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, Murshidabad Bengali edition
Canto 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 Bhaktisiddhanta 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: Pada-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 North European division of Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (www.krishna.se).