What went into the books? How did it get into the books? How were the books produced?

[krsna]

Srila Prabhupada's Books and Purports

 

 

(based on a seminar by Ekanath Das, Radhadesh 2000)

 

The Source Texts

Some Srimad Bhagavatam Commentaries

Lost SB Commentaries

Tika-kara-ganera Tatparya (A hierarchy of Commenting Acaryas)

Earlier Commentaries On Other Books

What went into the books?

How did it get into the books?

How were the books produced?

 

Books of Srila Prabhupada contain distilled knowledge from commentaries (usually called tikas or bhasyas) of previous Vaisnava acaryas. This makes them unique source of realized knowledge. To know the history and the way how they become manifested means to better understand them. This information is provided for the books with purports: Srimad Bhagavatam (SB), Bhagavad-gita (BG), Sri Isopanisad (ISO), Nectar of Instruction (NOI), Nectar of Devotion (NOD), and Caitanya-caritamrta (CC). Other books are mainly compilations from lectures and conversations.

 

The Source Texts

 

SB: Canto 1-2?

Canto 3, Gita Press edition

Canto 4, Ch. 1-27?

Canto 4, Ch. 28-31 Gaudiya Matha edition

Canto 5-10, Gaudiya Matha edition

BG: Gita Press edition?

ISO: Kanva recension, Upanisad version

NOI: Gaudiya Matha edition

NOD: Gaudiya Matha edition

CC: Gaudiya Matha edition

 

All verse translations from SB 4.28 to 10.13 follow Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja's Bengali verse translations.

 

All verse translations from SB 3.15 to 3.31 follow (and in many cases are verbatim) the English verse translations of the Gita Press edition of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. (Srimad-Bhagavata Purana, 2 vols. Ed. and trans. C.L. Goswami and M.A. Sastri. Gorakhpur: Gita Press, 1971). In some cases even materials from the footnotes in this edition have entered into Srila Prabhupada's purports.

 

All word-by-word sections from SB 4.28 to 10.13 follow Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja's Sanskrit anvaya (natural word order).

 

All Chapter Summaries in Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavatam (they begin in 5thCanto) are translated from haktisiddhanta Maharaja's katha-sara.

 

 

Some Srimad Bhagavatam Commentaries

 

* Sridhara Svami: Bhavartha-dipika 14th cent.

Vamsidhara: Bhavartha-dipika-prakasa 1820-90

Radha-ramana-dasa Gosvami: Dipika-dipani

Ganga-sahaya: Anvitartha-prakasika 1894-97

* Viraraghavacarya: Bhagavata-candrika 14th cent.

* Vijayadhvaja-tirtha: .-ratnavali 15th cent.

* Jiva Gosvami: Krama-Sandarbha 16th cent.

Brhad-krama-sandarbha (10th canto)

* Visvanatha Cakravarti: Sarartha-darsini 17th cent.

* Sukadeva: Siddhanta-pradipa

Giridhara-lala: Bala-prabodhini 1850-1900

Bhagavat-prasadacarya: Bhakta-mano-ranjani

* Sanatana Gosvami: Vaisnava-tosani (10th canto) 16th cent. Brhad-vaisnava-tosani (10th canto)

Vallabhacarya: Subodhini 16th cent.

* Madhvacarya: Bhagavata-tatparya-nirnaya 13th cent.

* Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati: Ananta-gopala Tathya 1923-35, Sindhu-vaibhava Vivrti 1923-35

 

(* explicitly quoted by Srila Prabhupada)

 

Sridhara Svami - line of Visnu-svami (Rudra-sampradaya)

Viraraghavacarya - line of Ramanujacarya

(Sri-sampradaya)

Sukadeva - line of Nimbarkacarya (Kumara-sampradaya)

Madhvacarya - line of Lord Brahma

Giridhara-lala - line of Vallabhacarya

 

Lost SB Commentaries

 

1. Sankaracarya, according to Vijayadhvaja-tirtha, wrote a commentary on the Bhagavatam.

 

2. Sridhara Svami supposedly stated that his commentary is strictly based on the earlier commentary of Cit-sukhacarya (disciple of Sankara and alleged incarnation of Varuna). According to R.N. Sharma, Citsukha lived in 1220-1284.

 

Tika-kara-ganera Tatparya (A hierarchy of Commenting Acaryas)

 

(from Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's Vivrti Commentary to SB 2.9.33)

 

Bhagavatarka-marici-mala (Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

Amrta-pravaha-bhanya (Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

Visvanatha

Kaviraja

Sri Jiva

Sridhara

Madhva

Vijayadhvaja

Viraraghava

Siddhanta-pradipa

Vallabha

Vivrti

 

Earlier Commentaries On Other Books

 

BG:

 

1. Ramanujacarya Bhasya (Sanskrit)

2. Sarartha-varsini-tika (Sanskrit)

by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura

3. Gita-bhusana-tika (Sanskrit)

by Baladeva Vidyabhusana

4. Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Bengali commentaries

 

ISO:

 

1. Madhva-bhasya (Sanskrit)

2. Baladeva-vidyabhusana-bhasya (Sanskrit)

3. Vedartha-didhiti (Sanskrit)

by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

4. Anuvada & Bhavartha (Bengali)

by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

 

NOI (Upadesamrta by Rupa Gosvami):

 

1. Upadesa-prakasika tika, (Sanskrit)

by Radha-ramana-dasa Gosvami

2. Sri-upadesamrta-bhasa, (Bengali couplets)

by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

3. Piyusa-varsini-vrtti, (Bengali prose)

by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

4. Sri-upadesamrta-bhasa, (Bengali couplets)

by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

5. Anuvrtti, (Bengali prose)

by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

 

NOD (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu by Rupa Gosvami):

 

1. Durgama-sangamani-tika, (Sanskrit)

by Jiva Gosvami

2. Artha-ratnalpa-dipika, (Sanskrit)

by Mukunda-dasa Gosvami

3. Bhakti-sara-pradarsini-tika, (Sanskrit)

by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura

 

CC by Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami:

 

1. Amrta-pravaha-bhasya, (Bengali prose)

by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

2. Anubhasya, (Bengali prose)

by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

 

Srila Prabhupada quotes explicitly commentaries of:

 

BG: Baladeva Vidyabhusana

Bhaktivinoda Thakura

ISO: -

NOI: Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

NOD: Jiva Gosvami

CC: Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

 

What went into the books?

 

1. The source material itself

2. Earlier commentaries

3. Quotes from related sastras

4. The author's own words

5. Other materials

 

How did it get into the books?

 

1. copied from the original

2. translated from the original

3. written or dictated by the author

4. quoted from memory by the author

5. inserted by the editors (verses, references etc.)

 

How were the books produced?

 

typing: Srila Prabhupada

dictating: Srila Prabhupada to tape

transcribing: various devotees, from tape to paper

 

The original manuscripts, original tapes (most recordings unfortunately did not survive because the tapes were being reused over and over again) and original transcripts are archived by Bhaktivedanta Archives, NC (USA) (www.prabhupada.com). Most of their copies are in the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust headquarters in Sweden (www.tattva.com)