Line by Line summarized meaning of the sanskrit verses in Shivananda Lahari discourse
Day 17 – August 14 – verse 32 and 33
Verse 32
In this Verse Bhagavadpādacharya lovingly asks the Lord why he drank that poison as if it were His favorite fruit? What was His intent in doing this dangerous deed?
Jwalogra-ssakalā-marāti-bhayadah kshvelah katham vā twaya,
Drushtah kin ca kare dhruthah karatale kim pakwa jambu phalam,
Jihwāyām nihitaścha siddha ghutika vaa kanta deśe bhruthah,
Kim te neela manih-vibooshana-mayam shambho mahātman vada.
Jwalogra – that which was burning due to its raging fire (jwala ugra)
Sakalāmarāti bhayada – which caused all the Devatas (sakala amara) to be terribly frightened (ati bhayada)
This poison has the capacity to burn down the entire creation.
Kshvelah – that terrible poison
katham vā twaya drushtah – How could You even look at it
Kin ca kare dhrutha karatale – how could You hold it in Your hands
kim pakwa jambu phalam – did it appear to You like a ripe jambu phalam
Jambu phala purifies the blood; the fruit or its juice is taken for this purpose.
Jihwāyām nihitaścha siddha ghutika – Did it appear like a medicine (gutika) that you could put on your tongue,
Vaa kanta deśe bhrutha – swallow and retain in your throat
Siddha gutika refers to ‘Gutika paduka siddhi’ i.e. It is an amulet (tayat) within which a yantra is fixed so that evil forces run away upon seeing it
Kim te neela manih – Or did you think that it was a blue sapphire
Vibooshana mayam – which You believed will look resplendent on Your neck
Shambho mahātman vada – O Shambhu (giver of auspiciousness)! Mahatma! Please answer
O Lord, I want to know what You actually thought when You saw this poison. Why did You drink that poison from which everyone else ran? I think Your compassion is supreme. It is limitless. Why did You do this?
In this verse it is said that Shiva looked at the poison, held it in His hands and then gulped and retained in His neck. Likewise, the Lord dispels our problems sometimes merely by His gaze (drishti), at times He takes them in His hands (takes responsibility) and solves them and at other times He takes upon Himself and suffers for His devotee and solves them. This is how the Sadguru strives for His devotee. It is the trait of a Sadguru. Here Shiva is the position of Sadguru.
We are jeevatma while Sadguru is mahatma. He who strives for all beings and prays for them is Mahatma.
Verse 33
This verse preaches about Brahma upasana, worship of the Supreme Almighty. Only He can give liberation. Worship of other Gods, who themselves are temporary cannot grant liberation. They only fulfill desires. Thinking of Him even once with complete faith can grant liberation. A great teaching is contained in this verse.
Nālam vā sakrudeva deva bhavatha-sseva nathirvā nuthih,
Poojā vā smaranam kathasravana-mapyālokanam mādruśām,
Swaminnasthira devathānusranaayāsena kim labhyate,
Kā vā mukthir ithah kutho bhavati cheth kim prārthaneeyam tada
Na alam vaa sakrudeva deva – Isn’t it sufficient O Devadeva
Bhavatha-sseva nathirvā nuthih – to serve You, to praise You or to bow before You
Poojā vaa smaranam kathasravanam – to offer you Puja, to think of You or listen to Your glories, even once
apyālokanam mādruśām – to have Your darshan (aalokanam) just once
Swaminn asthira devathān – O Lord, all these Devatas are asthira ( unstable, temporary)
Anusarana āsyena kim labhyate – what will I get by serving or following such temporary Devatas?
Kā vā mukthir ithah – What more can give me mukti
kutho bhavathi cheth kim prārthaneeyam tada – What more can give me fulfillment apart from worshipping You, what else is there to ask (prarthaneeyam).
If I can get liberation by just seeing You once, serving You, worshipping You and listening to Your stories, then why should I follow other Devatas who themselves are temporary? This verse also includes a prayer to the Lord- O Lord, Give me the ability to worship You, think of You, listen about You, offer You namaskaram or at least have Your darshan. Worshipping the Lord with complete faith and surrendering to Him completely just once is enough to give liberation. This is similar to the hand that burns instantly when put in fire. Our bhakti has to ripen for it to give true result. For this reason, we have to worship daily so that one day we will reach that state.
In this stanza, body, mind and speech (kaya, manasa and vacha) are being used for worship. Seva means physical worship. Smarana is mental worship.