532
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 10]
language. But Thākur Viśvanātha Cakravartī, another very learned  ācārya  of the same  sampradāya , has approved the songs by Thākur Narottama Dāsa to be as good as Vedic  mantras . And this is so because of the subject matter. The language is immaterial, but the subject matter is important. The ladies, who were all absorbed in the thought and actions of the Lord, developed the consciousness of Vedic wisdom by the grace of the Lord. And, therefore, although such ladies might not have been very learned scholars in Sanskrit or otherwise, still whatever they spoke was more attractive than the Vedic hymns. The Vedic hymns in the  Upaniṣads  are sometimes indirectly directed to the Supreme Lord. But the talks of the ladies are directly spoken of the Lord, and thus they were more pleasing to the heart. The ladies' talks appeared to be more valuable than the learned  brāhmaṇas ' benedictions.
TEXT 21
स वै किलायं पुरुषः पुरातनो य एक आसीदविशेष आत्मनि। अग्रे गुणेभ्यो जगदात्मनीश्वरे निमीलितात्मन्त्रिशि सुप्तशक्तिषु ॥२१॥
sa vai kilāyam puruṣaḥ purātano ya eka āsīd aviśeṣa ātmani agre guṇebhyo jagad-ātmanīśvare nimīlitātman niśi supta-śaktiṣu
saḥ —He (Kṛṣṇa);  vai —as I remember;  kila —definitely;  ayam —this;  puruṣaḥ —Personality of Godhead;  purātanaḥ —the original;  yaḥ —who;  ekaḥ —only one;  āsīt —existed:  aviśeṣaḥ —materially unmanifested;  ātmani —own self;  agre —before creation;  guṇebhyaḥ —of the modes of nature;  jagat-ātmani —unto the Supersoul;  īśvare —unto the Supreme Lord;  nimīlita —merged into;  ātman —the living entity;  niśi supta —inactive at night;  śaktiṣu —of the energies.
TRANSLATION
They said: Here He is, the original Personality of Godhead as we definitely remember Him. He alone existed before the manifested creation of the modes of nature, and in Him only, because He is the Supreme Lord, all living beings merge, as if sleeping at night, their energy suspended.