रूपं प्रियतमं स्वानां सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाञ्जनम् ॥४४॥
darÅ›anaá¹ no didá¹›kṣūṇÄá¹
dehi bhÄgavatÄrcitam
rÅ«paá¹ priyatamaá¹ svÄnÄá¹
sarvendriya-guṇÄñjanam
darÅ›anam - vision; naḥ - our; didá¹›kṣūṇÄm - desirous to see; dehi - kindly exhibit; bhÄgavata - of the devotees; arcitam - as worshiped by them; rÅ«pam - form; priya-tamam - dearmost; svÄnÄm - of Your devotees; sarva-indriya - all the senses; guṇa - qualities; añjanam - very much pleasing.
My dear Lord, I wish to see You exactly in the form that Your very dear devotees worship. You have many other forms, but I wish to see Your form that is especially liked by the devotees. Please be merciful upon me and show me that form, for only that form worshiped by the devotees can perfectly satisfy all the demands of the senses.
In the Å›ruti, or veda-mantra, it is said that the Supreme Absolute Truth is sarva-kÄmaḥ sarva-gandhaḥ sarva-rasaḥ, or, in other words, He is known as raso vai saḥ, the source of all relishable relationships (rasas). We have various senses — the powers of seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, etc. — and all the propensities of our senses can be satisfied when the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeÅ›a-sevanaá¹ bhaktir ucyate: “Bhakti means engaging all the senses in the service of the master of the senses, HṛṣīkeÅ›a.†(NÄrada-pañcarÄtra) These material senses, however, cannot be engaged in the service of the Lord; therefore one has to become free from all designations. SarvopÄdhi-vinirmuktaá¹ tatparatvena nirmalam: one has to become free from all designation or false egotism and thus become purified. When we engage our senses in the service of the Lord, the desires or the inclinations of the senses can be perfectly fulfilled. Lord Åšiva therefore wants to see the Lord in a form which is inconceivable to the Bauddha philosophers, or the Buddhists.
The impersonalists and the voidists also have to see the form of the Absolute. In Buddhist temples there are forms of Lord Buddha in meditation, but these are not worshiped like the forms of the Lord in Vaiṣṇava temples — forms like RÄdhÄ-Kṛṣṇa, SÄ«tÄ-RÄma or Laká¹£mÄ«-NÄrÄyaṇa. Amongst the different sampradÄyas (Vaiṣṇava sects) either RÄdhÄ-Kṛṣṇa or Laká¹£mÄ«-NÄrÄyaṇa is worshiped. Lord Åšiva wants to see that form perfectly, just as the devotees want to see it. The words rÅ«paá¹ priyatamaá¹ svÄnÄm are specifically mentioned here, indicating that Lord Åšiva wants to see that form which is very dear to the devotees. The word svÄnÄm is especially significant because only the devotees are very, very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jñÄnÄ«s, yogÄ«s and karmÄ«s are not particularly dear, for the karmÄ«s simply want to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their order supplier, the jñÄnÄ«s want to see Him to become one with Him, and the yogÄ«s want to see Him partially represented within their heart as ParamÄtmÄ. But the bhaktas, or the devotees, want to see Him in His complete perfection. As stated in Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.30):
veṇuá¹ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalÄyatÄká¹£aá¹
barhÄvataá¹sam asitÄmbuda-sundarÄá¹…gam
kandarpa-koá¹i-kamanÄ«ya-viÅ›eá¹£a-Å›obhaá¹
govindam Ädi-puruá¹£aá¹ tam ahaá¹ bhajÄmi
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept at playing on His flute, whose eyes are blooming like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked with peacock feathers, whose beauty is tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and whose unique loveliness charms millions of Cupids.†Thus Lord Åšiva’s desire is to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is described in this way — that is, he wants to see Him as He appears to the bhÄgavatas, the devotees. The conclusion is that Lord Åšiva wants to see Him in complete perfection and not in the impersonalist or voidist way. Although the Lord is one in His various forms (advaitam acyutam anÄdim), still His form as the young enjoyer of the gopÄ«s and companion of the cowherd boys (kiÅ›ora-mÅ«rti) is the most perfect form. Thus Vaiṣṇavas accept the form of the Lord in His Vá¹›ndÄvana pastimes as the chief form.
