ÄrÄdhanÄnÄá¹ sarveá¹£Äá¹
viṣṇor ÄrÄdhanaá¹ param
tasmÄt parataraá¹ devi
tadÄ«yÄnÄá¹ samarcanam
ÄrÄdhanÄnÄm - of varieties of worship; sarveá¹£Äm - all; viṣṇoh - of Lord Viṣṇu; ÄrÄdhanam - worship; param - the most exalted; tasmÄt - and above such worship of Lord Viṣṇu; parataram - of greater value; devi - O goddess; tadÄ«yÄnÄm - of persons in relationship with Lord Viṣṇu; samarcanam - rigid and firm worship.
“[Lord Åšiva told the goddess DurgÄ:] ‘My dear DevÄ«, although the Vedas recommend worship of demigods, the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is topmost. However, above the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the rendering of service to Vaiṣṇavas, who are related to Lord Viṣṇu.’
The Vedas are divided into three divisions — karma-kÄṇá¸a, jñÄna-kÄṇá¸a and upÄsanÄ-kÄṇá¸a. These are activities dealing with fruitive work, empiric philosophical speculation and worship. There are recommendations in the Vedas for the worship of various demigods as well as Lord Viṣṇu. In this quotation from the Padma PurÄṇa, Lord Åšiva answers a question posed to him by goddess DurgÄ. This verse is also included in the Laghu-bhÄgavatÄmá¹›ta (2.4), by ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«. The words viṣṇor ÄrÄdhanam refer to the worship of Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. Thus the supreme form of worship is the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa. It is further concluded that the worshiper of Lord Viṣṇu renders better service by worshiping the devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There are different types of devotees — those in Å›Änta-rasa, dÄsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vÄtsalya-rasa and mÄdhurya-rasa. Although all the rasas are on the transcendental platform, mÄdhurya-rasa is the supreme transcendental mellow. Consequently it is concluded that the worship of devotees engaged in the Lord’s service in mÄdhurya-rasa is the supreme spiritual activity. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and His followers mainly worship Lord Kṛṣṇa in mÄdhurya-rasa. Other Vaiṣṇava ÄcÄryas recommended worship up to vÄtsalya-rasa. Therefore ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« in his Vidagdha-mÄdhava (1.2) describes ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s cult as supreme:
anarpita-carÄ«á¹ cirÄt karuṇayÄvatÄ«rṇaḥ kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasÄá¹ sva-bhakti-Å›riyam
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared in this Age of Kali to exhibit the superexcellence of mÄdhurya-rasa, a gift never previously bestowed by any ÄcÄrya or incarnation. Consequently ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is accepted as the most magnanimous incarnation. It is He only who distributed love of Kṛṣṇa while exhibiting the superexcellence of loving Kṛṣṇa in the conjugal rasa.
