[Advaita-l] Gita 15.18: bhaktajanAH, kavayaH and kaavyaadiShu

[V Subrahmanian]

2011/8/25 Ramakrishna Upadrasta <uramakrishna at gmail.com>

> namaste,
>
> It is well understood that the 15th chapter ending verses of gItA are
> considered the summary verses of the teaching. Here is the relevant
> bhagavadpAda's commentary
>


> Further,
> पुरुषोत्तमः इत्येवं मां भक्तजनाः विदुः। कवयः काव्यादिषु च इदं नाम
> निबध्नन्ति। पुरुषोत्तम इत्यनेनाभिधानेनाभिगृणन्ति।
>
> Who are the 'bhaktajanaaH', 'kavayaH' and what are the 'kaavyaadiShu'?
> Do any sub-commentaries throw light on this?
>
> namaste
> Ramakrishna
>

For BhakatajnAH, who are ardent devotees of the Lord, we could refer to any
'stotram' of the srimadbhaagavatam or any other purANa where the term
'puruShottamaH' appears in one or the other vibhakti-s.  Here are some
samples, sometimes source unknown.


For the term 'kaviH' used by ShankarabhagavatpAda above, we could cite the
RamAyaNam of Adikavi VaalmIki:



वाल्मीकिरामायण, युद्धकाण्ड, विंशत्युत्तरशततमः सर्गः:
 शार्ङ्गधन्वा हृषीकेशः पुरुषः *पुरुषोत्तमः* । अजितः खद्गधृद्विष्णुः
कृष्णश्चैव बृहद्बलः ।।१६।।
  सीता लक्ष्मीर्भवान्विष्णुर्देवः कृष्णः प्रजापतिः । वधार्थं रावणस्येह
प्रविष्टो मानुषीं तअनुम् ।।२९।।
                                               S. Indian Reading.


Here is a verse, source unknown: (this could be taken for 'bhaktajnAH'
praying):


यमुना चतुःश्लोकी



कान्तस्ते *पुरुषोत्तमः* फणिपतिः शय्यासनं वाहनं वेदात्मा विहगेश्वरो यवनिका
माया जगन्मोहिनी ।

ब्रह्मादिसुरव्रजः सदयितस्त्वद्दासदासीगणः श्रीरित्येव च नाम ते भगवति ! ब्रूमः
कथं त्वां वयं  । । १  । ।


गुणातीतोऽक्षरं ब्रह्म भगवान् *पुरुषोत्तमः* ।

जनो जानंनिदम् सत्यम मुच्यते भवबन्धनात् ।।


*http://brahmanuvach.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_06.html*<http://brahmanuvach.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_06.html>
गोवर्धनं      हृषीकेशं       वैकुण्ठं        *पुरुषोत्तमं*

विश्वरूपं         वासुदेवं       रामं    नारायणं   हरिं

Here is a sAkShAt 'kavi' vachanam:

The sub-commentary 'BhAShyotkarShadeepikA' of DhanapatisUri, perhaps
following MadhusUdana Saraswati, quotes KAlidAsa's Raghuvamsham:


हरिर्यथैकः पुरुषोत्तमः स्मृतः

महेश्वरः त्रयम्बक एव नापरः...

(हरिर्यथैकः- पुरुषोत्तमः स्मृतः R.3.49.)


Shankara could have had this in mind when He said about 'kaviH'.


It is said that srI KumArila BhaTTa has quoted an entire line from the
shAkuntalam:


*'सतां हि सन्देहपदेषु* वस्तुषु प्रमाणमन्तःकरणप्रवृत्तयः '


I mentioned this just to substantiate the point that Kalidasa preceded even
KumArilabhaTTa and, of course, Shankaracharya.

Regards,
subrahmanian.v