BY: SUN STAFF
Dec 1, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FIVE
Some parts of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami's writings were in proper order, some were not. Some parts were incomplete or lost. Now, after proper deliberation, Sri Jiva writes it in the proper order.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
The question may arise that if Gopala Bhatta Gosvami has already composed a work on this same subject, why should Rupa and Sanatana engage Jiva Gosvami in compiling a similar work? Jiva Gosvami replies in this verse. His mission is to complete the task begun by Gopala Bhatta Gosvami and to set it all in the proper order.
In the previous two verses he has already established that his work is not a product of his imagination but is based on the authority of the scriptures and previous acaryas such as Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, and Sridhara Svami.
In using the word jivakah, Jiva Gosvami makes a pun on his name. Jivakah means a petty soul or the name of the author. Out of humility he refers to himself in the third person. The suffix "kan" is used in a diminutive sense, to indicate that a humble soul is writing it. As jivanugas, or followers of Srila Jiva Gosvami, we may prefer to interpret "jivakah" in other ways. We may, for example take it to mean: Jivan kapayati bhagavatartha- pradanandena iti jivakah, "One who makes the living being emit ecstatic sounds by supplying them the esoteric meaning of the Srimad Bhagavatam through his Bhagavata or Shat Sandarbhas is jivakah"; or, jiva-svarupa-sambandha-abhidheya-prayojanan kayati varnayati iti jivakah, "One who explains the jiva's nature, his relation with the Lord, the process to achieve the goal and the ultimate purpose of life is jivakah"; or, jivayati jivan krishna-prema-pradanena iti jiva, jiva eva jivaka iti svarthe kan, "One who infuses life into living beings by granting them love of Krishna is jivakah." Finally, jivakah is formed by applying the suffix aka in the sense of blessing. Thus jivakah may be taken to mean the person who confers blessings on the living entities.
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