Å›rÄ«-rudra uvÄca
tvaá¹ hi brahma paraá¹ jyotir
gÅ«á¸haá¹ brahmaṇi vÄá¹…-maye
yaá¹ paÅ›yanty amalÄtmÄna
ÄkÄÅ›am iva kevalam
Å›rÄ«-rudraḥ uvÄca - Lord Åšiva said; tvam - You; hi - alone; brahma - the Absolute Truth; param - supreme; jyotiḥ - light; gÅ«á¸ham - hidden; brahmaṇi - in the Absolute; vÄk-maye - in its form of language (the Vedas); yam - whom; paÅ›yanti - they see; amala - spotless; ÄtmÄnaḥ - whose hearts; ÄkÄÅ›am - the sky; iva - like; kevalam - pure.
Śrī Rudra said: You alone are the Absolute Truth, the supreme light, the mystery hidden within the verbal manifestation of the Absolute. Those whose hearts are spotless can see You, for You are uncontaminated, like the sky.
The Absolute Truth is the source of all light and is therefore the supreme light, self-luminous. This Absolute Truth is explained confidentially in the Vedas and is therefore difficult for an ordinary reader to understand. The following statements quoted by ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« from the GopÄla-tÄpanÄ« Upaniá¹£ad show how the Vedic sounds occasionally reveal the Absolute: Te hocur upÄsanam etasya parÄtmano govindasyÄkhilÄdhÄriṇo brÅ«hi (PÅ«rva-khaṇá¸a 17): “They [the four KumÄras] said [to BrahmÄ], ‘Please tell us how to worship Govinda, the Supreme Soul and the foundation of all that exists.’†CetanaÅ› cetanÄnÄm (PÅ«rva-khaṇá¸a 21): “He is the chief of all living beings.†And taá¹ ha devam Ätma-vá¹›tti-prakÄÅ›am (PÅ«rva-khaṇá¸a 23): “One realizes that Supreme Godhead by first realizing one’s own self.†The great ÄcÄrya JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« also quotes a verse from the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (7.10.48) — gÅ«á¸haá¹ paraá¹ brahma manuá¹£ya-liá¹…gam — which refers to “the Supreme Truth concealed in a humanlike form.â€
Since the Lord is pure, why do some people perceive Kṛṣṇa’s form and activities as impure? Ä€cÄrya JÄ«va explains that those whose own hearts are impure cannot understand the pure Lord. ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« further quotes the Lord’s own instruction to Arjuna in ÅšrÄ« Hari-vaá¹Å›a:
tat-paraá¹ paramaá¹ brahma
sarvaá¹ vibhajate jagat
mamaiva tad ghanaá¹ tejo
jñÄtum arhasi bhÄrata
“Superior to that [total material nature] is the Supreme Brahman, from which this entire creation expands. O descendant of Bharata, you should know that the Supreme Brahman consists of My concentrated effulgence.â€
Thus, to save his devotee, Śiva now glorifies the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, his eternal worshipable master. The Lord’s bewildering potency induced Śiva to fight with Lord Kṛṣṇa, but now the fight is over, and to save his devotee Lord Śiva offers these beautiful prayers.
