Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa
Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Mañjarī Puzzle

One of the most popular questions I receive concerns the mañjarīs in Kṛṣṇa-līlā. There seems to be an ongoing debate amongst the devotees, with one group saying that the mañjarīs do not have physical association with Kṛṣṇa, while another group argues the opposite. Many others inquire about mañjarī-bhāva, mañjarī-bhāva-sādhanā, the mañjarī-svarūpa, the mañjarīs’ relationship with

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Shastra

Śrīmad Bhāgavata Is Nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa

Śrī Kṛṣṇa has two types of manifestations, namely sound form, śabda-brahma and His personal form, param-brahma—śabda-brahma paraṁ brahma mamobhe śāśvatī tanū (SB 6.16.51). Maitreya says that when Bhagavān Viśṇu appeared to the sage Kardama it was his Śabda-brahma that appeared in personalized form – darśyāmāsa taṁ kṣattaḥ śābdaṁ brahma dadhad vapuh (SB 3.21.8). The conch

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Shastra

Śrīmad Bhāgavata—Foremost of the Purāṇas

The following article is part of the introduction to our upcoming translation of the first canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavata. Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa is the fountainhead of Gauḍīya theology and practice. It is one among the eighteen Purāṇas composed by Bādarāyaṇa Vyāsa. The name Bhāgavata Purāṇa can be understood to mean “the Purāṇa spoken by Bhagavān” (bhagavatā

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Gender Bender

Many modern thinkers, especially feminists, assert that Hindu śāstra is biased against women because they are written by men. One of the arguments given in their support is that all the instructions are meant for men only. For example, when Kṛṣṇa instructs Arjuna about different paths, such as karma-yoga, raja-yoga, jñāna-yoga, and bhakti-yoga, He always uses masculine gender. From chapter two,

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Is Kṛṣṇa Superior to Nārāyaṇa?

Recently I was approached by devotees who requested that I write a review or refutation of a blog written by a Śrī Vaiṣṇava scholar in which he refutes the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava understanding of the famous kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam verse from Bhāgavata Purāṇa (1.3.28). I, personally, am not in favor of such dialogues, which only fuel up enmity among

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

No Real Relation Without Bhagavān

There is an important sūtra of Purva-mīmāṁsā (3.1.22): guṇānāṁ ca parārthatvāt asambandhaḥ samatvāt syāt. Its translation is very technical, so I will explain it in a simplified manner. The word guṇa here refers to objects and actions that are meant for the main yajña, which is referred to by the word para, primary. The sūtra is in relation to the action of the ādhāna and pavamāna-havis used for the saṁskāra of fire, agni. Here agni is

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Śrī Rādhā in Bhāgavata Purāṇa 

Question: Why is Rādhā’s name not mentioned in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa? Answer: This is a big mystery. Śrīmad Bhāgavata is primarily a book about Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There is no other book that describes Kṛṣṇa-līlā in such detail. Out of 335 chapters, the Tenth Canto contains 90 chapters that are only about Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The Eleventh

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