Choosing the Lord as Guardian
Goptṛtva varaṇa (Sanskrit: गोप्तृत्व वरण — 'the choosing of guardianship') is the fourth constituent of śaraṇāgati — the positive act of choosing (varaṇa) the Lord alone as one's protector (goptā).
The Meaning
Goptā comes from the root gup (to protect, to guard). Goptṛtva is 'the state of being a guardian/protector.' Varaṇa means choosing, selecting.
Goptṛtva varaṇa is thus: 'I specifically choose Śrīman Nārāyaṇa as my guardian and protector.' This distinguishes prapatti from ordinary prayer — it is not asking the Lord to help while relying on other supports too, but exclusively choosing the Lord as the only protection.
Abandoning Other Supports (Āśrayas)
The flip side of choosing the Lord is abandoning all other āśrayas (supports/refuges):
- One's own merit and efforts
- Other deities or intercessors
- Karma alone as the determinant of one's fate
- One's own intelligence and planning as the ultimate resource
Piḷḷai Lokācārya teaches that this abandoning is not done out of despair but out of understanding: the Lord's protection is so complete and certain that relying on anything else is redundant — like lighting a candle inside the sun.
Connection to the Carama Śloka
'Mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja' ('Take refuge in Me alone') — the ekaṃ ('alone, solely') in the carama-śloka is understood as commanding goptṛtva varaṇa: exclusively choose Me as your refuge, no one else.