The Bhāgavata Māhātmya then recalls how Vyāsa, even though he had mastered the Vedas and Upaniṣads and had composed the Bhagavad-Gītā as part of the Mahābhārata, felt dejected because he sensed he was lacking complete knowledge. However, when Nārada imparted to him a condensed version of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa in the form of four ślokas, Vyāsa was freed from his distress. In the same way, the only remedy for eliminating the suffering of Jñāna and Vairāgya, which was not relieved by reciting the Vedic mantras, Upaniṣads, and Bhagavad-Gītā, is to recite to them the Bhāgavata, which is the concentrated essence of the Veda in the distinctive form of its delectable fruit full of nectar.185
When the Kumāras commence the saptāha-yajña, seven-day ritual recitation of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, on the bank of the Gaṅgā River in Haridvāra, hosts of Vaiṣṇavas, sages, ṛṣis, gods, and celestial beings assemble there, along with sacred rivers, forests, mountains, and other tīrthas. The Bhāgavata Māhātmya emphasizes the preeminent status of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the quintessential śāstra of the entire brahmanical canon by portraying the embodied forms of the other śāstras—including the Vedas, Upaniṣads, other seventeen Mahāpurāṇas, six Darśanas, and Tantras—as among those who come “running to drink the ambrosia (pīyūṣa) of the Śrī Bhāgavata, desirous of its nectar (rasa).”186 The Māhātmya insists that the seven-day yajña consisting of recitation of the Bhāgavata is more efficacious than countless Vedic yajñas and therefore obviates the need for reciting any other śāstras or performing any other rituals.187
Engaging Kṛṣna’s Mūrti Made of Speech
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya also elaborates on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s reflections concerning its transcendent status as the Kārṣṇa-Veda, the Veda that is identical with Kṛṣṇa. The Māhātmya declares that “this śāstra, the Bhāgavata, is the embodiment of Bhagavān (bhagavad-rūpa) on earth”188 and seeks to clarify why and how Kṛṣṇa assumed this embodied form as a text. It recounts the story of Kṛṣṇa’s last conversation with his friend and messenger Uddhava before he departs the earth and returns to his own abode (sva-pada). Uddhava laments that the dreadful Kali Yuga is imminent and asks how Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas will endure the pain of separation (viyoga) when he withdraws his manifest form from the earth.189 In response to Uddhava’s lament, Kṛṣṇa enters into the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, investing it with his luminous energy (tejas), and leaves it behind on earth as his text-embodiment—his mūrti made of speech (vāṅ-mayī)—with which his bhaktas can engage in Kali Yuga.
He infused his own luminous energy (tejas) into the Bhāgavata and, disappearing, entered into the ocean (arṇava) of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata. This is therefore a manifest form of Hari made of speech (vāṅ-mayī mūrtiḥ pratyakṣā). When engaged through ritual worship (sevana), hearing (śravaṇa), recitation (pāṭha), or seeing (darśana), it destroys sins (pāpas). Hearing it in seven days (saptāha-śravaṇa) is the best practice of all, and this has been declared to be the most appropriate dharma in Kali Yuga, surpassing [all] other disciplines (sādhanas).190
This passage points to four modes of reception through which bhaktas can engage the Bhāgavata with the sensorium: in its oral-aural form as a collection of recited narratives that is made of vāc, speech, it is engaged through pāṭha or paṭhana, recitation, and śravaṇa, hearing; and in its written-visual form as a concrete book that is pratyakṣa, visible to the eyes, it functions as a mūrti of Kṛṣṇa that, like sculpted images, is venerated through darśana, seeing, and sevana, ritual worship. In other passages the Bhāgavata Māhātmya emphasizes that bhaktas should also engage the Bhāgavata through pāna, drinking, and svāda, relishing, its ambrosial nectar (amṛta or rasa) and through vicāraṇa, meditating. It asserts, moreover, that the Bhāgavata’s nectar is not available in the heavens; in satya-loka, the abode of Brahmā; in Kailāsa, the abode of Śiva; nor in Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of Viṣṇu. It is only available on earth, where Kṛṣṇa has manifested his mūrti made of speech, and therefore bhaktas should never cease from drinking (root pā) this precious elixir.191
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya devotes a major portion of its sixth and final chapter to delineating the procedures for conducting a saptāha-yajña, seven-day ritual recitation of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.192 Although the yajña itself centers on reciting (pāṭha or paṭhana) and hearing (śravaṇa) the Bhāgavata in its oral-aural form as a collection of recited narratives, the seven-day ritual begins and ends with worship of the Bhāgavata in its written-visual form as a pustaka, book. The yajña is inaugurated with a pūjā to the book, including ritual offerings of incense, a ghee lamp, and a coconut, followed by a prayer in which the book is directly addressed, “You are Kṛṣṇa himself visible to the eyes (pratyakṣa) under the name of Śrīmad Bhāgavata.”193 The seven-day recitation of the Bhāgavata also concludes with ritual veneration of the book through pūjā.194 Following the conclusion of the seven-day ritual, the chief listener who has sponsored the saptāha-yajña is instructed to install the book, written in beautiful letters, on a throne of gold and, after duly worshiping the Śrīmad Bhāgavata as the localized embodiment of the deity, to present it as a gift to the reciter.195
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya’s portrayal of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa thus presents a vivid example of the Purāṇic “cult of the book” in which the book itself is ritually venerated as a text-incarnation of the deity that functions as a special kind of mūrti. Brown remarks:
The visible, verbal image, in the form of the book, is none other than an incarnation of God, parallel to the idea that an iconic image of God is also an incarnation (arcāvatāra) of the divine. The book, a manifestation of God’s grace and love for his devotees, is infused with his real presence. Seeing the book is tantamount to seeing God.… We see here in the “Bhāgavata Māhātmya” the complete transformation of the holy word from sound to image, from mantra to mūrti.196
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya declares that a person who properly reveres the Bhāgavata by placing the book, in which Kṛṣṇa himself is enshrined, on a throne of gold and presenting it as a gift to a Vaiṣṇava bhakta will attain union (sāyujya) with Kṛṣṇa.197
Fruits of Bhāgavata Saptāha
Although the Bhāgavata Māhātmya thus emphasizes the importance of engaging the Bhāgavata Purāṇa in its written-visual form through darśana, seeing, and sevana, ritual worship, it gives precedence to engaging the text in its oral-aural form through pāṭha or paṭhana, recitation, and śravaṇa, hearing. More specifically, the Bhāgavata Māhātmya emphasizes the fruits (phala) of reciting and hearing the Bhāgavata in its entirety, from beginning to end, over a seven-day period by participating in a Bhāgavata saptāha, which is ascribed the status of a saptāha-yajña, a seven-day yajña. Saptāha-śravaṇa, hearing the Bhāgavata in seven days, is extolled as the supreme dharma of Kali Yuga, which yields incomparable fruits that cannot be attained through any other form of sādhana.198
Those fruits (phala) that cannot be attained through austerities (tapas), through yoga, or through meditative absorption (samādhi) can all be easily attained through saptāha-śravaṇa. The saptāha is superior to sacrifices (yajñas). The saptāha is superior to vows (vratas). It is far superior to austerities (tapas), and it is ever superior to sacred places (tīrthas). The saptāha is superior to yoga, and it is superior to meditation (dhyāna) and jñāna. What shall we say about its superiority? O indeed it is superior to all!199
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya declares that the saptāha-yajña confers the fruits of ten million (one crore) Vedic yajñas,200 and this consummate yajña of Kali Yuga is open to all. Śūdras, women, and others who are excluded from participating in Vedic yajñas are invited to participate in the saptāha-yajña and to relish the fruits of hearing (phala-śruti) the recitation of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.201
In its discussion of the specific fruits attained by participating in a Bhāgavata saptāha, the Bhāgavata Māhātmya repeatedly emphasizes the purifying power of this
seven-day yajña, which derives from the nature of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa itself, “for there is nothing purer (nirmala) on earth than the narrative recited by Śuka.”202 Saptāha-śravaṇa, hearing the Bhāgavata and relishing its pure nectar over the course of a week, is the dharma prescribed in Kali Yuga for cleansing (root pū or root śudh) the hearts and minds of the listeners and for “washing away (prakṣālana) suffering, poverty, misfortune, and sins (pāpas) and conquering desire and anger.”203 The Bhāgavata saptāha is ascribed the power to destroy the entire mound of sins (pāpas, pātakas, or aghas) that the listener has accumulated in the course of innumerable lifetimes—“whether recent or old, minor or major sins (pāpas) incurred by means of thought, word, or action.”204 This seven-day yajña is held to be the only efficacious means of purifying even the most heinous of sinners in Kali Yuga.205
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya directly links the purifying power of a Bhāgavata saptāha to its liberating power, for when the listener’s mound of sins together with their residual karmic impressions are destroyed through hearing the seven-day recitation, the final knot of ignorance is severed and the listener attains liberation (mukti) from saṃsāric existence.
Through saptāha-śravaṇa all doubts are removed, karmic impressions are destroyed, and the knot in the heart is rent asunder. When the sacred water of this narrative (kathā-tīrtha)—which is efficacious in washing away (prakṣālana) the impurities and mire of saṃsāric existence—is established in one’s heart, the sages maintain that liberation (mukti) is ensured.206
Although the Bhāgavata Māhātmya thus extols the purifying and liberating power of a Bhāgavata saptāha, it declares that the seven-day recitation of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is intended above all to establish bhakti as well as the object of bhakti—Kṛṣṇa himself—in the hearts of the participants.207 According to the frame narrative of the Bhāgavata Māhātmya, as discussed earlier, during the saptāha-yajña organized by Nārada and performed by the Kumāras, personified Bhakti spontaneously manifests out of the substance of the Bhāgavata’s narrative (kathārtha) and is nourished by its nectar (kathā-rasa).208 The frame narrative also emphasizes how during the saptāha-yajña Kṛṣṇa himself manifests in the midst of the assembly in his essential form as the flute-bearing cowherd, whose absolute body consists of transcendent bliss and consciousness (paramānanda-cin-mūrti) and is characterized by divine sweetness (madhura).209 At the conclusion of the Bhāgavata saptāha, the participants in the assembly—which includes hosts of bhaktas, ṛṣis, gods, and celestial beings—celebrate Kṛṣṇa’s presence in their midst by engaging in “transmundane (alaukika) kīrtana,” after which Kṛṣṇa grants them a boon: that in all future seven-day yajñas consisting of recitation of the Bhāgavata, he himself will appear along with his most celebrated bhaktas. Kṛṣṇa then disappears, and the assembly participants, ecstatic (prahṛṣṭa) from drinking (root pā) the ambrosial nectar of the Bhāgavata’s narrative (kathāmṛta), depart. “Hence,” the frame narrative concludes, “on account of their ritual worship (sevana) of the Bhāgavata, Hari becomes established in the hearts of Vaiṣṇavas.”210
The Bhāgavata Māhātmya thus seeks to illuminate the mechanisms through which a Bhāgavata saptāha serves as the most efficacious means of directly enlivening and engaging Kṛṣṇa’s living presence within the text. As discussed earlier, Kṛṣṇa is represented as having entered into the Śrīmad Bhāgavata, which is extolled as his mesocosmic form made of speech that is invested with his luminous energy (tejas). Recitation is ascribed mantric efficacy as the means of activating this reverberating speech-form and drawing Bhagavān’s hidden presence out of the text. Whenever and wherever a seven-day recitation of the Bhāgavata is performed, Kṛṣṇa himself spontaneously manifests along with bhakti and becomes established in the hearts of the participants. Moreover, the Bhāgavata Māhātmya proclaims that the participants in a saptāha-yajña ultimately attain the highest goal of human existence: realization of Kṛṣṇa211 and eternal residence in his transcendent abode, Kṛṣṇaloka or Goloka—a goal that is beyond the reach of even the most accomplished yogins and siddhas.212 “Glorious is the saptāha, which bestows as its fruit (phala) [residence in] Kṛṣṇaloka.”213
Sovereign of All Śāstras and Embodiment of Bhagavān: Gauḍīya Perspectives on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa
The early Gauḍīya authorities appropriate and expand upon the arguments of Purāṇic texts in order to establish the transcendent authority of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the consummate śāstra in the brahmanical canon of śruti and smṛti texts, which is celebrated above all for its special status as the embodiment of Bhagavān. The earliest Gauḍīya formulations of the Bhāgavata’s transcendent authority are ascribed to Caitanya himself and are elaborated in the teachings and practices of the Gosvāmins, culminating in the sustained arguments of Jīva Gosvāmin in the Tattva Sandarbha.
In the Caitanya Bhāgavata of Vṛndāvana Dāsa, the earliest Bengali hagiography of Caitanya’s life,214 Caitanya is portrayed as proclaiming that the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is “an avatāra of Kṛṣṇa in the form of a text” (grantha-rūpe Bhāgavata Kṛṣṇa-avatāra).215 Moreover, the Bhāgavata is extolled as one of four forms (vigrahas) of Kṛṣṇa that are intrinsically divine in that, in contrast to Kṛṣṇa’s sculpted images, or mūrtis, they do not need to be ritually consecrated in order to manifest his presence.216 In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja ascribes to Caitanya perspectives on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa that resonate with the earlier hagiography of Vṛndāvana Dāsa, whom he praises as the “Vyāsa of the Caitanya līlā.”217 He represents Caitanya as expounding the transcendent truth (tattva) of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata and declaring its essential form (svarūpa) to be “identical with Kṛṣṇa” (Kṛṣṇa-tulya).218 He also singles out the Bhāgavata as one of four things that are ascribed the special status of tadīya, “belonging to Kṛṣṇa,” and are therefore worthy of veneration (sevā)—a notion that echoes the Caitanya Bhāgavata’s representation of the Bhāgavata as one of four forms of Kṛṣṇa that are intrinsically divine.219
Among the six Gosvāmins, Rūpa Gosvāmin and Jīva Gosvāmin, as the principal architects of the Gauḍīya theological edifice, provide arguments to ground Caitanya’s claims regarding the transcendent authority of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and also delineate practices through which bhaktas can engage Kṛṣṇa’s text-avatāra. In the Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu, as discussed in Chapters 1 and 2, Rūpa asserts that the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of five “transmundane (alaukika) forms” that are invested with inconceivable power (acintya śakti) because they are nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa and are therefore efficacious not only in stimulating the sthāyi-bhāva of Kṛṣṇa-rati, love for Kṛṣṇa, but also in manifesting the object of this love—Kṛṣṇa himself—on the gross material plane. He maintains in this context that the practice of engaging the Bhāgavata Purāṇa through savoring (āsvāda) its meanings (artha) is one of the five most effective practices for cultivating prema-rasa.220 Building on Rūpa’s reflections, Jīva provides extensive arguments in the Tattva Sandarbha to establish the transcendent authority of the Bhāgavata as the preeminent śāstra that is Kṛṣṇa’s “representative embodiment” (pratinidhi-rūpa) on earth.221 He also elaborates in the Tattva Sandarbha and Bhakti Sandarbha on the practices through which bhaktas can engage the Bhāgavata in both its oral-aural and written-visual forms.
Among the other Gosvāmins who ascribed central importance to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmin in particular was renowned for his devotion to the Bhāgavata, which found expression not in theological arguments regarding the Bhāgavata’s canonical authority but rather in the practice of Bhāgavata-paṭhana, recitation of the Bhāgavata, and exposition of its teachings. According to the Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, as instructed by Caitanya, spent four years studying the Bhāgavata in Vārāṇasī and subsequently spent the rest of his life in Vṛndāvana blissfully
absorbed in reciting and expounding the Bhāgavata in the assembly of Rūpa Gosvāmin and Sanātana Gosvāmin before the mūrti at the Govindadeva temple.222
In the following analysis I will focus primarily on the arguments regarding the transcendent authority of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa that Jīva sets forth in the Tattva Sandarbha, the opening volume of his six-volume Bhāgavata Sandarbha, in which he claims that the purpose of the Bhāgavata Sandarbha is to serve as a kind of commentary (bhāṣya-rūpa) expounding the meaning of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.223 In order to substantiate his claims regarding the transcendent authority of the Bhāgavata, Jīva devotes the first part of the Tattva Sandarbha, the pramāṇa-khaṇḍa (sections 9–26), to epistemological concerns regarding pramāṇa, the authoritative means of valid knowledge. He uses philosophical arguments and prooftexts from śruti and smṛti—including a number of the Purāṇic traditions discussed earlier—in order to establish (1) the transcendent authority of the Veda (sections 10–11); (2) the Vedic status of the Purāṇas (sections 12–17); and (3) the special status of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the “sovereign (cakravartin) of all pramāṇas”224 and the “sovereign (cakravartin) of all śāstras”225 that contains the essential meaning of the Vedas, Itihāsas, and Purāṇas (sections 18–26).
Transcendent Authority of the Veda
Jīva Gosvāmin discusses the transcendent authority of the Veda in Tattva Sandarbha 10–11, which he explicates more fully in his commentary on these two sections in the Sarva-Saṃvādinī. To support his arguments concerning the authoritative status of the Vedas, Jīva makes use of the philosophical arguments of the exponents of Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta, the formal schools of Vedic exegesis, and also invokes the mythological representations of śruti and smṛti texts.
Bhakti and Embodiment Page 24