Shloka 20
Citraketu’s Detachment, Nārada’s Mantra, and the Darśana of Anantadeva
आत्मानन्दानुभूत्यैव न्यस्तशक्त्यूर्मये नम: । हृषीकेशाय महते नमस्तेऽनन्तमूर्तये ॥ २० ॥
ātmānandānubhūtyaiva nyasta-śakty-ūrmaye namaḥ hṛṣīkeśāya mahate namas te ’nanta-mūrtaye
ਹੇ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ! ਆਪਣੇ ਆਤਮ-ਆਨੰਦ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਭਵ ਨਾਲ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਪ੍ਰਕ੍ਰਿਤੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਲਹਿਰਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਪਰੇ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹੋ; ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਨਮਸਕਾਰ। ਹੇ ਹ੍ਰਿਸ਼ੀਕੇਸ਼, ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਸਵਾਮੀ, ਮਹਾਨਤਮ! ਅਨੰਤ ਰੂਪਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਣਾਮ।
This verse analytically differentiates the living entity from the Supreme Lord. The form of the Lord and the form of the conditioned soul are different because the Lord is always blissful whereas the conditioned soul is always under the threefold miseries of the material world. The Supreme Lord is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. He derives ānanda, bliss, from His own self. The Lord’s body is transcendental, spiritual, but because the conditioned soul has a material body, he has many bodily and mental troubles. The conditioned soul is always perturbed by attachment and detachment, whereas the Supreme Lord is always free from such dualities. The Lord is the supreme master of all the senses, whereas the conditioned soul is controlled by the senses. The Lord is the greatest, whereas the living entity is the smallest. The living entity is conditioned by the waves of material nature, but the Supreme Lord is transcendental to all actions and reactions. The expansions of the Supreme Lord’s body are innumerable ( advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ), but the conditioned soul is limited to only one form. From history we learn that a conditioned soul, by mystic power, can sometimes expand into eight forms, but the Lord’s bodily expansions are unlimited. This means that the bodies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead have no beginning and no end, unlike the bodies of the living entities.
FAQs
This verse addresses Viṣṇu as Hṛṣīkeśa, affirming Him as the supreme controller and master of the senses, worthy of surrender and worship.
After receiving spiritual instruction and turning from grief toward devotion, Citraketu offers reverent praise to Viṣṇu, acknowledging the Lord’s greatness and unlimited manifestations.
It encourages reverence beyond sectarian limitation—seeing the Divine’s presence in many authentic expressions, while keeping one’s devotion steady and sincere.