TEXT 31
varam vrnimahe thapi
natha tvat paratah parat
na hy antas tvad-vibhutinam
so nanta iti giyase
SYNONYMS
varambenediction; vrnimahewe shall pray for; atha apitherefore; nathaO Lord; tvatfrom You; paratah paratbeyond the transcendence; nanot; hicertainly; antahend; tvatYour; vibhutinamof opulences; sahYou; anantahunlimited; itithus; giyaseare celebrated.
TRANSLATION
Dear Lord, we shall therefore pray for Your benediction because You are the Supreme, beyond all transcendence, and because there is no end to Your opulences. Consequently, You are celebrated by the name Ananta.
PURPORT
There was no need for the Pracetas to ask any benediction from the Supreme Lord because the devotees are simply satisfied by the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dhruva Maharaja practiced severe austerities and penances to see the Supreme Lord, and his intention was to receive benediction from the Lord. He wanted to acquire the throne of his fatheror attain an even better positionbut when he was actually in the presence of the Supreme Lord, he forgot everything. He said, My dear Lord, I do not wish to ask any benediction. This is the actual position of the devotee. The devotee simply wants to be in the presence of the Supreme Lordeither in this world or in the nextand engage in His service. That is the ultimate goal and benediction for the devotees.
The Lord asked the Pracetas to pray for some benediction, and they said, What kind of benediction should we pray for? The Lord is unlimited, and there are unlimited benedictions. The purport is that if one must ask for benediction, he must ask for unlimited benediction. The words tvat paratah are very significant in this verse. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is paratah parat. The word para means transcendental, beyond this material world. The impersonal Brahman effulgence is beyond this material world, and this is called param padam. Aruhya krcchrena param padam (Bhag. 10.2.32). Merging into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord is called param padam, but there is a higher transcendental position, which is the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate (Bhag. 1.2.11). The Absolute Truth is realized first as impersonal Brahman, then as Paramatma, and finally as Bhagavan. Thus the Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, is paratah parat, beyond Brahman and Paramatma realization. In this connection, Srila Jiva Gosvami points out that paratah parat means better than the best. The best is the spiritual world, and it is known as Brahman. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is known as Parabrahman. Therefore paratah parat means better than Brahman realization.
As will be explained in the next verses, the Pracetas planned to ask the Lord for something that has no limit. The Lords pastimes, qualities, forms and names are all unlimited. There is no limit to His name, forms, pastimes, creation and paraphernalia. The living entity cannot conceive of the unlimitedness of the unlimited. However, if living entities are engaged in hearing about the unlimited potencies of the Supreme Lord, they are factually connected directly to the unlimited. Such understanding of the unlimited becomes unlimited by hearing and chanting.

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