Sridhara Swamin's very revealing commentary to the Daksha stuti of Bhagavatam

[V Subrahmanian]

In the Bhagavatam there is a stuti of Bhagavan by various persons that were connected with the Daksha Yajna episode. This particular stuti of Daksha, just in one shloka, there iis a revelation of some seminal tenets of Advaita. Of course, these are so nicely brought out by the commentator Sri Sridhara Swamin:

दक्ष उवाच
शुद्धं स्वधाम्न्युपरताखिलबुद्ध्यवस्थं
चिन्मात्रमेकमभयं प्रतिषिध्य मायाम् ।
तिष्ठंस्तयैव पुरुषत्वमुपेत्य तस्या-
मास्ते भवानपरिशुद्ध इवात्मतन्त्र: ॥ २६ ॥  4.7.26

This is a free translation: Dakṣa addressed the Supreme Personality of Godhead: My dear Lord, You are transcendental to all speculative positions. You are completely spiritual, devoid of all fear, and You are always in control of the material energy. Even though You appear in the material energy, You are situated transcendentally. You are always free from material contamination because You are completely self-sufficient.

Sridhara Swamin starts off by saying: Indeed Rudra is verily Parameshwara, the Supreme Lord, his appearance as Brahma's son is just an imitation.   The Lord might question: 'How is it that you, Daksha, taking to seeing Rudra as different from Me, have belittled him (Rudra)?'. Anticipating such a question form the Lord, Daksha says: For the One that is Immutable, the enacting of being a jiva (in the form of Rudra's supposed jivatvam), is possible only for You and none else to perform.  In Your true State you are Pure Consciousness. What causes such a State? It is the cessation of all intellectual transformations. Hence You are One, devoid of any differences, and hence alone the Refuge. The Shruti says 'Fear is from that which is a second.' In truth, even the jiva is of this (Supreme) nature alone. Hence the difference (between the jiva and Ishvara) is stated. Having subdued Maayaa being independent, you have taken up the role of being a person thru that Maayaa and having positioned Yourself in that Maayaa, You, though Pure, appear to be tainted with desire, etc. In the avatara-s of Rama, Krishna, etc. you appear to be so. All others, owing to avidya upadhi, being enveloped by Maayaa, are in samsara. Therefore You alone are Ishwara and not Rudra, etc. Hence alone this erroneous view will be corrected by the Lord in the sequel: 'I, Brahmaa and Sharva are the Supreme Cause of the world.'  (commentary over).

The points that emerge from the commentary:

1. Rudra is verily the Supreme Lord.
2. His appearance as the son of Brahmaa is a mere imitation.
3. The Lord himself takes on the form of Brahmaa, Rudra, etc. and there is no difference between them.
4. Ishwara, keeping Maayaa in his control, does various things.
5. The jiva, on the other hand, is subject to avidya and suffers samsara. 
6. Owing to the association with Maayaa, Ishwara appears to be a jiva.
7. The incarnations of Rama, Krishna, etc. reveal this.
8. Hence you alone are Ishwara and none else.
9. This erroneous view will be corrected by the Lord thus: 

   श्रीभगवानुवाच 4.7.50
   

   अहं ब्रह्मा च शर्वश्च जगत: कारणं परम् । आत्मेश्वर उपद्रष्टा स्वयंद‍ृगविशेषण: ॥ ५० ॥ 
10. and the next frew verses.   Lord Viṣṇu replied: Brahmā, Lord Śiva and I are the supreme cause of the material manifestation. I am the Supersoul, the self-sufficient witness. But impersonally there is no difference between Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Me.   
    
    
11.                                                                                                                                                               4.7.51          
12. आत्ममायां समाविश्य सोऽहं गुणमयीं द्विज ।
    सृजन् रक्षन् हरन् विश्वं दध्रे संज्ञां क्रियोचिताम् ॥ ५१ ॥ The Lord continued: My dear Dakṣa Dvija, I am the original Personality of Godhead, but in order to create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation, I act through My material energy, and according to the different grades of activity, My representations are differently named.
13. 4.7.52  तस्मिन् ब्रह्मण्यद्वितीये केवले परमात्मनि । ब्रह्मरुद्रौ च भूतानि भेदेनाज्ञोऽनुपश्यति ॥ ५२ ॥.
14. 4.7.53   यथा पुमान्न स्वाङ्गेषु शिर:पाण्यादिषु क्‍वचित् । पारक्यबुद्धिं कुरुते एवं भूतेषु मत्पर: ॥ ५३ ॥ A person with average intelligence does not think the head and other parts of the body to be separate. Similarly, My devotee does not differentiate Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, from any thing or any living entity
    
15. त्रयाणामेकभावानां यो न पश्यति वै भिदाम् । सर्वभूतात्मनां ब्रह्मन् स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥ ५४ ॥       The Lord continued: One who does not consider Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva or the living entities in general to be separate from the Supreme, and who knows Brahman, actually realizes peace; others do not.
16. 
    

Sridhara Swamin says: The svarupam, the fundamental truth, underlying the Three is One.  The one who perceives aikyam across the Trimurtis becomes enlightened. 

     The Lord says in the Bhagavatam: It is only the ignorant who perceive difference across the Trimurti-s and not the knowledgeable. And, most importantly, the Lord says: only those who do not perceive difference will attain peace.                   Thus, the Daksha stuti of Lord Vishnu brings out many salient points that are useful and important to the understanding of the Tattva. 

Regards

subbu