101. See Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā or commentaries on Yoga Sūtras II.49.
102. The term doṣa here could refer to imperfections in the balance of the bodily constitution as understood in Āyurveda, but in yoga literature, it is more commonly used as a synonym for the kleśas, obstacles to yoga (Yoga Sūtras II.2ff.).
103. See Gītā V.27.
104. Śrīvatsa is a curl of hair on His chest. These adornments, garments, and other bodily details are all standardized descriptions of the form of Viṣṇu, repeated frequently to strengthen one’s ability to internally visualize the form in meditation practice.
105. The idea here is that the mind is used as a hook to “catch” (contemplate) this vision of Īśvara. The supreme Īśvara, of course, like the ātman, exists beyond the mind.
106. At this point, the yogī is not making fresh karma and has destroyed all latent karma, but the karma already activated at birth has to run its course. See Sāṅkhya Kārikā (68) for an expression of this.
107. Mahat is the first evolute from prakṛti (synonymous with buddhi).
108. See discussion in “The Rejection of Brahman.”
109. In Vaiṣṇava theology, a form of Īśvara, the Antaryāmin or Paramātman, pervades and sustains each individual ātman.
110. Everything is done by the senses, mind, and intelligence, which are all expressions of prakṛti overseen by Īśvara.
111. Kalā, partial manifestation, in Bhāgavata theology refers to the ātman as a tiny part of Bhagavān (it also refers to other forms of Viṣṇu such as the Antaryāmī/Parama-ātman; see discussion in “A Three-Tiered Hierarchy of Brahman”).
112. Buddhi is the first evolute from prakṛti and source of all other categories of matter down to the aṇus, the smallest elemental particles (see Sāṅkhya chart in appendix 2).
113. I have translated the term bhinna-dṛś, literally “one sees differences,” variously according to context (for example, in verse 23 as “who does not see others as equal” and so forth).
114. In Bhāgavata cosmology, the universe is covered by seven layers—earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, and ego—each one ten times thicker than the previous layer.
115. Śiva is the deity presiding over tamas, Brahmā over rajas, and Viṣṇu over sattva.
116. A yojana is variously estimated to be nine miles or five miles.
117. The various realms of the universe, including the hellish realms, are discussed in the fifth book of the Bhāgavata, chapters 16–26.
118. These are the dhātus of Āyurveda: chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, and semen.
119. For the three tāpas—those pertaining to the body and mind, those ensuing from other living entities, and those inflicted by the environment—see page 564n9 (and the commentaries to Yoga Sūtras II.15).
120. See previous citation for aṁśa (612n33).
121. The body is described as a city with nine gates in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad III.18 and Gītā V.13.
122. The gross body changes every birth, but the same subtle body accompanies the ātman birth after birth. However, the saṁskāras of a jīva’s previous birth are covered over by tamas in a subsequent birth, even as their effects bear their karmic fruits, and they exert subconscious influences.
123. The ātman can be perceived only by itself, not by the mind, senses, or any other means. See page 613n51.
124. This verse refers to various evolutes of Sāṅkhya, which envelop the ātman with both sense instruments and sense objects. Therefore, the universe is, in this sense, the body of the ātman.
125. This refers to a līlā where Kṛṣṇa in the form of a baby lies on the waters of the cosmic ocean during the devastation of the universe, sucking His toe.
126. This refers to the Varāha incarnation, who retrieved the Vedas that had been stolen, and thus the knowledge bearing Vedānta teachings of the Upaniṣads, III.13–19.
127. In Vedic orthopraxy, certain rites, such as pressing the sacred soma plant to extract the juice for offering to the celestials, could be performed only by the highest brāhmaṇa caste, while those outside the Vedic caste system such as dog-eaters were considered so polluted that they were not allowed to even be present in the vicinity of such sacrifices. The idea here is that even those in the lowest rung of the social order, such as dog-eaters, thereby become purified by bhakti to Bhagavān and surpass the qualifications of those who are assigned the highest social status by birth. In other words, bhakti trumps all social and gender stratifications, at least in terms of spiritual possibilities.
128. Viṣṇu’s carrier is the great eagle Garuḍa. Kṛṣṇa has Garuḍa as the emblem on His flag (for instance, in the battle of Kurukṣetra).