः सं हारकारणवपुस्तदनुज्ञयैव ।
देवी जयेत्यनु बभूव स सृष्टिहेतोः प्रद्युम्नतामुपगतः कृतितां च देवी । १.७ ।

7) The Lord then took the eternal form of Sankarshana, the form which is responsible for the destruction of the Universe. Under his orders, Devi took the form of Jaya. After that, the Lord took the form of Pradyumna, responsible for the creation of the Universe. And Devi took the form of Kruti.

स्थित्यै पुनः स भगवाननिरुद्धनामा देवी चशान्तिरभवच्छरदां सहस्रम् ।
स्थित्वा स्वमूर्तिभिरमूभिरचिन्त्यशक्तिः प्रद्युम्नरूपक इमां श्चरमात्मनेऽदात् । १.८ ।

8) Bhagavan then took the form of Aniruddha, which is responsible for the sustenance of the Universe. Devi took the corresponding form of Shanti. A thousand years after this, the Lord, in his form of Pradyumna, handed over to his own Aniruddha form, all those Jivas, who were eligible for creation.

निर्देहकान् स भगवाननिरुद्धनामा जीवान् स्वकर्मसहितानुदरे निवेश्य ।
चक्रेऽथ देहसहितान् क्रमशः स्वयम्भुप्राणात्मशेषगरुडेण्समुखान् समग्रान् । १.९ ।

9) Lord Aniruddha then kept all those Jivas, who had no body except their Linga Shareera, including Swayambhu (Brahma), Vayu, Shesha, Garuda, Rudra and others, inside of his stomach. He then brought them out with a physical body one after the other.

पञ्चात्मकः स भगवान् द्विषडात्मकोऽभूत्पञ्चद्वयी शतसहस्रपरोऽमितश्च ।
एकः समोऽप्यखिलदोषसमुज्झितोऽपि सर्वत्र पूर्णगुणकोऽपि बहूपमोऽभूत् । १.१० ।

10) Thus the five formed Lord, took twelve forms, took ten forms, took a hundred forms, took thousand forms, took many forms, took innumerable forms. Although he is One and same in all forms, although he is without any deficiencies in any form and full of auspicious attributes in all forms, he still appeared in multiple forms. Note: Five forms – Narayana, etc. Twelve forms – Keshava, Narayana, etc. Ten forms – Matsya, Kurma etc. Hundred forms – Forms in the Narayana Shatanama, Thousand forms – Vishva, Vishnu, etc. Multiple forms – Para, etc. Innumerable forms – Aja, etc

निर्दोषपूर्णगुणविग्रह आत्मतन्त्रो निश्चेतनात्मकशरीरगुणैश्च हीनः ।
आनन्दमात्रकरपादमुखोदरादिः सर्वत्र च स्वगतभेदविवर्जितात्मा । १.११ ।

11) That Lord has defectless and completely auspicious attributes as his body. He is independent, without a physical body and outside of nature’s attributes (control). He has pure bliss as his hands, feet, face, stomach and other organs. He is eternally without a difference when it comes to attributes, actions and nature.

कालाच्च देशगुणतोऽस्य न चाऽदिरन्तो वृद्धिक्षयौ न तु परस्य सदातनस्य ।
नैतादृशः क्व च बभूव न चैव भाव्यो नास्त्युत्तरः किमु परात्परमस्य विष्णोः । १.१२ ।

12) Lord Vishnu, who is eternally the same, does not have a beginning nor end, temporally, spatially or attributes wise. He does not have growth nor decay. There is none who is equal to him, nor will anyone ever be equal to him in future. Since there is none even equal to him, who can ever be greater than him?

सर्वज्ञ ईश्वरतमः स च सर्वशक्तिः पूर्णाव्ययात्मबलचित्सुखवीर्यसारः ।
यस्याऽज्ञया रहितमिन्दिरया समेतं ब्रह्मेशपूर्वकमिदं न तु कस्य चेशम् । १.१३ ।

13) The Lord is one who knows all. He is the controller of everyone. He is infinitely capable, complete, lossless and one with natural strength, knowledge, bliss and courage. He is the best. Without his permission, this entire Universe including Mahalakshmi and Brahma, Rudra are not capable of any action.

आभासकोऽस्य पवनः पवनस्य रुद्रः शेषात्मको गरुड एव च शक्रकामौ ।
वीन्द्रेशयोस्तदपरे त्वनयोश्च तेषामृष्यादयः क्रमश ऊनगुणाः शतां शाः । १.१४ ।

14) For Lord Hari, Sri Vayu is the Pratibimba (reflection, representative). For Sri Vayu, Rudra and Garuda, both of whom will reach Sesha’s post are the Pratibimba. For Garuda and Rudra, Indra and Kama are the Pratibimba. For them, Rishis and others are the Pratibimba. The Pratibimbas are always lesser in attributes by at least 100 (10 to the power of 100) to their Bimbas (source, origin).

आभासका त्वथ रमाऽस्य मरुत्स्वरूपाच्छ्रेष्ठाऽप्यजात्तदनु गीः शिवतो वरिष्ठा ।
तस्या उमा विपतिनी च गिरस्तयोऽस्तु शच्यादिकाः क्रमश एव यथा पुमां सः । १.१५ ।

15) Lord Mahalakshmi who is greater than even Brahma is the main Pratibimba to the Lord amongst female Jivas. Saraswati and Bharati, who are greater than Rudra, are the Pratibimba of Mahalakshmi. For them, Parvati and Suparni are the main Pratibimbas. For Parvati and Suparni, Sachidevi and others are the Pratibimbas. Just like amongst male Jivas, even in female Jivas, there is a hierarchy of Jivas and a Bimba-Pratibimba relationship exists.

ताभ्यश्च ते शतगुणैर्दशतो वरिष्ठाः पञ्चोत्तरैरपि यथाक्रमतः श्रुतिस्थाः ।
शब्दो बहुत्ववचनः शतमित्यतश्च श्रुत्यन्तरेषु बहुधोक्तिविरुद्धता न। १.१६ ।

16) Amongst those male Jivas, some are greater than female Jivas by 100 (order of magnitude) attributes, some are greater by 10. Some others by 15 attributes. This hierarchy has to be reconciled using the statements in Shruti. If the word “Shata” is (correctly) interpreted as “many”, there is no confusion amongst the Shrutis even if they quoting different numbers.

तेषां स्वरूपमिदमेव यतोऽथ मुक्ता अप्येवमेव सततोच्चविनीचरूपाः ।
शब्दः शतं दशसहस्रमिति स्म यस्मात्तस्मान्न हीनवचनोऽथ ततोऽग्र्यरूपाः । १.१७ ।

17) Since this difference in their attributes is inherent in their nature, the difference and hierarchy exists even in Moksha. Since the Shruti “Dasha Shatam Sahasram..” exists, the word Shata doesn’t indicate scarcity. Therefore, even if higher souls have been referred to as higher by “Shata”, it still indicates that they are much higher in attributes than the lesser ones.

एवं नरोत्तमपरास्तु विमुक्तियोग्या अन्ये च सं सृतिपरा असुरास्तमोगाः ।
एवं सदैव नियमः क्वचिदन्यथा नयावन्न पूर्तिरुत सं सृतिगाः समस्ताः । १.१८ ।

18) In this way, those who take refuge in Vayu are eligible for Moksha. Others are eternally in Samsara (Nityasamsaris). Asuras are eligible for Tamas (hell). This is an eternal rule and will never change. Till one completes Sadhana, everyone will be in Samsara.

पूर्तिश्च नैव नियमाद्भविता हि यस्मात्तस्मात्समाप्तिमपि यान्ति न जीवसऽ न्घाः ।
आनन्त्यमेव गणण्सोऽस्ति यतो हि तेषामित्थं ततः सकलकालगता प्रवृत्तिः । १.१९ ।

19) Due to the will and rule of the Paramatma, all souls will never complete Sadhana at the same time. Hence the souls as an entity will never end. This way, since the souls have the quality of being infinite in number, the cycle of creation, etc will always keep occuring.

एतैः सुरादिभिरतिप्रतिभादियुक्तैर्युक्तैः सहैव सततं प्रविचिन्तयद्भिः ।
पूर्तेरचिन्त्यमहिमः परमः परात्मा नारायणोऽस्य गुणविस्तृतिरन्यगा क्व । १.२० ।

20) The best of the devatas, with full of auspicious attributes such as talent, even though they constantly meditate on the attributes of Lord Narayana, the Lord, on account of being complete and supreme and master of all, will never come under the grasp of their understanding. Where else can there be an extension of auspicious attributes like in Him?

साम्यं न चास्य परमस्य च केन चाऽप्यं मुक्तेन च क्वचिदतस्त्वभिदा कुतोऽस्य ।
प्राप्येत चेतनगणैः सततास्वतन्त्रैर्नित्यस्वतन्त्रवपुषः परमात्परस्य । १.२१ ।

21) Even the best amongst the Jivas, the liberated Brahma, cannot even equal the Paramatma. That being the case, how can one claim to be One with the Paramatma, who is eternally of independent constitution, and who is greater than Brahma and others.

अर्थोऽयमेव निखिलैरपि वेदवाक्यै रामायणैः सहितभारतपञ्चरात्रैः ।
अन्यैश्च शास्त्रवचनैः सहतत्त्वसूत्रैर्निर्णीयते सहृदयं हरिणा सदैव । १.२२ ।

22) This truth is what is established by all the Vedas, by Ramayana, Mahabharata and Pancharatra. The same is propagated by all the Tattva Sutras and other Shastras. This is what is decided by Lord Hari himself.

नारायणस्य न समःऽऽपुरुषोत्तमोऽहं
जीवाक्षरे ह्यतिगतोऽस्मिऽ ततो “ऽन्यदार्तम्”१ ।
“मुक्तोऽपसृप्य”२ऽइह नास्ति कुतश्च कश्चित्ऽ
“नानेव”३ऽधर्मपृथगात्मदृगेत्यधो हिऽ । १.२३ ।

23) (Shloka lists some of the Shruti/Smruti Vakyas propagating the same truth)

1. 1. Nasti narayana samam….
   2. Yasmat ksharamateetoham….
   3. TattOnyadaartam…
   4. MuktopasmrupyavyapadEshAt…
   5. Neha nAnAsti kiMchana…
   6. MrutyOH sa mrutyumApnOti…
   7. YathOdakaM durgE…

“आभास एव”४ऽपृथगीशत एष जीवोऽ
मुक्तस्य नास्ति जगतो विषये तु शक्तिःऽ ।
मात्रापरोऽसि न तु तेऽश्नुवते महित्वंऽ
षाड्गुण्यविग्रहऽऽसुपूर्णगुणैकदेहःऽ । १.२४ ।

24) Shloka

1. 1.  AbhAsa Eva cha
   2. PruthugupadEshAt
   3. JagadvyApAravarjyam
   4. ParO mAtrAyA tanvA…
   5. JitaMtE puMDarEkAksha…
   6. SacchidAnaMdaroopAya varENyAya…
   7. SupoorNaguNaikadEha ityanEna…

माहात्म्यदेहऽऽसृतिमुक्तिगतेऽऽशिवश्च ब्रह्मा
च तद्गुणगतौ न कथञ्चनेशौऽ ।
न श्रीः कुतस्तदपरेऽऽऽस्य सुखस्य मात्रामण्
स्नन्ति मुक्तसुगणाण्स्च शतावरेणऽ । १.२५ ।

25) Shloka

1. 1. MahAvibhootE mahAtmyashareera..
   2. BaMdhakO bhavapAshEna..
   3. SOmrutasyABhayasyEtO…
   4. NAMtam guNAnAmaguNasya…
   5. ParO divA para EnA pRuthivyaitAvatee..
   6. EtasyaivAnaMdasyEnyEni bhootAni..

“आभासकाभासपरावभासरूपाण्यजस्राणि च चेतनानाम् ।
विष्णोः सदैवाति वशात्कदापि गच्छन्ति केशादिगणा न मुक्तौ” । १.२६ । ५

26) The main pratibimba of Lord Vishnu Mukhyaprana, his pratibimba Rudra, his pratibimba Indra and others, and their pratibimba Prana, Daksha and others and all other souls are eternal. Brahma, Rudra and others are under the extreme control of Lord Vishnu even in Moksha and will therefore never exceed Him.

यस्मिन् परेऽन्येऽप्यजजीवकोशाऽ
नाहं परायुर्न मरीचिमुख्याःऽ ।
जानन्ति यद्गुणगणान्न रमादयोऽपि
नित्यस्वतन्त्र उत कोऽस्ति तदन्य ईशःऽ । १.२७ ।

27) An infinite number of Universes exist under the Paramatma. His attributes can never be completely understood by either me or Brahma or Marichi and other Rishis. Even Mahalakshmi and others have not understood Him completely. Except Him, who else is eternal, independent and fully capable?

नैवैक एव पुरुषः पुरुषोत्तमोऽसावेकह्
कुतः स पुरुषोऽऽयत एव जात्या ।
अर्थात्श्रुतेश्च गुणतो निजरूपतश्च
नित्यान्य एव कथमस्मि स इत्यपि स्यात्ऽ । १.२८ ।

28) The Jiva is not One. There are many souls. The Lord is the Supreme amongst all. How then can he be indifferent from souls? He belongs to the category of Ishvara. Many shrutis have declared Him as different from all. Due to Him having infinite number of attributes and being omnipresent always, He is different from all other souls. How appropriate is it then to claim that an individual is same as Him?

सर्वोत्तमो हरिरिदं तु तदाज्ञयैव
चेत्तुं क्षमं स तु हरिः परमस्वतन्त्रः ।
पूर्णाव्ययागणितनित्यगुणार्णवोऽसौऽ
इत्येव वेदवचनानि परोक्तयश्च । १.२९ ।

29) Lord Hari is Supreme. The entire Universe obtains knowledge only by his order. He is best amongst all, independent, complete, without any end or defects, eternal. He is an ocean of auspicious attributes. Multiple Veda vachanas and the words of the Lord Himself declare thus.

ऋगादयश्च चत्वारः पञ्चरात्रं च भारतम् ।
मूलरामायणं ब्रह्मसूत्रं मानं स्वतः स्मृतम् । १.३० ।

The four Vedas viz Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva, Pancharatra, Mahabharata, Moola Ramayana and Brahma Sutra, these are valid Pramanas by themselves.

Advertisement