Srimad Bhagavata Purana · Chapter 2
Skandha 2 — The Cosmic Manifestation
द्वितीयस्कन्धः
The form of Vishnu and the meditation on it.
359 verses
श्रीशुक उवाच । वरीयानेष ते प्रश्नः कृतो लोकहितं नृप । आत्मवित्सम्मतः पुंसां श्रोतव्यादिषु यः परः
śrīśuka uvāca | varīyāneṣa te praśnaḥ kṛto lokahitaṃ nṛpa | ātmavitsammataḥ puṃsāṃ śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists.
श्रोतव्यादीनि राजेन्द्र नृणां सन्ति सहस्रशः । अपश्यतामात्मतत्त्वं गृहेषु गृहमेधिनाम्
śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṃ santi sahasraśaḥ | apaśyatāmātmatattvaṃ gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.
निद्रया ह्रियते नक्तं व्यवायेन च वा वयः । दिवा चार्थेहया राजन् कुटुम्बभरणेन वा
nidrayā hriyate naktaṃ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ | divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumbabharaṇena vā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members.
देहापत्यकलत्रादिष्वात्मसैन्येष्वसत्स्वपि । तेषां प्रमत्तो निधनं पश्यन्नपि न पश्यति
dehāpatyakalatrādiṣvātmasainyeṣvasatsvapi | teṣāṃ pramatto nidhanaṃ paśyannapi na paśyati
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Persons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.
तस्माद्भारत सर्वात्मा भगवानीश्वरो हरिः । श्रोतव्यः कीर्तितव्यश्च स्मर्तव्यश्चेच्छताभयम्
tasmādbhārata sarvātmā bhagavānīśvaro hariḥ | śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaśca smartavyaścecchatābhayam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.
एतावान् साङ्ख्ययोगाभ्यां स्वधर्मपरिनिष्ठया । जन्मलाभः परः पुंसामन्ते नारायणस्मृतिः
etāvān sāṅkhyayogābhyāṃ svadharmapariniṣṭhayā | janmalābhaḥ paraḥ puṃsāmante nārāyaṇasmṛtiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.
प्रायेण मुनयो राजन् निवृत्ता विधिषेधतः । नैर्गुण्यस्था रमन्ते स्म गुणानुकथने हरेः
prāyeṇa munayo rājan nivṛttā vidhiṣedhataḥ | nairguṇyasthā ramante sma guṇānukathane hareḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King Parīkṣit, mainly the topmost transcendentalists, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord.
इदं भागवतं नाम पुराणं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् । अधीतवान् द्वापरादौ पितुर्द्वैपायनादहम्
idaṃ bhāgavataṃ nāma purāṇaṃ brahmasammitam | adhītavān dvāparādau piturdvaipāyanādaham
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
At the end of the Dvāpara-yuga, I studied this great supplement of Vedic literature named Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is equal to all the Vedas, from my father, Śrīla Dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva.
परिनिष्ठितोऽपि नैर्गुण्य उत्तमश्लोकलीलया । गृहीतचेता राजर्षे आख्यानं यदधीतवान्
pariniṣṭhito'pi nairguṇya uttamaślokalīlayā | gṛhītacetā rājarṣe ākhyānaṃ yadadhītavān
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O saintly King, I was certainly situated perfectly in transcendence, yet I was still attracted by the delineation of the pastimes of the Lord, who is described by enlightened verses.
तदहं तेऽभिधास्यामि महापौरुषिको भवान् । यस्य श्रद्दधतामाशु स्यान्मुकुन्दे मतिः सती
tadahaṃ te'bhidhāsyāmi mahāpauruṣiko bhavān | yasya śraddadhatāmāśu syānmukunde matiḥ satī
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
That very Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam I shall recite before you because you are the most sincere devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. One who gives full attention and respect to hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam achieves unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord, the giver of salvation.
एतन्निर्विद्यमानानामिच्छतामकुतोभयम् । योगिनां नृप निर्णीतं हरेर्नामानुकीर्तनम्
etannirvidyamānānāmicchatāmakutobhayam | yogināṃ nṛpa nirṇītaṃ harernāmānukīrtanam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.
किं प्रमत्तस्य बहुभिः परोक्षैर्हायनैरिह । वरं मुहूर्तं विदितं घटते श्रेयसे यतः
kiṃ pramattasya bahubhiḥ parokṣairhāyanairiha | varaṃ muhūrtaṃ viditaṃ ghaṭate śreyase yataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
What is the value of a prolonged life which is wasted, inexperienced by years in this world? Better a moment of full consciousness, because that gives one a start in searching after his supreme interest.
खट्वाङ्गो नाम राजर्षिर्ज्ञात्वेयत्तामिहायुषः । मुहूर्तात्सर्वमुत्सृज्य गतवानभयं हरिम्
khaṭvāṅgo nāma rājarṣirjñātveyattāmihāyuṣaḥ | muhūrtātsarvamutsṛjya gatavānabhayaṃ harim
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The saintly King Khaṭvāṅga, after being informed that the duration of his life would be only a moment more, at once freed himself from all material activities and took shelter of the supreme safety, the Personality of Godhead.
तवाप्येतर्हि कौरव्य सप्ताहं जीवितावधिः । उपकल्पय तत्सर्वं तावद्यत्साम्परायिकम्
tavāpyetarhi kauravya saptāhaṃ jīvitāvadhiḥ | upakalpaya tatsarvaṃ tāvadyatsāmparāyikam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, now your duration of life is limited to seven more days, so during this time you can perform all those rituals which are needed for the best purpose of your next life.
अन्तकाले तु पुरुष आगते गतसाध्वसः । छिन्द्यादसङ्गशस्त्रेण स्पृहां देहेऽनु ये च तम्
antakāle tu puruṣa āgate gatasādhvasaḥ | chindyādasaṅgaśastreṇa spṛhāṃ dehe'nu ye ca tam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
At the last stage of one’s life, one should be bold enough not to be afraid of death. But one must cut off all attachment to the material body and everything pertaining to it and all desires thereof.
गृहात्प्रव्रजितो धीरः पुण्यतीर्थजलाप्लुतः । शुचौ विविक्त आसीनो विधिवत्कल्पितासने
gṛhātpravrajito dhīraḥ puṇyatīrthajalāplutaḥ | śucau vivikta āsīno vidhivatkalpitāsane
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One should leave home and practice self-control. In a sacred place he should bathe regularly and sit down in a lonely place duly sanctified.
अभ्यसेन्मनसा शुद्धं त्रिवृद्ब्रह्माक्षरं परम् । मनो यच्छेज्जितश्वासो ब्रह्मबीजमविस्मरन्
abhyasenmanasā śuddhaṃ trivṛdbrahmākṣaraṃ param | mano yacchejjitaśvāso brahmabījamavismaran
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
After sitting in the above manner, make the mind remember the three transcendental letters [a-u-m], and by regulating the breathing process, control the mind so as not to forget the transcendental seed.
नियच्छेद्विषयेभ्योऽक्षान् मनसा बुद्धिसारथिः । मनः कर्मभिराक्षिप्तं शुभार्थे धारयेद्धिया
niyacchedviṣayebhyo'kṣān manasā buddhisārathiḥ | manaḥ karmabhirākṣiptaṃ śubhārthe dhārayeddhiyā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Gradually, as the mind becomes progressively spiritualized, withdraw it from sense activities, and by intelligence the senses will be controlled. The mind too absorbed in material activities can be engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead and become fixed in full transcendental consciousness.
तत्रैकावयवं ध्यायेदव्युच्छिन्नेन चेतसा । मनो निर्विषयं युक्त्वा ततः किञ्चन न स्मरेत् । पदं तत्परमं विष्णोर्मनो यत्र प्रसीदति
tatraikāvayavaṃ dhyāyedavyucchinnena cetasā | mano nirviṣayaṃ yuktvā tataḥ kiñcana na smaret | padaṃ tatparamaṃ viṣṇormano yatra prasīdati
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, you should meditate upon the limbs of Viṣṇu, one after another, without being deviated from the conception of the complete body. Thus the mind becomes free from all sense objects. There should be no other thing to be thought upon. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is the Ultimate Truth, the mind becomes completely reconciled in Him only.
रजस्तमोभ्यामाक्षिप्तं विमूढं मन आत्मनः । यच्छेद्धारणया धीरो हन्ति या तत्कृतं मलम्
rajastamobhyāmākṣiptaṃ vimūḍhaṃ mana ātmanaḥ | yaccheddhāraṇayā dhīro hanti yā tatkṛtaṃ malam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One’s mind is always agitated by the passionate mode of material nature and bewildered by the ignorant mode of nature. But one can rectify such conceptions by the relation of Viṣṇu and thus become pacified by cleansing the dirty things created by them.
यस्यां सन्धार्यमाणायां योगिनो भक्तिलक्षणः । आशु सम्पद्यते योग आश्रयं भद्रमीक्षतः
yasyāṃ sandhāryamāṇāyāṃ yogino bhaktilakṣaṇaḥ | āśu sampadyate yoga āśrayaṃ bhadramīkṣataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, by this system of remembrance and by being fixed in the habit of seeing the all-good personal conception of the Lord, one can very soon attain devotional service to the Lord, under His direct shelter.
राजोवाच । यथा सन्धार्यते ब्रह्मन् धारणा यत्र सम्मता । यादृशी वा हरेदाशु पुरुषस्य मनोमलम्
rājovāca | yathā sandhāryate brahman dhāraṇā yatra sammatā | yādṛśī vā haredāśu puruṣasya manomalam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The fortunate King Parīkṣit, inquiring further, said: O brāhmaṇa, please describe in full detail how and where the mind has to be applied and how the conception can be fixed so that the dirty things in a person’s mind can be removed.
श्रीशुक उवाच । जितासनो जितश्वासो जितसङ्गो जितेन्द्रियः । स्थूले भगवतो रूपे मनः सन्धारयेद्धिया
śrīśuka uvāca | jitāsano jitaśvāso jitasaṅgo jitendriyaḥ | sthūle bhagavato rūpe manaḥ sandhārayeddhiyā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: One should control the sitting posture, regulate the breathing process by the yogic prāṇāyāma and thus control the mind and senses and with intelligence apply the mind to the gross potencies of the Lord [called the virāṭ-rūpa].
विशेषस्तस्य देहोऽयं स्थविष्ठश्च स्थवीयसाम् । यत्रेदं दृश्यते विश्वं भूतं भव्यं भवच्च सत्
viśeṣastasya deho'yaṃ sthaviṣṭhaśca sthavīyasām | yatredaṃ dṛśyate viśvaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavyaṃ bhavacca sat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This gigantic manifestation of the phenomenal material world as a whole is the personal body of the Absolute Truth, wherein the universal resultant past, present and future of material time is experienced.
आण्डकोशे शरीरेऽस्मिन् सप्तावरणसंयुते । वैराजः पुरुषो योऽसौ भगवान् धारणाश्रयः
āṇḍakośe śarīre'smin saptāvaraṇasaṃyute | vairājaḥ puruṣo yo'sau bhagavān dhāraṇāśrayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The gigantic universal form of the Personality of Godhead, within the body of the universal shell, which is covered by sevenfold material elements, is the subject for the virāṭ conception.
पातालमेतस्य हि पादमूलं पठन्ति पार्ष्णिप्रपदे रसातलम् । महातलं विश्वसृजोऽथ गुल्फौ तलातलं वै पुरुषस्य जङ्घे
pātālametasya hi pādamūlaṃ paṭhanti pārṣṇiprapade rasātalam | mahātalaṃ viśvasṛjo'tha gulphau talātalaṃ vai puruṣasya jaṅghe
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Persons who have realized it have studied that the planets known as Pātāla constitute the bottoms of the feet of the universal Lord, and the heels and the toes are the Rasātala planets. The ankles are the Mahātala planets, and His shanks constitute the Talātala planets.
द्वे जानुनी सुतलं विश्वमूर्ते- रूरुद्वयं वितलं चातलं च । महीतलं तज्जघनं महीपते नभस्तलं नाभिसरो गृणन्ति
dve jānunī sutalaṃ viśvamūrte- rūrudvayaṃ vitalaṃ cātalaṃ ca | mahītalaṃ tajjaghanaṃ mahīpate nabhastalaṃ nābhisaro gṛṇanti
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The knees of the universal form are the planetary system of the name Sutala, and the two thighs are the Vitala and Atala planetary systems. The hips are Mahītala, and outer space is the depression of His navel.
उरःस्थलं ज्योतिरनीकमस्य ग्रीवा महर्वदनं वै जनोऽस्य । तपो रराटीं विदुरादिपुंसः सत्यं तु शीर्षाणि सहस्रशीर्ष्णः
uraḥsthalaṃ jyotiranīkamasya grīvā maharvadanaṃ vai jano'sya | tapo rarāṭīṃ vidurādipuṃsaḥ satyaṃ tu śīrṣāṇi sahasraśīrṣṇaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The chest of the Original Personality of the gigantic form is the luminary planetary system, His neck is the Mahar planets, His mouth is the Janas planets, and His forehead is the Tapas planetary system. The topmost planetary system, known as Satyaloka, is the head of He who has one thousand heads.
इन्द्रादयो बाहव आहुरुस्राः कर्णौ दिशः श्रोत्रममुष्य शब्दः । नासत्यदस्रौ परमस्य नासे घ्राणोऽस्य गन्धो मुखमग्निरिद्धः
indrādayo bāhava āhurusrāḥ karṇau diśaḥ śrotramamuṣya śabdaḥ | nāsatyadasrau paramasya nāse ghrāṇo'sya gandho mukhamagniriddhaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His arms are the demigods headed by Indra, the ten directional sides are His ears, and physical sound is His sense of hearing. His nostrils are the two Aśvinī-kumāras, and material fragrance is His sense of smell. His mouth is the blazing fire.
द्यौरक्षिणी चक्षुरभूत्पतङ्गः पक्ष्माणि विष्णोरहनी उभे च । तद्भ्रूविजृम्भः परमेष्ठिधिष्ण्य- मापोऽस्य तालू रस एव जिह्वा
dyaurakṣiṇī cakṣurabhūtpataṅgaḥ pakṣmāṇi viṣṇorahanī ubhe ca | tadbhrūvijṛmbhaḥ parameṣṭhidhiṣṇya- māpo'sya tālū rasa eva jihvā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The sphere of outer space constitutes His eyepits, and the eyeball is the sun as the power of seeing. His eyelids are both the day and night, and in the movements of His eyebrows, Brahmā and similar supreme personalities reside. His palate is the director of water, Varuṇa, and the juice or essence of everything is His tongue.
छन्दांस्यनन्तस्य शिरो गृणन्ति दंष्ट्रा यमः स्नेहकला द्विजानि । हासो जनोन्मादकरी च माया दुरन्तसर्गो यदपाङ्गमोक्षः
chandāṃsyanantasya śiro gṛṇanti daṃṣṭrā yamaḥ snehakalā dvijāni | hāso janonmādakarī ca māyā durantasargo yadapāṅgamokṣaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
They say that the Vedic hymns are the cerebral passage of the Lord, and His jaws of teeth are Yama, god of death, who punishes the sinners. The art of affection is His set of teeth, and the most alluring illusory material energy is His smile. This great ocean of material creation is but the casting of His glance over us.
व्रीडोत्तरोष्ठोऽधर एव लोभो धर्मः स्तनोऽधर्मपथोऽस्य पृष्ठम् । कस्तस्य मेढ्रं वृषणौ च मित्रौ कुक्षिः समुद्रा गिरयोऽस्थिसङ्घाः
vrīḍottaroṣṭho'dhara eva lobho dharmaḥ stano'dharmapatho'sya pṛṣṭham | kastasya meḍhraṃ vṛṣaṇau ca mitrau kukṣiḥ samudrā girayo'sthisaṅghāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Modesty is the upper portion of His lips, hankering is His chin, religion is the breast of the Lord, and irreligion is His back. Brahmājī, who generates all living beings in the material world, is His genitals, and the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. The ocean is His waist, and the hills and mountains are the stacks of His bones.
नद्योऽस्य नाड्योऽथ तनूरुहाणि महीरुहा विश्वतनोर्नृपेन्द्र । अनन्तवीर्यः श्वसितं मातरिश्वा गतिर्वयः कर्म गुणप्रवाहः
nadyo'sya nāḍyo'tha tanūruhāṇi mahīruhā viśvatanornṛpendra | anantavīryaḥ śvasitaṃ mātariśvā gatirvayaḥ karma guṇapravāhaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, the rivers are the veins of the gigantic body, the trees are the hairs of His body, and the omnipotent air is His breath. The passing ages are His movements, and His activities are the reactions of the three modes of material nature.
ईशस्य केशान् विदुरम्बुवाहान् वासस्तु सन्ध्यां कुरुवर्य भूम्नः । अव्यक्तमाहुर्हृदयं मनश्च सचन्द्रमाः सर्वविकारकोशः
īśasya keśān vidurambuvāhān vāsastu sandhyāṃ kuruvarya bhūmnaḥ | avyaktamāhurhṛdayaṃ manaśca sacandramāḥ sarvavikārakośaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O best amongst the Kurus, the clouds which carry water are the hairs on His head, the terminations of days or nights are His dress, and the supreme cause of material creation is His intelligence. His mind is the moon, the reservoir of all changes.
विज्ञानशक्तिं महिमामनन्ति सर्वात्मनोऽन्तःकरणं गिरित्रम् । अश्वाश्वतर्युष्ट्रगजा नखानि सर्वे मृगाः पशवः श्रोणिदेशे
vijñānaśaktiṃ mahimāmananti sarvātmano'ntaḥkaraṇaṃ giritram | aśvāśvataryuṣṭragajā nakhāni sarve mṛgāḥ paśavaḥ śroṇideśe
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The principle of matter [mahat-tattva] is the consciousness of the omnipresent Lord, as asserted by the experts, and Rudradeva is His ego. The horse, mule, camel and elephant are His nails, and wild animals and all quadrupeds are situated in the belt zone of the Lord.
वयांसि तद्व्याकरणं विचित्रं मनुर्मनीषा मनुजो निवासः । गन्धर्वविद्याधरचारणाप्सरः स्वरस्मृतीरसुरानीकवीर्यः
vayāṃsi tadvyākaraṇaṃ vicitraṃ manurmanīṣā manujo nivāsaḥ | gandharvavidyādharacāraṇāpsaraḥ svarasmṛtīrasurānīkavīryaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Varieties of birds are indications of His masterful artistic sense. Manu, the father of mankind, is the emblem of His standard intelligence, and humanity is His residence. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas and angels, all represent His musical rhythm, and the demoniac soldiers are representations of His wonderful prowess.
ब्रह्माऽऽननं क्षत्रभुजो महात्मा विडूरुरङ्घ्रिश्रितकृष्णवर्णः । नानाभिधाभीज्यगणोपपन्नो द्रव्यात्मकः कर्म वितानयोगः
brahmā''nanaṃ kṣatrabhujo mahātmā viḍūruraṅghriśritakṛṣṇavarṇaḥ | nānābhidhābhījyagaṇopapanno dravyātmakaḥ karma vitānayogaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The virāṭ-puruṣa’s face is the brāhmaṇas, His arms are the kṣatriyas, His thighs are the vaiśyas, and the śūdras are under the protection of His feet. All the worshipable demigods are also overtaken by Him, and it is the duty of everyone to perform sacrifices with feasible goods to appease the Lord.
इयानसावीश्वरविग्रहस्य यः सन्निवेशः कथितो मया ते । सन्धार्यतेऽस्मिन् वपुषि स्थविष्ठे मनः स्वबुद्ध्या न यतोऽस्ति किञ्चित्
iyānasāvīśvaravigrahasya yaḥ sanniveśaḥ kathito mayā te | sandhāryate'smin vapuṣi sthaviṣṭhe manaḥ svabuddhyā na yato'sti kiñcit
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I have thus explained to you the gross material gigantic conception of the Personality of Godhead. One who seriously desires liberation concentrates his mind on this form of the Lord, because there is nothing more than this in the material world.
स सर्वधीवृत्त्यनुभूतसर्व आत्मा यथा स्वप्नजनेक्षितैकः । तं सत्यमानन्दनिधिं भजेत नान्यत्र सज्जेद्यत आत्मपातः
sa sarvadhīvṛttyanubhūtasarva ātmā yathā svapnajanekṣitaikaḥ | taṃ satyamānandanidhiṃ bhajeta nānyatra sajjedyata ātmapātaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One should concentrate his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who alone distributes Himself in so many manifestations just as ordinary persons create thousands of manifestations in dreams. One must concentrate the mind on Him, the only all-blissful Absolute Truth. Otherwise one will be misled and will cause his own degradation.
श्रीशुक उवाच । एवं पुरा धारणयाऽऽत्मयोनि- र्नष्टां स्मृतिं प्रत्यवरुध्य तुष्टात् । तथा ससर्जेदममोघदृष्टि- र्यथाप्ययात्प्राग्व्यवसायबुद्धिः
śrīśuka uvāca | evaṃ purā dhāraṇayā''tmayoni- rnaṣṭāṃ smṛtiṃ pratyavarudhya tuṣṭāt | tathā sasarjedamamoghadṛṣṭi- ryathāpyayātprāgvyavasāyabuddhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Formerly, prior to the manifestation of the cosmos, Lord Brahmā, by meditating on the virāṭ-rūpa, regained his lost consciousness by appeasing the Lord. Thus he was able to rebuild the creation as it was before.
शाब्दस्य हि ब्रह्मण एष पन्था यन्नामभिर्ध्यायति धीरपार्थैः । परिभ्रमंस्तत्र न विन्दतेऽर्थान् मायामये वासनया शयानः
śābdasya hi brahmaṇa eṣa panthā yannāmabhirdhyāyati dhīrapārthaiḥ | paribhramaṃstatra na vindate'rthān māyāmaye vāsanayā śayānaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.
अतः कविर्नामसु यावदर्थः स्यादप्रमत्तो व्यवसायबुद्धिः । सिद्धेऽन्यथार्थे न यतेत तत्र परिश्रमं तत्र समीक्षमाणः
ataḥ kavirnāmasu yāvadarthaḥ syādapramatto vyavasāyabuddhiḥ | siddhe'nyathārthe na yateta tatra pariśramaṃ tatra samīkṣamāṇaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing.
सत्यां क्षितौ किं कशिपोः प्रयासै- र्बाहौ स्वसिद्धे ह्युपबर्हणैः किम् । सत्यञ्जलौ किं पुरुधान्नपात्र्या दिग्वल्कलादौ सति किं दुकूलैः
satyāṃ kṣitau kiṃ kaśipoḥ prayāsai- rbāhau svasiddhe hyupabarhaṇaiḥ kim | satyañjalau kiṃ purudhānnapātryā digvalkalādau sati kiṃ dukūlaiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When there are ample earthly flats to lie on, what is the necessity of cots and beds? When one can use his own arms, what is the necessity of a pillow? When one can use the palms of his hands, what is the necessity of varieties of utensils? When there is ample covering, or the skins of trees, what is the necessity of clothing?
चीराणि किं पथि न सन्ति दिशन्ति भिक्षां नैवाङ्घ्रिपाः परभृतः सरितोऽप्यशुष्यन् । रुद्धा गुहाः किमजितोऽवति नोपसन्नान् कस्माद्भजन्ति कवयो धनदुर्मदान्धान्
cīrāṇi kiṃ pathi na santi diśanti bhikṣāṃ naivāṅghripāḥ parabhṛtaḥ sarito'pyaśuṣyan | ruddhā guhāḥ kimajito'vati nopasannān kasmādbhajanti kavayo dhanadurmadāndhān
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed? Or above all, does the Almighty Lord not protect the fully surrendered souls? Why then do the learned sages go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?
एवं स्वचित्ते स्वत एव सिद्ध आत्मा प्रियोऽर्थो भगवाननन्तः । तं निर्वृतो नियतार्थो भजेत संसारहेतूपरमश्च यत्र
evaṃ svacitte svata eva siddha ātmā priyo'rtho bhagavānanantaḥ | taṃ nirvṛto niyatārtho bhajeta saṃsārahetūparamaśca yatra
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus being fixed, one must render service unto the Supersoul situated in one’s own heart by His omnipotency. Because He is the Almighty Personality of Godhead, eternal and unlimited, He is the ultimate goal of life, and by worshiping Him one can end the cause of the conditioned state of existence.
कस्तां त्वनादृत्य परानुचिन्ता- मृते पशूनसतीं नाम युञ्ज्यात् । पश्यन् जनं पतितं वैतरण्यां स्वकर्मजान् परितापाञ्जुषाणम्
kastāṃ tvanādṛtya parānucintā- mṛte paśūnasatīṃ nāma yuñjyāt | paśyan janaṃ patitaṃ vaitaraṇyāṃ svakarmajān paritāpāñjuṣāṇam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Who else but the gross materialists will neglect such transcendental thought and take to the nonpermanent names only, seeing the mass of people fallen in the river of suffering as the consequence of accruing the result of their own work?
केचित्स्वदेहान्तर्हृदयावकाशे प्रादेशमात्रं पुरुषं वसन्तम् । चतुर्भुजं कञ्जरथाङ्गशङ्ख- गदाधरं धारणया स्मरन्ति
kecitsvadehāntarhṛdayāvakāśe prādeśamātraṃ puruṣaṃ vasantam | caturbhujaṃ kañjarathāṅgaśaṅkha- gadādharaṃ dhāraṇayā smaranti
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Others conceive of the Personality of Godhead residing within the body in the region of the heart and measuring only eight inches, with four hands carrying a lotus, a wheel of a chariot, a conchshell and a club respectively.
प्रसन्नवक्त्रं नलिनायतेक्षणं कदम्बकिञ्जल्कपिशङ्गवाससम् । लसन्महारत्नहिरण्मयाङ्गदं स्फुरन्महारत्नकिरीटकुण्डलम्
prasannavaktraṃ nalināyatekṣaṇaṃ kadambakiñjalkapiśaṅgavāsasam | lasanmahāratnahiraṇmayāṅgadaṃ sphuranmahāratnakirīṭakuṇḍalam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His mouth expresses His happiness. His eyes spread like the petals of a lotus, and His garments, yellowish like the saffron of a kadamba flower, are bedecked with valuable jewels. His ornaments are all made of gold, set with jewels, and He wears a glowing headdress and earrings.
उन्निद्रहृत्पङ्कजकर्णिकालये योगेश्वरास्थापितपादपल्लवम् । श्रीलक्ष्मणं कौस्तुभरत्नकन्धर- मम्लानलक्ष्म्या वनमालयाऽऽचितम्
unnidrahṛtpaṅkajakarṇikālaye yogeśvarāsthāpitapādapallavam | śrīlakṣmaṇaṃ kaustubharatnakandhara- mamlānalakṣmyā vanamālayā''citam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His lotus feet are placed over the whorls of the lotuslike hearts of great mystics. On His chest is the Kaustubha jewel, engraved with a beautiful calf, and there are other jewels on His shoulders. His complete torso is garlanded with fresh flowers.
विभूषितं मेखलयाङ्गुलीयकै- र्महाधनैर्नूपुरकङ्कणादिभिः । स्निग्धामलाकुञ्चितनीलकुन्तलै- र्विरोचमानाननहासपेशलम्
vibhūṣitaṃ mekhalayāṅgulīyakai- rmahādhanairnūpurakaṅkaṇādibhiḥ | snigdhāmalākuñcitanīlakuntalai- rvirocamānānanahāsapeśalam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He is well decorated with an ornamental wreath about His waist and rings studded with valuable jewels on His fingers. His leglets, His bangles, His oiled hair, curling with a bluish tint, and His beautiful smiling face are all very pleasing.
अदीनलीलाहसितेक्षणोल्लस- द्भ्रूभङ्गसंसूचितभूर्यनुग्रहम् । ईक्षेत चिन्तामयमेनमीश्वरं यावन्मनो धारणयावतिष्ठते
adīnalīlāhasitekṣaṇollasa- dbhrūbhaṅgasaṃsūcitabhūryanugraham | īkṣeta cintāmayamenamīśvaraṃ yāvanmano dhāraṇayāvatiṣṭhate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord’s magnanimous pastimes and the glowing glancing of His smiling face are all indications of His extensive benedictions. One must therefore concentrate on this transcendental form of the Lord, as long as the mind can be fixed on Him by meditation.
एकैकशोऽङ्गानि धियानुभावयेत्- पादादि यावद्धसितं गदाभृतः । जितं जितं स्थानमपोह्य धारयेत् परं परं शुद्ध्यति धीर्यथा यथा
ekaikaśo'ṅgāni dhiyānubhāvayet- pādādi yāvaddhasitaṃ gadābhṛtaḥ | jitaṃ jitaṃ sthānamapohya dhārayet paraṃ paraṃ śuddhyati dhīryathā yathā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The process of meditation should begin from the lotus feet of the Lord and progress to His smiling face. The meditation should be concentrated upon the lotus feet, then the calves, then the thighs, and in this way higher and higher. The more the mind becomes fixed upon the different parts of the limbs, one after another, the more the intelligence becomes purified.
यावन्न जायेत परावरेऽस्मिन् विश्वेश्वरे द्रष्टरि भक्तियोगः । तावत्स्थवीयः पुरुषस्य रूपं क्रियावसाने प्रयतः स्मरेत
yāvanna jāyeta parāvare'smin viśveśvare draṣṭari bhaktiyogaḥ | tāvatsthavīyaḥ puruṣasya rūpaṃ kriyāvasāne prayataḥ smareta
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Unless the gross materialist develops a sense of loving service unto the Supreme Lord, the seer of both the transcendental and material worlds, he should remember or meditate upon the universal form of the Lord at the end of his prescribed duties.
स्थिरं सुखं चासनमास्थितो यति- र्यदा जिहासुरिममङ्ग लोकम् । काले च देशे च मनो न सज्जयेत् प्राणान् नियच्छेन्मनसा जितासुः
sthiraṃ sukhaṃ cāsanamāsthito yati- ryadā jihāsurimamaṅga lokam | kāle ca deśe ca mano na sajjayet prāṇān niyacchenmanasā jitāsuḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, whenever the yogī desires to leave this planet of human beings, he should not be perplexed about the proper time or place, but should comfortably sit without being disturbed and, regulating the life air, should control the senses by the mind.
मनः स्वबुध्यामलया नियम्य क्षेत्रज्ञ एतां निनयेत्तमात्मनि । आत्मानमात्मन्यवरुध्य धीरो लब्धोपशान्तिर्विरमेत कृत्यात्
manaḥ svabudhyāmalayā niyamya kṣetrajña etāṃ ninayettamātmani | ātmānamātmanyavarudhya dhīro labdhopaśāntirvirameta kṛtyāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, the yogī should merge his mind, by his unalloyed intelligence, into the living entity, and then merge the living entity into the Superself. And by doing this, the fully satisfied living entity becomes situated in the supreme stage of satisfaction, so that he ceases from all other activities.
न यत्र कालोऽनिमिषां परः प्रभुः कुतो नु देवा जगतां य ईशिरे । न यत्र सत्त्वं न रजस्तमश्च न वै विकारो न महान् प्रधानम्
na yatra kālo'nimiṣāṃ paraḥ prabhuḥ kuto nu devā jagatāṃ ya īśire | na yatra sattvaṃ na rajastamaśca na vai vikāro na mahān pradhānam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In that transcendental state of labdhopaśānti, there is no supremacy of devastating time, which controls even the celestial demigods who are empowered to rule over mundane creatures. (And what to speak of the demigods themselves?) Nor is there the mode of material goodness, nor passion, nor ignorance, nor even the false ego, nor the material Causal Ocean, nor the material nature.
परं पदं वैष्णवमामनन्ति तद्- यन्नेति नेतीत्यतदुत्सिसृक्षवः । विसृज्य दौरात्म्यमनन्यसौहृदा हृदोपगुह्यार्हपदं पदे पदे
paraṃ padaṃ vaiṣṇavamāmananti tad- yanneti netītyatadutsisṛkṣavaḥ | visṛjya daurātmyamananyasauhṛdā hṛdopaguhyārhapadaṃ pade pade
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The transcendentalists desire to avoid everything godless, for they know that supreme situation in which everything is related with the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore a pure devotee who is in absolute harmony with the Lord does not create perplexities, but worships the lotus feet of the Lord at every moment, taking them into his heart.
इत्थं मुनिस्तूपरमेद्व्यवस्थितो विज्ञानदृग्वीर्यसुरन्धिताशयः । स्वपार्ष्णिनाऽऽपीड्य गुदं ततोऽनिलं स्थानेषु षट्सून्नमयेज्जितक्लमः
itthaṃ munistūparamedvyavasthito vijñānadṛgvīryasurandhitāśayaḥ | svapārṣṇinā''pīḍya gudaṃ tato'nilaṃ sthāneṣu ṣaṭsūnnamayejjitaklamaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By the strength of scientific knowledge, one should be well situated in absolute realization and thus be able to extinguish all material desires. One should then give up the material body by blocking the air hole [through which stool is evacuated] with the heel of one’s foot and by lifting the life air from one place to another in the six primary places.
नाभ्यां स्थितं हृद्यधिरोप्यतस्मा- दुदानगत्योरसि तं नयेन्मुनिः । ततोऽनुसन्धाय धिया मनस्वी स्वतालुमूलं शनकैर्नयेत
nābhyāṃ sthitaṃ hṛdyadhiropyatasmā- dudānagatyorasi taṃ nayenmuniḥ | tato'nusandhāya dhiyā manasvī svatālumūlaṃ śanakairnayeta
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The meditative devotee should slowly push up the life air from the navel to the heart, from there to the chest, and from there to the root of the palate. He should search out the proper places with intelligence.
तस्माद्भ्रुवोरन्तरमुन्नयेत निरुद्धसप्तायतनोऽनपेक्षः । स्थित्वा मुहूर्तार्धमकुण्ठदृष्टि- र्निर्भिद्य मूर्धन् विसृजेत्परं गतः
tasmādbhruvorantaramunnayeta niruddhasaptāyatano'napekṣaḥ | sthitvā muhūrtārdhamakuṇṭhadṛṣṭi- rnirbhidya mūrdhan visṛjetparaṃ gataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter the bhakti-yogī should push the life air up between the eyebrows, and then, blocking the seven outlets of the life air, he should maintain his aim for going back home, back to Godhead. If he is completely free from all desires for material enjoyment, he should then reach the cerebral hole and give up his material connections, having gone to the Supreme.
यदि प्रयास्यन् नृप पारमेष्ठ्यं वैहायसानामुत यद्विहारम् । अष्टाधिपत्यं गुणसन्निवाये सहैव गच्छेन्मनसेन्द्रियैश्च
yadi prayāsyan nṛpa pārameṣṭhyaṃ vaihāyasānāmuta yadvihāram | aṣṭādhipatyaṃ guṇasannivāye sahaiva gacchenmanasendriyaiśca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
However, O King, if a yogī maintains a desire for improved material enjoyments, like transference to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, or the achievement of the eightfold perfections, travel in outer space with the Vaihāyasas, or a situation in one of the millions of planets, then he has to take away with him the materially molded mind and senses.
योगेश्वराणां गतिमाहुरन्त- र्बहिस्त्रिलोक्याः पवनान्तरात्मनाम् । न कर्मभिस्तां गतिमाप्नुवन्ति विद्यातपोयोगसमाधिभाजाम्
yogeśvarāṇāṃ gatimāhuranta- rbahistrilokyāḥ pavanāntarātmanām | na karmabhistāṃ gatimāpnuvanti vidyātapoyogasamādhibhājām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The transcendentalists are concerned with the spiritual body. As such, by the strength of their devotional service, austerities, mystic power and transcendental knowledge, their movements are unrestricted, within and beyond the material worlds. The fruitive workers, or the gross materialists, can never move in such an unrestricted manner.
वैश्वानरं याति विहायसा गतः सुषुम्णया ब्रह्मपथेन शोचिषा । विधूतकल्कोऽथ हरेरुदस्तात् प्रयाति चक्रं नृप शैशुमारम्
vaiśvānaraṃ yāti vihāyasā gataḥ suṣumṇayā brahmapathena śociṣā | vidhūtakalko'tha harerudastāt prayāti cakraṃ nṛpa śaiśumāram
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, when such a mystic passes over the Milky Way by the illuminating Suṣumṇā to reach the highest planet, Brahmaloka, he goes first to Vaiśvānara, the planet of the deity of fire, wherein he becomes completely cleansed of all contaminations, and thereafter he still goes higher, to the circle of Śiśumāra, to relate with Lord Hari, the Personality of Godhead.
तद्विश्वनाभिं त्वतिवर्त्य विष्णो- रणीयसा विरजेनात्मनैकः । नमस्कृतं ब्रह्मविदामुपैति कल्पायुषो यद्विबुधा रमन्ते
tadviśvanābhiṃ tvativartya viṣṇo- raṇīyasā virajenātmanaikaḥ | namaskṛtaṃ brahmavidāmupaiti kalpāyuṣo yadvibudhā ramante
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This Śiśumāra is the pivot for the turning of the complete universe, and it is called the navel of Viṣṇu [Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu]. The yogī alone goes beyond this circle of Śiśumāra and attains the planet [Maharloka] where purified saints like Bhṛgu enjoy a duration of life of 4,300,000,000 solar years. This planet is worshipable even for saints who are transcendentally situated.
अथो अनन्तस्य मुखानलेन दन्दह्यमानं स निरीक्ष्य विश्वम् । निर्याति सिद्धेश्वरजुष्टधिष्ण्यं यद्द्वैपरार्ध्यं तदु पारमेष्ठ्यम्
atho anantasya mukhānalena dandahyamānaṃ sa nirīkṣya viśvam | niryāti siddheśvarajuṣṭadhiṣṇyaṃ yaddvaiparārdhyaṃ tadu pārameṣṭhyam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
At the time of the final devastation of the complete universe [the end of the duration of Brahmā’s life], a flame of fire emanates from the mouth of Ananta [from the bottom of the universe]. The yogī sees all the planets of the universe burning to ashes, and thus he leaves for Satyaloka by airplanes used by the great purified souls. The duration of life in Satyaloka is calculated to be 15,480,000,000,000 years.
न यत्र शोको न जरा न मृत्यु- र्नार्तिर्नचोद्वेग ऋते कुतश्चित् । यच्चित्ततोऽदः कृपयानिदंविदां दुरन्तदुःखप्रभवानुदर्शनात्
na yatra śoko na jarā na mṛtyu- rnārtirnacodvega ṛte kutaścit | yaccittato'daḥ kṛpayānidaṃvidāṃ durantaduḥkhaprabhavānudarśanāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death. There is no pain of any kind, and therefore there are no anxieties, save that sometimes, due to consciousness, there is a feeling of compassion for those unaware of the process of devotional service, who are subjected to unsurpassable miseries in the material world.
ततो विशेषं प्रतिपद्य निर्भय- स्तेनात्मनापोऽनलमूर्तिरत्वरन् । ज्योतिर्मयो वायुमुपेत्य काले वाय्वात्मना खं बृहदात्मलिङ्गम्
tato viśeṣaṃ pratipadya nirbhaya- stenātmanāpo'nalamūrtiratvaran | jyotirmayo vāyumupetya kāle vāyvātmanā khaṃ bṛhadātmaliṅgam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
After reaching Satyaloka, the devotee is specifically able to be incorporated fearlessly by the subtle body in an identity similar to that of the gross body, and one after another he gradually attains stages of existence from earthly to watery, fiery, glowing and airy, until he reaches the ethereal stage.
घ्राणेन गन्धं रसनेन वै रसं रूपं च दृष्ट्या श्वसनं त्वचैव । श्रोत्रेण चोपेत्य नभोगुणत्वं प्राणेन चाकूतिमुपैति योगी
ghrāṇena gandhaṃ rasanena vai rasaṃ rūpaṃ ca dṛṣṭyā śvasanaṃ tvacaiva | śrotreṇa copetya nabhoguṇatvaṃ prāṇena cākūtimupaiti yogī
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The devotee thus surpasses the subtle objects of different senses like aroma by smelling, the palate by tasting, vision by seeing forms, touch by contacting, the vibrations of the ear by ethereal identification, and the sense organs by material activities.
स भूतसूक्ष्मेन्द्रियसन्निकर्षं मनोमयं देवमयं विकार्यम् । संसाद्य गत्या सह तेन याति विज्ञानतत्त्वं गुणसन्निरोधम्
sa bhūtasūkṣmendriyasannikarṣaṃ manomayaṃ devamayaṃ vikāryam | saṃsādya gatyā saha tena yāti vijñānatattvaṃ guṇasannirodham
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The devotee, thus surpassing the gross and the subtle forms of coverings, enters the plane of egoism. And in that status he merges the material modes of nature [ignorance and passion] in this point of neutralization and thus reaches egoism in goodness. After this, all egoism is merged in the mahat-tattva, and he comes to the point of pure self-realization.
तेनात्मनाऽऽत्मानमुपैति शान्त- मानन्दमानन्दमयोऽवसाने । एतां गतिं भागवतीं गतो यः स वै पुनर्नेह विषज्जतेऽङ्ग
tenātmanā''tmānamupaiti śānta- mānandamānandamayo'vasāne | etāṃ gatiṃ bhāgavatīṃ gato yaḥ sa vai punarneha viṣajjate'ṅga
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Only the purified soul can attain the perfection of associating with the Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satisfaction in his constitutional state. Whoever is able to renovate such devotional perfection is never again attracted by this material world, and he never returns.
एते सृती ते नृप वेदगीते त्वयाभिपृष्टे ह सनातने च । ये वै पुरा ब्रह्मण आह पृष्ट आराधितो भगवान् वासुदेवः
ete sṛtī te nṛpa vedagīte tvayābhipṛṣṭe ha sanātane ca | ye vai purā brahmaṇa āha pṛṣṭa ārādhito bhagavān vāsudevaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Your Majesty Mahārāja Parīkṣit, know that all that I have described in reply to your proper inquiry is just according to the version of the Vedas, and it is eternal truth. This was described personally by Lord Kṛṣṇa unto Brahmā, with whom the Lord was satisfied upon being properly worshiped.
न ह्यतोऽन्यः शिवः पन्था विशतः संसृताविह । वासुदेवे भगवति भक्तियोगो यतो भवेत्
na hyato'nyaḥ śivaḥ panthā viśataḥ saṃsṛtāviha | vāsudeve bhagavati bhaktiyogo yato bhavet
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
For those who are wandering in the material universe, there is no more auspicious means of deliverance than what is aimed at in the direct devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
भगवान् ब्रह्म कार्त्स्न्येन त्रिरन्वीक्ष्य मनीषया । तदध्यवस्यत्कूटस्थो रतिरात्मन् यतो भवेत्
bhagavān brahma kārtsnyena triranvīkṣya manīṣayā | tadadhyavasyatkūṭastho ratirātman yato bhavet
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The great personality Brahmā, with great attention and concentration of the mind, studied the Vedas three times, and after scrutinizingly examining them, he ascertained that attraction for the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the highest perfection of religion.
भगवान् सर्वभूतेषु लक्षितः स्वात्मना हरिः । दृश्यैर्बुद्ध्यादिभिर्द्रष्टा लक्षणैरनुमापकैः
bhagavān sarvabhūteṣu lakṣitaḥ svātmanā hariḥ | dṛśyairbuddhyādibhirdraṣṭā lakṣaṇairanumāpakaiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in every living being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the intelligence.
तस्मात्सर्वात्मना राजन् हरिः सर्वत्र सर्वदा । श्रोतव्यः कीर्तितव्यश्च स्मर्तव्यो भगवान् नृणाम्
tasmātsarvātmanā rājan hariḥ sarvatra sarvadā | śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaśca smartavyo bhagavān nṛṇām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, it is therefore essential that every human being hear about, glorify and remember the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, always and everywhere.
पिबन्ति ये भगवत आत्मनः सतां कथामृतं श्रवणपुटेषु सम्भृतम् । पुनन्ति ते विषयविदूषिताशयं व्रजन्ति तच्चरणसरोरुहान्तिकम्
pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṃ kathāmṛtaṃ śravaṇapuṭeṣu sambhṛtam | punanti te viṣayavidūṣitāśayaṃ vrajanti taccaraṇasaroruhāntikam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Those who drink through aural reception, fully filled with the nectarean message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved of the devotees, purify the polluted aim of life known as material enjoyment and thus go back to Godhead, to the lotus feet of Him [the Personality of Godhead].
श्रीशुक उवाच । एवमेतन्निगदितं पृष्टवान् यद्भवान् मम । नृणां यन्म्रियमाणानां मनुष्येषु मनीषिणाम्
śrīśuka uvāca | evametannigaditaṃ pṛṣṭavān yadbhavān mama | nṛṇāṃ yanmriyamāṇānāṃ manuṣyeṣu manīṣiṇām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as you have inquired from me as to the duty of the intelligent man who is on the threshold of death, so I have answered you.
धर्मार्थ उत्तमश्लोकं तन्तुं तन्वन् पितॄन् यजेत् । रक्षाकामः पुण्यजनानोजस्कामो मरुद्गणान्
dharmārtha uttamaślokaṃ tantuṃ tanvan pitṝn yajet | rakṣākāmaḥ puṇyajanānojaskāmo marudgaṇān
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One should worship Lord Viṣṇu or His devotee for spiritual advancement in knowledge, and for protection of heredity and advancement of a dynasty one should worship the various demigods.
राज्यकामो मनून् देवान् निरृतिं त्वभिचरन् यजेत् । कामकामो यजेत्सोममकामः पुरुषं परम्
rājyakāmo manūn devān nirṛtiṃ tvabhicaran yajet | kāmakāmo yajetsomamakāmaḥ puruṣaṃ param
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One who desires domination over a kingdom or an empire should worship the Manus. One who desires victory over an enemy should worship the demons, and one who desires sense gratification should worship the moon. But one who desires nothing of material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
अकामः सर्वकामो वा मोक्षकाम उदारधीः । तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन यजेत पुरुषं परम्
akāmaḥ sarvakāmo vā mokṣakāma udāradhīḥ | tīvreṇa bhaktiyogena yajeta puruṣaṃ param
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.
एतावानेव यजतामिह निःश्रेयसोदयः । भगवत्यचलो भावो यद्भागवतसङ्गतः
etāvāneva yajatāmiha niḥśreyasodayaḥ | bhagavatyacalo bhāvo yadbhāgavatasaṅgataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All the different kinds of worshipers of multidemigods can attain the highest perfectional benediction, which is spontaneous attraction unflinchingly fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by the association of the pure devotee of the Lord.
ज्ञानं यदा प्रतिनिवृत्तगुणोर्मिचक्र- मात्मप्रसाद उत यत्र गुणेष्वसङ्गः । कैवल्यसम्मतपथस्त्वथ भक्तियोगः को निर्वृतो हरिकथासु रतिं न कुर्यात्
jñānaṃ yadā pratinivṛttaguṇormicakra- mātmaprasāda uta yatra guṇeṣvasaṅgaḥ | kaivalyasammatapathastvatha bhaktiyogaḥ ko nirvṛto harikathāsu ratiṃ na kuryāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Transcendental knowledge in relation with the Supreme Lord Hari is knowledge resulting in the complete suspension of the waves and whirlpools of the material modes. Such knowledge is self-satisfying due to its being free from material attachment, and being transcendental it is approved by authorities. Who could fail to be attracted?
शौनक उवाच । इत्यभिव्याहृतं राजा निशम्य भरतर्षभः । किमन्यत्पृष्टवान् भूयो वैयासकिमृषिं कविम्
śaunaka uvāca | ityabhivyāhṛtaṃ rājā niśamya bharatarṣabhaḥ | kimanyatpṛṣṭavān bhūyo vaiyāsakimṛṣiṃ kavim
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śaunaka said: The son of Vyāsadeva, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, was a highly learned sage and was able to describe things in a poetic manner. What did Mahārāja Parīkṣit again inquire from him after hearing all that he had said?
एतच्छुश्रूषतां विद्वन् सूत नोऽर्हसि भाषितुम् । कथा हरिकथोदर्काः सतां स्युः सदसि ध्रुवम्
etacchuśrūṣatāṃ vidvan sūta no'rhasi bhāṣitum | kathā harikathodarkāḥ satāṃ syuḥ sadasi dhruvam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O learned Sūta Gosvāmī! Please continue to explain such topics to us because we are all eager to hear. Besides that, topics which result in the discussion of the Lord Hari should certainly be discussed in the assembly of devotees.
स वै भागवतो राजा पाण्डवेयो महारथः । बालक्रीडनकैः क्रीडन् कृष्णक्रीडां य आददे
sa vai bhāgavato rājā pāṇḍaveyo mahārathaḥ | bālakrīḍanakaiḥ krīḍan kṛṣṇakrīḍāṃ ya ādade
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of the Pāṇḍavas, was from his very childhood a great devotee of the Lord. Even while playing with dolls, he used to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating the worship of the family Deity.
वैयासकिश्च भगवान् वासुदेवपरायणः । उरुगायगुणोदाराः सतां स्युर्हि समागमे
vaiyāsakiśca bhagavān vāsudevaparāyaṇaḥ | urugāyaguṇodārāḥ satāṃ syurhi samāgame
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, was also full in transcendental knowledge and was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva. So there must have been discussion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is glorified by great philosophers and in the company of great devotees.
आयुर्हरति वै पुंसामुद्यन्नस्तं च यन्नसौ । तस्यर्ते यत्क्षणो नीत उत्तमश्लोकवार्तया
āyurharati vai puṃsāmudyannastaṃ ca yannasau | tasyarte yatkṣaṇo nīta uttamaślokavārtayā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.
तरवः किं न जीवन्ति भस्त्राः किं न श्वसन्त्युत । न खादन्ति न मेहन्ति किं ग्रामपशवोऽपरे
taravaḥ kiṃ na jīvanti bhastrāḥ kiṃ na śvasantyuta | na khādanti na mehanti kiṃ grāmapaśavo'pare
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the blacksmith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen?
श्वविड्वराहोष्ट्रखरैः संस्तुतः पुरुषः पशुः । न यत्कर्णपथोपेतो जातु नाम गदाग्रजः
śvaviḍvarāhoṣṭrakharaiḥ saṃstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ | na yatkarṇapathopeto jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils.
बिले बतोरुक्रमविक्रमान् ये न शृण्वतः कर्णपुटे नरस्य । जिह्वासती दार्दुरिकेव सूत न चोपगायत्युरुगायगाथाः
bile batorukramavikramān ye na śṛṇvataḥ karṇapuṭe narasya | jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta na copagāyatyurugāyagāthāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess earholes like the holes of snakes and a tongue like the tongue of a frog.
भारः परं पट्टकिरीटजुष्ट- मप्युत्तमाङ्गं न नमेन्मुकुन्दम् । शावौ करौ नो कुरुतः सपर्यां हरेर्लसत्काञ्चनकङ्कणौ वा
bhāraḥ paraṃ paṭṭakirīṭajuṣṭa- mapyuttamāṅgaṃ na namenmukundam | śāvau karau no kurutaḥ saparyāṃ harerlasatkāñcanakaṅkaṇau vā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The upper portion of the body, though crowned with a silk turban, is only a heavy burden if not bowed down before the Personality of Godhead who can award mukti [freedom]. And the hands, though decorated with glittering bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead Hari.
बर्हायिते ते नयने नराणां लिङ्गानि विष्णोर्न निरीक्षतो ये । पादौ नृणां तौ द्रुमजन्मभाजौ क्षेत्राणि नानुव्रजतो हरेर्यौ
barhāyite te nayane narāṇāṃ liṅgāni viṣṇorna nirīkṣato ye | pādau nṛṇāṃ tau drumajanmabhājau kṣetrāṇi nānuvrajato hareryau
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, name, quality, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of the peacock, and the legs which do not move to the holy places [where the Lord is remembered] are considered to be like tree trunks.
जीवञ्छवो भागवताङ्घ्रिरेणुं न जातु मर्त्योऽभिलभेत यस्तु । श्रीविष्णुपद्या मनुजस्तुलस्याः श्वसञ्छवो यस्तु न वेद गन्धम्
jīvañchavo bhāgavatāṅghrireṇuṃ na jātu martyo'bhilabheta yastu | śrīviṣṇupadyā manujastulasyāḥ śvasañchavo yastu na veda gandham
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.
तदश्मसारं हृदयं बतेदं यद्गृह्यमाणैर्हरिनामधेयैः । न विक्रियेताथ यदा विकारो नेत्रे जलं गात्ररुहेषु हर्षः
tadaśmasāraṃ hṛdayaṃ batedaṃ yadgṛhyamāṇairharināmadheyaiḥ | na vikriyetātha yadā vikāro netre jalaṃ gātraruheṣu harṣaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Certainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one’s chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change when ecstasy takes place, tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end.
अथाभिधेह्यङ्ग मनोऽनुकूलं प्रभाषसे भागवतप्रधानः । यदाह वैयासकिरात्मविद्या- विशारदो नृपतिं साधु पृष्टः
athābhidhehyaṅga mano'nukūlaṃ prabhāṣase bhāgavatapradhānaḥ | yadāha vaiyāsakirātmavidyā- viśārado nṛpatiṃ sādhu pṛṣṭaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Sūta Gosvāmī, your words are pleasing to our minds. Please therefore explain this to us as it was spoken by the great devotee Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is very expert in transcendental knowledge, and who spoke to Mahārāja Parīkṣit upon being asked.
सूत उवाच । वैयासकेरिति वचस्तत्त्वनिश्चयमात्मनः । उपधार्य मतिं कृष्णे औत्तरेयः सतीं व्यधात्
sūta uvāca | vaiyāsakeriti vacastattvaniścayamātmanaḥ | upadhārya matiṃ kṛṣṇe auttareyaḥ satīṃ vyadhāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the son of Uttarā, after hearing the speeches of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, which were all about the truth of the self, applied his concentration faithfully upon Lord Kṛṣṇa.
आत्मजायासुतागारपशुद्रविणबन्धुषु । राज्ये चाविकले नित्यं विरूढां ममतां जहौ
ātmajāyāsutāgārapaśudraviṇabandhuṣu | rājye cāvikale nityaṃ virūḍhāṃ mamatāṃ jahau
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as a result of his wholehearted attraction for Lord Kṛṣṇa, was able to give up all deep-rooted affection for his personal body, his wife, his children, his palace, his animals like horses and elephants, his treasury house, his friends and relatives, and his undisputed kingdom.
राजोवाच । समीचीनं वचो ब्रह्मन् सर्वज्ञस्य तवानघ । तमो विशीर्यते मह्यं हरेः कथयतः कथाम्
rājovāca | samīcīnaṃ vaco brahman sarvajñasya tavānagha | tamo viśīryate mahyaṃ hareḥ kathayataḥ kathām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: O learned brāhmaṇa, you know everything because you are without material contamination. Therefore whatever you have spoken to me appears perfectly right. Your speeches are gradually destroying the darkness of my ignorance, for you are narrating the topics of the Lord.
भूय एव विवित्सामि भगवानात्ममायया । यथेदं सृजते विश्वं दुर्विभाव्यमधीश्वरैः
bhūya eva vivitsāmi bhagavānātmamāyayā | yathedaṃ sṛjate viśvaṃ durvibhāvyamadhīśvaraiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I beg to know from you how the Personality of Godhead, by His personal energies, creates these phenomenal universes as they are, which are inconceivable even to the great demigods.
यथा गोपायति विभुर्यथा संयच्छते पुनः । यां यां शक्तिमुपाश्रित्य पुरुशक्तिः परः पुमान् । आत्मानं क्रीडयन् क्रीडन् करोति विकरोति च
yathā gopāyati vibhuryathā saṃyacchate punaḥ | yāṃ yāṃ śaktimupāśritya puruśaktiḥ paraḥ pumān | ātmānaṃ krīḍayan krīḍan karoti vikaroti ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Kindly describe how the Supreme Lord, who is all-powerful, engages His different energies and different expansions in maintaining and again winding up the phenomenal world in the sporting spirit of a player.
नूनं भगवतो ब्रह्मन् हरेरद्भुतकर्मणः । दुर्विभाव्यमिवाभाति कविभिश्चापि चेष्टितम्
nūnaṃ bhagavato brahman hareradbhutakarmaṇaḥ | durvibhāvyamivābhāti kavibhiścāpi ceṣṭitam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental activities of the Lord are all wonderful, and they appear inconceivable because even great endeavors by many learned scholars have still proved insufficient for understanding them.
यथा गुणांस्तु प्रकृतेर्युगपत्क्रमशोऽपि वा । बिभर्ति भूरिशस्त्वेकः कुर्वन् कर्माणि जन्मभिः
yathā guṇāṃstu prakṛteryugapatkramaśo'pi vā | bibharti bhūriśastvekaḥ kurvan karmāṇi janmabhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one, whether He alone acts with the modes of material nature, or simultaneously expands in many forms, or expands consecutively to direct the modes of nature.
विचिकित्सितमेतन्मे ब्रवीतु भगवान् यथा । शाब्दे ब्रह्मणि निष्णातः परस्मिंश्च भवान् खलु
vicikitsitametanme bravītu bhagavān yathā | śābde brahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥ parasmiṃśca bhavān khalu
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Kindly clear up all these doubtful inquiries, because you are not only vastly learned in the Vedic literatures and self-realized in transcendence, but are also a great devotee of the Lord and are therefore as good as the Personality of Godhead.
सूत उवाच । इत्युपामन्त्रितो राज्ञा गुणानुकथने हरेः । हृषीकेशमनुस्मृत्य प्रतिवक्तुं प्रचक्रमे
sūta uvāca | ityupāmantrito rājñā guṇānukathane hareḥ | hṛṣīkeśamanusmṛtya prativaktuṃ pracakrame
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Sūta Gosvāmī said: When Śukadeva Gosvāmī was thus requested by the King to describe the creative energy of the Personality of Godhead, he then systematically remembered the master of the senses [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], and to reply properly he spoke thus.
श्रीशुक उवाच । नमः परस्मै पुरुषाय भूयसे सदुद्भवस्थाननिरोधलीलया । गृहीतशक्तित्रितयाय देहिना- मन्तर्भवायानुपलक्ष्यवर्त्मने
śrīśuka uvāca | namaḥ parasmai puruṣāya bhūyase sadudbhavasthānanirodhalīlayā | gṛhītaśaktitritayāya dehinā- mantarbhavāyānupalakṣyavartmane
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who, for the creation of the material world, accepts the three modes of nature. He is the complete whole residing within the body of everyone, and His ways are inconceivable.
भूयो नमः सद्वृजिनच्छिदेऽसता- मसम्भवायाखिलसत्त्वमूर्तये । पुंसां पुनः पारमहंस्य आश्रमे व्यवस्थितानामनुमृग्यदाशुषे
bhūyo namaḥ sadvṛjinacchide'satā- masambhavāyākhilasattvamūrtaye | puṃsāṃ punaḥ pāramahaṃsya āśrame vyavasthitānāmanumṛgyadāśuṣe
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I again offer my respectful obeisances unto the form of complete existence and transcendence, who is the liberator of the pious devotees from all distresses and the destroyer of the further advances in atheistic temperament of the nondevotee-demons. For the transcendentalists who are situated in the topmost spiritual perfection, He grants their specific destinations.
नमो नमस्तेऽस्त्वृषभाय सात्वतां विदूरकाष्ठाय मुहुः कुयोगिनाम् । निरस्तसाम्यातिशयेन राधसा स्वधामनि ब्रह्मणि रंस्यते नमः
namo namaste'stvṛṣabhāya sātvatāṃ vidūrakāṣṭhāya muhuḥ kuyoginām | nirastasāmyātiśayena rādhasā svadhāmani brahmaṇi raṃsyate namaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Him who is the associate of the members of the Yadu dynasty and who is always a problem for the nondevotees. He is the supreme enjoyer of both the material and spiritual worlds, yet He enjoys His own abode in the spiritual sky. There is no one equal to Him because His transcendental opulence is immeasurable.
यत्कीर्तनं यत्स्मरणं यदीक्षणं यद्वन्दनं यच्छ्रवणं यदर्हणम् । लोकस्य सद्यो विधुनोति कल्मषं तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः
yatkīrtanaṃ yatsmaraṇaṃ yadīkṣaṇaṃ yadvandanaṃ yacchravaṇaṃ yadarhaṇam | lokasya sadyo vidhunoti kalmaṣaṃ tasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, about whom glorification, remembrances, audience, prayers, hearing and worship can at once cleanse the effects of all sins of the performer.
विचक्षणा यच्चरणोपसादनात् सङ्गं व्युदस्योभयतोऽन्तरात्मनः । विन्दन्ति हि ब्रह्मगतिं गतक्लमा- स्तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः
vicakṣaṇā yaccaraṇopasādanāt saṅgaṃ vyudasyobhayato'ntarātmanaḥ | vindanti hi brahmagatiṃ gataklamā- stasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Let me offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The highly intellectual, simply by surrendering unto His lotus feet, are relieved of all attachments to present and future existences and without difficulty progress toward spiritual existence.
तपस्विनो दानपरा यशस्विनो मनस्विनो मन्त्रविदः सुमङ्गलाः । क्षेमं न विन्दन्ति विना यदर्पणं तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः
tapasvino dānaparā yaśasvino manasvino mantravidaḥ sumaṅgalāḥ | kṣemaṃ na vindanti vinā yadarpaṇaṃ tasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa again and again because the great learned sages, the great performers of charity, the great workers of distinction, the great philosophers and mystics, the great chanters of the Vedic hymns and the great followers of Vedic principles cannot achieve any fruitful result without dedication of such great qualities to the service of the Lord.
किरातहूणान्ध्रपुलिन्दपुल्कसा आभीरकङ्का यवनाः खसादयः । येऽन्ये च पापा यदपाश्रयाश्रयाः शुध्यन्ति तस्मै प्रभविष्णवे नमः
kirātahūṇāndhrapulindapulkasā ābhīrakaṅkā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ | ye'nye ca pāpā yadapāśrayāśrayāḥ śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Kirāta, Hūṇa, Āndhra, Pulinda, Pulkaśa, Ābhīra, Śumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.
स एष आत्माऽऽत्मवतामधीश्वर- स्त्रयीमयो धर्ममयस्तपोमयः । गतव्यलीकैरजशङ्करादिभि- र्वितर्क्यलिङ्गो भगवान् प्रसीदताम्
sa eṣa ātmā''tmavatāmadhīśvara- strayīmayo dharmamayastapomayaḥ | gatavyalīkairajaśaṅkarādibhi- rvitarkyaliṅgo bhagavān prasīdatām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He is the Supersoul and the Supreme Lord of all self-realized souls. He is the personification of the Vedas, religious scriptures and austerities. He is worshiped by Lord Brahmā and Śiva and all those who are transcendental to all pretensions. Being so revered with awe and veneration, may that Supreme Absolute be pleased with me.
श्रियः पतिर्यज्ञपतिः प्रजापति- र्धियाम्पतिर्लोकपतिर्धरापतिः । पतिर्गतिश्चान्धकवृष्णिसात्वतां प्रसीदतां मे भगवान् सतां पतिः
śriyaḥ patiryajñapatiḥ prajāpati- rdhiyāmpatirlokapatirdharāpatiḥ | patirgatiścāndhakavṛṣṇisātvatāṃ prasīdatāṃ me bhagavān satāṃ patiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
May Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the worshipable Lord of all devotees, the protector and glory of all the kings like Andhaka and Vṛṣṇi of the Yadu dynasty, the husband of all goddesses of fortune, the director of all sacrifices and therefore the leader of all living entities, the controller of all intelligence, the proprietor of all planets, spiritual and material, and the supreme incarnation on the earth (the supreme all in all), be merciful upon me.
यदङ्घ्र्यभिध्यानसमाधिधौतया धियानुपश्यन्ति हि तत्त्वमात्मनः । वदन्ति चैतत्कवयो यथारुचं स मे मुकुन्दो भगवान् प्रसीदताम्
yadaṅghryabhidhyānasamādhidhautayā dhiyānupaśyanti hi tattvamātmanaḥ | vadanti caitatkavayo yathārucaṃ sa me mukundo bhagavān prasīdatām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
It is the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa who gives liberation. By thinking of His lotus feet at every second, following in the footsteps of authorities, the devotee in trance can see the Absolute Truth. The learned mental speculators, however, think of Him according to their whims. May the Lord be pleased with me.
प्रचोदिता येन पुरा सरस्वती वितन्वताजस्य सतीं स्मृतिं हृदि । स्वलक्षणा प्रादुरभूत्किलास्यतः स मे ऋषीणामृषभः प्रसीदताम्
pracoditā yena purā sarasvatī vitanvatājasya satīṃ smṛtiṃ hṛdi | svalakṣaṇā prādurabhūtkilāsyataḥ sa me ṛṣīṇāmṛṣabhaḥ prasīdatām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
May the Lord, who in the beginning of the creation amplified the potent knowledge of Brahmā from within his heart and inspired him with full knowledge of creation and of His own Self, and who appeared to be generated from the mouth of Brahmā, be pleased with me.
भूतैर्महद्भिर्य इमाः पुरो विभु- र्निर्माय शेते यदमूषु पूरुषः । भुङ्क्ते गुणान् षोडश षोडशात्मकः सोऽलङ्कृषीष्ट भगवान् वचांसि मे
bhūtairmahadbhirya imāḥ puro vibhu- rnirmāya śete yadamūṣu pūruṣaḥ | bhuṅkte guṇān ṣoḍaśa ṣoḍaśātmakaḥ so'laṅkṛṣīṣṭa bhagavān vacāṃsi me
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
May the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who enlivens the materially created bodies of the elements by lying down within the universe, and who in His puruṣa incarnation causes the living being to be subjected to the sixteen divisions of material modes which are his generator, be pleased to decorate my statements.
नमस्तस्मै भगवते वासुदेवाय वेधसे । पपुर्ज्ञानमयं सौम्या यन्मुखाम्बुरुहासवम्
namastasmai bhagavate vāsudevāya vedhase | papurjñānamayaṃ saumyā yanmukhāmburuhāsavam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of Vāsudeva who compiled the Vedic scriptures. The pure devotees drink up the nectarean transcendental knowledge dropping from the lotuslike mouth of the Lord.
एतदेवात्मभू राजन् नारदाय विपृच्छते । वेदगर्भोऽभ्यधात्साक्षाद्यदाह हरिरात्मनः
etadevātmabhū rājan nāradāya vipṛcchate | vedagarbho'bhyadhātsākṣādyadāha harirātmanaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear King, Brahmā, the firstborn, on being questioned by Nārada, exactly apprised him on this subject as it had been directly spoken by the Lord to His own son, who was impregnated with Vedic knowledge from his very birth.
नारद उवाच । देवदेव नमस्तेऽस्तु भूतभावन पूर्वज । तद्विजानीहि यज्ज्ञानमात्मतत्त्वनिदर्शनम्
nārada uvāca | devadeva namaste'stu bhūtabhāvana pūrvaja | tadvijānīhi yajjñānamātmatattvanidarśanam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Nārada Muni asked Brahmājī: O chief amongst the demigods, O firstborn living entity, I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto you. Please tell me that transcendental knowledge which specifically directs one to the truth of the individual soul and the Supersoul.
यद्रूपं यदधिष्ठानं यतः सृष्टमिदं प्रभो । यत्संस्थं यत्परं यच्च तत्तत्त्वं वद तत्त्वतः
yadrūpaṃ yadadhiṣṭhānaṃ yataḥ sṛṣṭamidaṃ prabho | yatsaṃsthaṃ yatparaṃ yacca tattattvaṃ vada tattvataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear father, please describe factually the symptoms of this manifest world. What is its background? How is it created? How is it conserved? And under whose control is all this being done?
सर्वं ह्येतद्भवान् वेद भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः । करामलकवद्विश्वं विज्ञानावसितं तव
sarvaṃ hyetadbhavān veda bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ | karāmalakavadviśvaṃ vijñānāvasitaṃ tava
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear father, all this is known to you scientifically because whatever was created in the past, whatever will be created in the future, or whatever is being created at present, as well as everything within the universe, is within your grip, just like a walnut.
यद्विज्ञानो यदाधारो यत्परस्त्वं यदात्मकः । एकः सृजसि भूतानि भूतैरेवात्ममायया
yadvijñāno yadādhāro yatparastvaṃ yadātmakaḥ | ekaḥ sṛjasi bhūtāni bhūtairevātmamāyayā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear father, what is the source of your knowledge? Under whose protection are you standing? And under whom are you working? What is your real position? Do you alone create all entities with material elements by your personal energy?
आत्मन् भावयसे तानि न पराभावयन् स्वयम् । आत्मशक्तिमवष्टभ्य ऊर्णनाभिरिवाक्लमः
ātman bhāvayase tāni na parābhāvayan svayam | ātmaśaktimavaṣṭabhya ūrṇanābhirivāklamaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
As the spider very easily creates the network of its cobweb and manifests its power of creation without being defeated by others, so also you yourself, by employment of your self-sufficient energy, create without any other’s help.
नाहं वेद परं ह्यस्मिन् नापरं न समं विभो । मरूपगुणैर्भाव्यं सदसत्किञ्चिदन्यतः
nāhaṃ veda paraṃ hyasmin nāparaṃ na samaṃ vibho | marūpaguṇairbhāvyaṃ sadasatkiñcidanyataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Whatever we can understand by the nomenclature, characteristics and features of a particular thing — superior, inferior or equal, eternal or temporary — is not created from any source other than that of Your Lordship, thou so great.
स भवानचरद्घोरं यत्तपः सुसमाहितः । तेन खेदयसे नस्त्वं पराशङ्कां प्रयच्छसि
sa bhavānacaradghoraṃ yattapaḥ susamāhitaḥ | tena khedayase nastvaṃ parāśaṅkāṃ prayacchasi
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Yet we are moved to wonder about the existence of someone more powerful than you when we think of your great austerities in perfect discipline, although your good self is so powerful in the matter of creation.
एतन्मे पृच्छतः सर्वं सर्वज्ञ सकलेश्वर । विजानीहि यथैवेदमहं बुध्येऽनुशासितः
etanme pṛcchataḥ sarvaṃ sarvajña sakaleśvara | vijānīhi yathaivedamahaṃ budhye'nuśāsitaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear father, you know everything, and you are the controller of all. Therefore, may all that I have inquired from you be kindly instructed to me so that I may be able to understand it as your student.
ब्रह्मोवाच । सम्यक्कारुणिकस्येदं वत्स ते विचिकित्सितम् । यदहं चोदितः सौम्य भगवद्वीर्यदर्शने
brahmovāca | samyakkāruṇikasyedaṃ vatsa te vicikitsitam | yadahaṃ coditaḥ saumya bhagavadvīryadarśane
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā said: My dear boy Nārada, being merciful to all (including me) you have asked all these questions because I have been inspired to see into the prowess of the Almighty Personality of Godhead.
नानृतं तव तच्चापि यथा मां प्रब्रवीषि भोः । अविज्ञाय परं मत्त एतावत्त्वं यतो हि मे
nānṛtaṃ tava taccāpi yathā māṃ prabravīṣi bhoḥ | avijñāya paraṃ matta etāvattvaṃ yato hi me
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Whatever you have spoken about me is not false because unless and until one is aware of the Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate truth beyond me, one is sure to be illusioned by observing my powerful activities.
येन स्वरोचिषा विश्वं रोचितं रोचयाम्यहम् । यथार्कोऽग्निर्यथा सोमो यथर्क्षग्रहतारकाः
yena svarociṣā viśvaṃ rocitaṃ rocayāmyaham | yathārko'gniryathā somo yatharkṣagrahatārakāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I create after the Lord’s creation by His personal effulgence [known as the brahmajyoti], just as when the sun manifests its fire, the moon, the firmament, the influential planets and the twinkling stars also manifest their brightness.
तस्मै नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय धीमहि । यन्मायया दुर्जयया मां ब्रुवन्ति जगद्गुरुम्
tasmai namo bhagavate vāsudevāya dhīmahi | yanmāyayā durjayayā māṃ bruvanti jagadgurum
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I offer my obeisances and meditate upon Lord Kṛṣṇa [Vāsudeva], the Personality of Godhead, whose invincible potency influences them [the less intelligent class of men] to call me the supreme controller.
विलज्जमानया यस्य स्थातुमीक्षापथेऽमुया । विमोहिता विकत्थन्ते ममाहमिति दुर्धियः
vilajjamānayā yasya sthātumīkṣāpathe'muyā | vimohitā vikatthante mamāhamiti durdhiyaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The illusory energy of the Lord cannot take precedence, being ashamed of her position, but those who are bewildered by her always talk nonsense, being absorbed in thoughts of “It is I” and “It is mine.”
द्रव्यं कर्म च कालश्च स्वभावो जीव एव च । वासुदेवात्परो ब्रह्मन् न चान्योऽर्थोऽस्ति तत्त्वतः
dravyaṃ karma ca kālaśca svabhāvo jīva eva ca | vāsudevātparo brahman na cānyo'rtho'sti tattvataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The five elementary ingredients of creation, the interaction thereof set up by eternal time, and the intuition or nature of the individual living beings are all differentiated parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, and in truth there is no other value in them.
नारायणपरा वेदा देवा नारायणाङ्गजाः । नारायणपरा लोका नारायणपरा मखाः
nārāyaṇaparā vedā devā nārāyaṇāṅgajāḥ | nārāyaṇaparā lokā nārāyaṇaparā makhāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Vedic literatures are made by and are meant for the Supreme Lord, the demigods are also meant for serving the Lord as parts of His body, the different planets are also meant for the sake of the Lord, and different sacrifices are performed just to please Him.
नारायणपरो योगो नारायणपरं तपः । नारायणपरं ज्ञानं नारायणपरा गतिः
nārāyaṇaparo yogo nārāyaṇaparaṃ tapaḥ | nārāyaṇaparaṃ jñānaṃ nārāyaṇaparā gatiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All different types of meditation or mysticism are means for realizing Nārāyaṇa. All austerities are aimed at achieving Nārāyaṇa. Culture of transcendental knowledge is for getting a glimpse of Nārāyaṇa, and ultimately salvation is entering the kingdom of Nārāyaṇa.
तस्यापि द्रष्टुरीशस्य कूटस्थस्याखिलात्मनः । सृज्यं सृजामि सृष्टोऽहमीक्षयैवाभिचोदितः
tasyāpi draṣṭurīśasya kūṭasthasyākhilātmanaḥ | sṛjyaṃ sṛjāmi sṛṣṭo'hamīkṣayaivābhicoditaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Inspired by Him only, I discover what is already created by Him [Nārāyaṇa] under His vision as the all-pervading Supersoul, and I also am created by Him only.
सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति निर्गुणस्य गुणास्त्रयः । स्थितिसर्गनिरोधेषु गृहीता मायया विभोः
sattvaṃ rajastama iti nirguṇasya guṇāstrayaḥ | sthitisarganirodheṣu gṛhītā māyayā vibhoḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Supreme Lord is pure, spiritual form, transcendental to all material qualities, yet for the sake of the creation of the material world and its maintenance and annihilation, He accepts through His external energy the material modes of nature called goodness, passion and ignorance.
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियाश्रयाः । बध्नन्ति नित्यदा मुक्तं मायिनं पुरुषं गुणाः
kāryakāraṇakartṛtve dravyajñānakriyāśrayāḥ | badhnanti nityadā muktaṃ māyinaṃ puruṣaṃ guṇāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
These three modes of material nature, being further manifested as matter, knowledge and activities, put the eternally transcendental living entity under conditions of cause and effect and make him responsible for such activities.
स एष भगवाँल्लिङ्गैस्त्रिभिरेभिरधोक्षजः । स्वलक्षितगतिर्ब्रह्मन् सर्वेषां मम चेश्वरः
sa eṣa bhagavā~lliṅgaistribhirebhiradhokṣajaḥ | svalakṣitagatirbrahman sarveṣāṃ mama ceśvaraḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Brāhmaṇa Nārada, the Superseer, the transcendent Lord, is beyond the perception of the material senses of the living entities because of the above-mentioned three modes of nature. But He is the controller of everyone, including me.
कालं कर्म स्वभावं च मायेशो मायया स्वया । आत्मन् यदृच्छया प्राप्तं विबुभूषुरुपाददे
kālaṃ karma svabhāvaṃ ca māyeśo māyayā svayā | ātman yadṛcchayā prāptaṃ vibubhūṣurupādade
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord, who is the controller of all energies, thus creates, by His own potency, eternal time, the fate of all living entities, and their particular nature, for which they were created, and He again merges them independently.
कालाद्गुणव्यतिकरः परिणामः स्वभावतः । कर्मणो जन्म महतः पुरुषाधिष्ठितादभूत्
kālādguṇavyatikaraḥ pariṇāmaḥ svabhāvataḥ | karmaṇo janma mahataḥ puruṣādhiṣṭhitādabhūt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
After the incarnation of the first puruṣa [Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu], the mahat-tattva, or the principles of material creation, take place, and then time is manifested, and in course of time the three qualities appear. Nature means the three qualitative appearances. They transform into activities.
महतस्तु विकुर्वाणाद्रजःसत्त्वोपबृंहितात् । तमःप्रधानस्त्वभवद्द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियात्मकः
mahatastu vikurvāṇādrajaḥsattvopabṛṃhitāt | tamaḥpradhānastvabhavaddravyajñānakriyātmakaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Material activities are caused by the mahat-tattva’s being agitated. At first there is transformation of the modes of goodness and passion, and later — due to the mode of ignorance — matter, its knowledge, and different activities of material knowledge come into play.
सोऽहङ्कार इति प्रोक्तो विकुर्वन् समभूत्त्रिधा । वैकारिकस्तैजसश्च तामसश्चेति यद्भिदा । द्रव्यशक्तिः क्रियाशक्तिर्ज्ञानशक्तिरिति प्रभो
so'haṅkāra iti prokto vikurvan samabhūttridhā | vaikārikastaijasaśca tāmasaśceti yadbhidā | dravyaśaktiḥ kriyāśaktirjñānaśaktiriti prabho
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The self-centered materialistic ego, thus being transformed into three features, becomes known as the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance in three divisions, namely the powers that evolve matter, knowledge of material creations, and the intelligence that guides such materialistic activities. Nārada, you are quite competent to understand this.
तामसादपि भूतादेर्विकुर्वाणादभून्नभः । तस्य मात्रा गुणः शब्दो लिङ्गं यद्द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः
tāmasādapi bhūtādervikurvāṇādabhūnnabhaḥ | tasya mātrā guṇaḥ śabdo liṅgaṃ yaddraṣṭṛdṛśyayoḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From the darkness of false ego, the first of the five elements, namely the sky, is generated. Its subtle form is the quality of sound, exactly as the seer is in relationship with the seen.
वैकारिकान्मनो जज्ञे देवा वैकारिका दश । दिग्वातार्कप्रचेतोऽश्विवह्नीन्द्रोपेन्द्रमित्रकाः
vaikārikānmano jajñe devā vaikārikā daśa | digvātārkapraceto'śvivahnīndropendramitrakāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From the mode of goodness the mind is generated and becomes manifest, as also the ten demigods controlling the bodily movements. Such demigods are known as the controller of directions, the controller of air, the sun-god, the father of Dakṣa Prajāpati, the Aśvinī-kumāras, the fire-god, the King of heaven, the worshipable deity in heaven, the chief of the Ādityas, and Brahmājī, the Prajāpati. All come into existence.
तैजसात्तु विकुर्वाणादिन्द्रियाणि दशाभवन् । ज्ञानशक्तिः क्रियाशक्तिर्बुद्धिः प्राणश्च तैजसौ । श्रोत्रं त्वग्घ्राणदृग्जिह्वा वाग्दोर्मेढ्राङ्घ्रिपायवः
taijasāttu vikurvāṇādindriyāṇi daśābhavan | jñānaśaktiḥ kriyāśaktirbuddhiḥ prāṇaśca taijasau | śrotraṃ tvagghrāṇadṛgjihvā vāgdormeḍhrāṅghripāyavaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By further transformation of the mode of passion, the sense organs like the ear, skin, nose, eyes, tongue, mouth, hands, genitals, legs, and the outlet for evacuating, together with intelligence and living energy, are all generated.
यदैतेऽसङ्गता भावा भूतेन्द्रियमनोगुणाः । यदायतननिर्माणे न शेकुर्ब्रह्मवित्तम
yadaite'saṅgatā bhāvā bhūtendriyamanoguṇāḥ | yadāyatananirmāṇe na śekurbrahmavittama
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Nārada, best of the transcendentalists, the forms of the body cannot take place as long as these created parts, namely the elements, senses, mind and modes of nature, are not assembled.
तदा संहत्य चान्योन्यं भगवच्छक्तिचोदिताः । सदसत्त्वमुपादाय चोभयं ससृजुर्ह्यदः
tadā saṃhatya cānyonyaṃ bhagavacchakticoditāḥ | sadasattvamupādāya cobhayaṃ sasṛjurhyadaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus when all these became assembled by force of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this universe certainly came into being by accepting both the primary and secondary causes of creation.
वर्षपूगसहस्रान्ते तदण्डमुदकेशयम् । कालकर्मस्वभावस्थो जीवोऽजीवमजीवयत्
varṣapūgasahasrānte tadaṇḍamudakeśayam | kālakarmasvabhāvastho jīvo'jīvamajīvayat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus all the universes remained thousands of aeons within the water [the Causal Ocean], and the Lord of living beings, entering in each of them, caused them to be fully animated.
स एव पुरुषस्तस्मादण्डं निर्भिद्य निर्गतः । सहस्रोर्वङ्घ्रिबाह्वक्षः सहस्राननशीर्षवान्
sa eva puruṣastasmādaṇḍaṃ nirbhidya nirgataḥ | sahasrorvaṅghribāhvakṣaḥ sahasrānanaśīrṣavān
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], although lying in the Causal Ocean, came out of it, and dividing Himself as Hiraṇyagarbha, He entered into each universe and assumed the virāṭ-rūpa, with thousands of legs, arms, mouths, heads, etc.
यस्येहावयवैर्लोकान् कल्पयन्ति मनीषिणः । कट्यादिभिरधः सप्त सप्तोर्ध्वं जघनादिभिः
yasyehāvayavairlokān kalpayanti manīṣiṇaḥ | kaṭyādibhiradhaḥ sapta saptordhvaṃ jaghanādibhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Great philosophers imagine that the complete planetary systems in the universe are displays of the different upper and lower limbs of the universal body of the Lord.
पुरुषस्य मुखं ब्रह्म क्षत्रमेतस्य बाहवः । ऊर्वोर्वैश्यो भगवतः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो व्यजायत
puruṣasya mukhaṃ brahma kṣatrametasya bāhavaḥ | ūrvorvaiśyo bhagavataḥ padbhyāṃ śūdro vyajāyata
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The brāhmaṇas represent His mouth, the kṣatriyas His arms, the vaiśyas His thighs, and the śūdras are born of His legs.
भूर्लोकः कल्पितः पद्भ्यां भुवर्लोकोऽस्य नाभितः । हृदा स्वर्लोक उरसा महर्लोको महात्मनः
bhūrlokaḥ kalpitaḥ padbhyāṃ bhuvarloko'sya nābhitaḥ | hṛdā svarloka urasā maharloko mahātmanaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The lower planetary systems, up to the limit of the earthly stratum, are said to be situated in His legs. The middle planetary systems, beginning from Bhuvarloka, are situated in His navel. And the still higher planetary systems, occupied by the demigods and highly cultured sages and saints, are situated in the chest of the Supreme Lord.
ग्रीवायां जनलोकश्च तपोलोकः स्तनद्वयात् । मूर्धभिः सत्यलोकस्तु ब्रह्मलोकः सनातनः
grīvāyāṃ janalokaśca tapolokaḥ stanadvayāt | mūrdhabhiḥ satyalokastu brahmalokaḥ sanātanaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From the forefront of the chest up to the neck of the universal form of the Lord are situated the planetary systems named Janaloka and Tapoloka, whereas Satyaloka, the topmost planetary system, is situated on the head of the form. The spiritual planets, however, are eternal.
भूर्लोकः कल्पितः पद्भ्यां भुवर्लोकोऽस्य नाभितः । स्वर्लोकः कल्पितो मूर्ध्ना इति वा लोककल्पना
bhūrlokaḥ kalpitaḥ padbhyāṃ bhuvarloko'sya nābhitaḥ | svarlokaḥ kalpito mūrdhnā iti vā lokakalpanā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Others may divide the whole planetary system into three divisions, namely the lower planetary systems on the legs [up to the earth], the middle planetary systems on the navel, and the upper planetary systems [Svarloka] from the chest to the head of the Supreme Personality.
ब्रह्मोवाच । वाचां वह्नेर्मुखं क्षेत्रं छन्दसां सप्त धातवः । हव्यकव्यामृतान्नानां जिह्वा सर्वरसस्य च
brahmovāca | vācāṃ vahnermukhaṃ kṣetraṃ chandasāṃ sapta dhātavaḥ | havyakavyāmṛtānnānāṃ jihvā sarvarasasya ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā said: The mouth of the virāṭ-puruṣa [the universal form of the Lord] is the generating center of the voice, and the controlling deity is Fire. His skin and six other layers are the generating centers of the Vedic hymns, and His tongue is the productive center of different foodstuffs and delicacies for offering to the demigods, the forefathers and the general mass of people.
सर्वासूनां च वायोश्च तन्नासे परमायने । अश्विनोरोषधीनां च घ्राणो मोदप्रमोदयोः
sarvāsūnāṃ ca vāyośca tannāse paramāyane | aśvinoroṣadhīnāṃ ca ghrāṇo modapramodayoḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His two nostrils are the generating centers of our breathing and of all other airs, His smelling powers generate the Aśvinī-kumāra demigods and all kinds of medicinal herbs, and His breathing energies produce different kinds of fragrance.
रूपाणां तेजसां चक्षुर्दिवः सूर्यस्य चाक्षिणी । कर्णौ दिशां च तीर्थानां श्रोत्रमाकाशशब्दयोः । तद्गात्रं वस्तुसाराणां सौभगस्य च भाजनम्
rūpāṇāṃ tejasāṃ cakṣurdivaḥ sūryasya cākṣiṇī | karṇau diśāṃ ca tīrthānāṃ śrotramākāśaśabdayoḥ | tadgātraṃ vastusārāṇāṃ saubhagasya ca bhājanam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His eyes are the generating centers of all kinds of forms, and they glitter and illuminate. His eyeballs are like the sun and the heavenly planets. His ears hear from all sides and are receptacles for all the Vedas, and His sense of hearing is the generating center of the sky and of all kinds of sound.
त्वगस्य स्पर्शवायोश्च सर्वमेधस्य चैव हि । रोमाण्युद्भिज्जजातीनां यैर्वा यज्ञस्तु सम्भृतः
tvagasya sparśavāyośca sarvamedhasya caiva hi | romāṇyudbhijjajātīnāṃ yairvā yajñastu sambhṛtaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His bodily surface is the breeding ground for the active principles of everything and for all kinds of auspicious opportunities. His skin, like the moving air, is the generating center for all kinds of sense of touch and is the place for performing all kinds of sacrifice.
केशश्मश्रुनखान्यस्य शिलालोहाभ्रविद्युताम् । बाहवो लोकपालानां प्रायशः क्षेमकर्मणाम्
keśaśmaśrunakhānyasya śilālohābhravidyutām | bāhavo lokapālānāṃ prāyaśaḥ kṣemakarmaṇām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The hairs on His body are the cause of all vegetation, particularly of those trees which are required as ingredients for sacrifice. The hairs on His head and face are reservoirs for the clouds, and His nails are the breeding ground of electricity, stones and iron ores.
विक्रमो भूर्भुवः स्वश्च क्षेमस्य शरणस्य च । सर्वकामवरस्यापि हरेश्चरण आस्पदम्
vikramo bhūrbhuvaḥ svaśca kṣemasya śaraṇasya ca | sarvakāmavarasyāpi hareścaraṇa āspadam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord’s arms are the productive fields for the great demigods and other leaders of the living entities who protect the general mass.
अपां वीर्यस्य सर्गस्य पर्जन्यस्य प्रजापतेः । पुंसः शिश्न उपस्थस्तु प्रजात्यानन्दनिर्वृतेः
apāṃ vīryasya sargasya parjanyasya prajāpateḥ | puṃsaḥ śiśna upasthastu prajātyānandanirvṛteḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus the forward steps of the Lord are the shelter for the upper, lower and heavenly planets, as well as for all that we need. His lotus feet serve as protection from all kinds of fear.
पायुर्यमस्य मित्रस्य परिमोक्षस्य नारद । हिंसाया निरृतेर्मृत्योर्निरयस्य गुदं स्मृतः
pāyuryamasya mitrasya parimokṣasya nārada | hiṃsāyā nirṛtermṛtyornirayasya gudaṃ smṛtaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From the Lord’s genitals originate water, semen, generatives, rains and the procreators. His genitals are the cause of a pleasure that counteracts the distress of begetting.
पराभूतेरधर्मस्य तमसश्चापि पश्चिमः । नाड्यो नदनदीनां तु गोत्राणामस्थिसंहतिः
parābhūteradharmasya tamasaścāpi paścimaḥ | nāḍyo nadanadīnāṃ tu gotrāṇāmasthisaṃhatiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Nārada, the evacuating outlet of the universal form of the Lord is the abode of the controlling deity of death, Mitra, and the evacuating hole and the rectum of the Lord is the place of envy, misfortune, death, hell, etc.
अव्यक्तरससिन्धूनां भूतानां निधनस्य च । उदरं विदितं पुंसो हृदयं मनसः पदम्
avyaktarasasindhūnāṃ bhūtānāṃ nidhanasya ca | udaraṃ viditaṃ puṃso hṛdayaṃ manasaḥ padam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The back of the Lord is the place for all kinds of frustration and ignorance, as well as for immorality. From His veins flow the great rivers and rivulets, and on His bones are stacked the great mountains.
धर्मस्य मम तुभ्यं च कुमाराणां भवस्य च । विज्ञानस्य च सत्त्वस्य परस्यात्मा परायणम्
dharmasya mama tubhyaṃ ca kumārāṇāṃ bhavasya ca | vijñānasya ca sattvasya parasyātmā parāyaṇam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The impersonal feature of the Lord is the abode of great oceans, and His belly is the resting place for the materially annihilated living entities. His heart is the abode of the subtle material bodies of living beings. Thus it is known by the intelligent class of men.
अहं भवान् भवश्चैव त इमे मुनयोऽग्रजाः । सुरासुरनरा नागाः खगा मृगसरीसृपाः
ahaṃ bhavān bhavaścaiva ta ime munayo'grajāḥ | surāsuranarā nāgāḥ khagā mṛgasarīsṛpāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Also, the consciousness of that great personality is the abode of religious principles — mine, yours, and those of the four bachelors Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanat-kumāra and Sanandana. That consciousness is also the abode of truth and transcendental knowledge.
सोऽमृतस्याभयस्येशो मर्त्यमन्नं यदत्यगात् । महिमैष ततो ब्रह्मन् पुरुषस्य दुरत्ययः
so'mṛtasyābhayasyeśo martyamannaṃ yadatyagāt | mahimaiṣa tato brahman puruṣasya duratyayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The sun illuminates both internally and externally by expanding its radiation; similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His universal form, maintains everything in the creation both internally and externally.
पादेषु सर्वभूतानि पुंसः स्थितिपदो विदुः । अमृतं क्षेममभयं त्रिमूर्ध्नोऽधायि मूर्धसु
pādeṣu sarvabhūtāni puṃsaḥ sthitipado viduḥ | amṛtaṃ kṣemamabhayaṃ trimūrdhno'dhāyi mūrdhasu
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the controller of immortality and fearlessness, and He is transcendental to death and the fruitive actions of the material world. O Nārada, O brāhmaṇa, it is therefore difficult to measure the glories of the Supreme Person.
पादास्त्रयो बहिश्चासन्नप्रजानां य आश्रमाः । अन्तस्त्रिलोक्यास्त्वपरो गृहमेधोऽबृहद्व्रतः
pādāstrayo bahiścāsannaprajānāṃ ya āśramāḥ | antastrilokyāstvaparo gṛhamedho'bṛhadvrataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be known as the supreme reservoir of all material opulences by the one fourth of His energy in which all the living entities exist. Deathlessness, fearlessness and freedom from the anxieties of old age and disease exist in the kingdom of God, which is beyond the three higher planetary systems and beyond the material coverings.
सृती विचक्रमे विष्वङ् साशनानशने उभे । यदविद्या च विद्या च पुरुषस्तूभयाश्रयः
sṛtī vicakrame viṣvaṅ sāśanānaśane ubhe | yadavidyā ca vidyā ca puruṣastūbhayāśrayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The spiritual world, which consists of three fourths of the Lord’s energy, is situated beyond this material world, and it is especially meant for those who will never be reborn. Others, who are attached to family life and who do not strictly follow celibacy vows, must live within the three material worlds.
यस्मादण्डं विराड्जज्ञे भूतेन्द्रियगुणात्मकः । तद्द्रव्यमत्यगाद्विश्वं गोभिः सूर्य इवातपन्
yasmādaṇḍaṃ virāḍjajñe bhūtendriyaguṇātmakaḥ | taddravyamatyagādviśvaṃ gobhiḥ sūrya ivātapan
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By His energies, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead is thus comprehensively the master in the activities of controlling and in devotional service. He is the ultimate master of both nescience and factual knowledge of all situations.
यदास्य नाभ्यान्नलिनादहमासं महात्मनः । नाविदं यज्ञसम्भारान् पुरुषावयवादृते
yadāsya nābhyānnalinādahamāsaṃ mahātmanaḥ | nāvidaṃ yajñasambhārān puruṣāvayavādṛte
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From that Personality of Godhead, all the universal globes and the universal form with all material elements, qualities and senses are generated. Yet He is aloof from such material manifestations, like the sun, which is separate from its rays and heat.
तेषु यज्ञस्य पशवः सवनस्पतयः कुशाः । इदं च देवयजनं कालश्चोरुगुणान्वितः
teṣu yajñasya paśavaḥ savanaspatayaḥ kuśāḥ | idaṃ ca devayajanaṃ kālaścoruguṇānvitaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When I was born from the abdominal lotus flower of the Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], the great person, I had no ingredients for sacrificial performances except the bodily limbs of the great Personality of Godhead.
वस्तून्योषधयः स्नेहा रसलोहमृदो जलम् । ऋचो यजूंषि सामानि चातुर्होत्रं च सत्तम
vastūnyoṣadhayaḥ snehā rasalohamṛdo jalam | ṛco yajūṃṣi sāmāni cāturhotraṃ ca sattama
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
For performing sacrificial ceremonies, one requires sacrificial ingredients, such as flowers, leaves and straw, along with the sacrificial altar and a suitable time [spring].
नामधेयानि मन्त्राश्च दक्षिणाश्च व्रतानि च । देवतानुक्रमः कल्पः सङ्कल्पस्तन्त्रमेव च
nāmadheyāni mantrāśca dakṣiṇāśca vratāni ca | devatānukramaḥ kalpaḥ saṅkalpastantrameva ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Other requirements are utensils, grains, clarified butter, honey, gold, earth, water, the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda and Sāma Veda and four priests to perform the sacrifice.
गतयो मतयः श्रद्धा प्रायश्चित्तं समर्पणम् । पुरुषावयवैरेते सम्भाराः सम्भृता मया
gatayo matayaḥ śraddhā prāyaścittaṃ samarpaṇam | puruṣāvayavairete sambhārāḥ sambhṛtā mayā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Other necessities include invoking the different names of the demigods by specific hymns and vows of recompense, in accordance with the particular scripture, for specific purposes and by specific processes.
इति सम्भृतसम्भारः पुरुषावयवैरहम् । तमेव पुरुषं यज्ञं तेनैवायजमीश्वरम्
iti sambhṛtasambhāraḥ puruṣāvayavairaham | tameva puruṣaṃ yajñaṃ tenaivāyajamīśvaram
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus I had to arrange all these necessary ingredients and paraphernalia of sacrifice from the personal bodily parts of the Personality of Godhead. By invocation of the demigods’ names, the ultimate goal, Viṣṇu, was gradually attained, and thus compensation and ultimate offering were complete.
ततस्ते भ्रातर इमे प्रजानां पतयो नव । अयजन् व्यक्तमव्यक्तं पुरुषं सुसमाहिताः
tataste bhrātara ime prajānāṃ patayo nava | ayajan vyaktamavyaktaṃ puruṣaṃ susamāhitāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus I created the ingredients and paraphernalia for offering sacrifice out of the parts of the body of the Supreme Lord, the enjoyer of the sacrifice, and I performed the sacrifice to satisfy the Lord.
ततश्च मनवः काले ईजिरे ऋषयोऽपरे । पितरो विबुधा दैत्या मनुष्याः क्रतुभिर्विभुम्
tataśca manavaḥ kāle ījire ṛṣayo'pare | pitaro vibudhā daityā manuṣyāḥ kratubhirvibhum
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear son, thereafter your nine brothers, who are the masters of living creatures, performed the sacrifice with proper rituals to satisfy both the manifested and nonmanifested personalities.
नारायणे भगवति तदिदं विश्वमाहितम् । गृहीतमायोरुगुणः सर्गादावगुणः स्वतः
nārāyaṇe bhagavati tadidaṃ viśvamāhitam | gṛhītamāyoruguṇaḥ sargādāvaguṇaḥ svataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, the Manus, the fathers of mankind, the great sages, the forefathers, the learned scholars, the Daityas and mankind performed sacrifices meant to please the Supreme Lord.
सृजामि तन्नियुक्तोऽहं हरो हरति तद्वशः । विश्वं पुरुषरूपेण परिपाति त्रिशक्तिधृक्
sṛjāmi tanniyukto'haṃ haro harati tadvaśaḥ | viśvaṃ puruṣarūpeṇa paripāti triśaktidhṛk
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All the material manifestations of the universes are therefore situated in His powerful material energies, which He accepts self-sufficiently, although He is eternally without affinity for the material modes.
इति तेऽभिहितं तात यथेदमनुपृच्छसि । नान्यद्भगवतः किञ्चिद्भाव्यं सदसदात्मकम्
iti te'bhihitaṃ tāta yathedamanupṛcchasi | nānyadbhagavataḥ kiñcidbhāvyaṃ sadasadātmakam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By His will, I create, Lord Śiva destroys, and He Himself, in His eternal form as the Personality of Godhead, maintains everything. He is the powerful controller of these three energies.
न भारती मेऽङ्ग मृषोपलक्ष्यते न वै क्वचिन्मे मनसो मृषा गतिः । न मे हृषीकाणि पतन्त्यसत्पथे यन्मे हृदौत्कण्ठ्यवता धृतो हरिः
na bhāratī me'ṅga mṛṣopalakṣyate na vai kvacinme manaso mṛṣā gatiḥ | na me hṛṣīkāṇi patantyasatpathe yanme hṛdautkaṇṭhyavatā dhṛto hariḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear son, whatever you inquired from me I have thus explained unto you, and you must know for certain that whatever there is (either as cause or as effect, both in the material and spiritual worlds) is dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
सोऽहं समाम्नायमयस्तपोमयः प्रजापतीनामभिवन्दितः पतिः । आस्थाय योगं निपुणं समाहितः तं नाध्यगच्छं यत आत्मसम्भवः
so'haṃ samāmnāyamayastapomayaḥ prajāpatīnāmabhivanditaḥ patiḥ | āsthāya yogaṃ nipuṇaṃ samāhitaḥ taṃ nādhyagacchaṃ yata ātmasambhavaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Nārada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter.
नतोऽस्म्यहं तच्चरणं समीयुषां भवच्छिदं स्वस्त्ययनं सुमङ्गलम् । यो ह्यात्ममायाविभवं स्म पर्यगात् यथा नभः स्वान्तमथापरे कुतः
nato'smyahaṃ taccaraṇaṃ samīyuṣāṃ bhavacchidaṃ svastyayanaṃ sumaṅgalam | yo hyātmamāyāvibhavaṃ sma paryagāt yathā nabhaḥ svāntamathāpare kutaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Although I am known as the great Brahmā, perfect in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization, and although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my birth.
नाहं न यूयं यदृतां गतिं विदु- र्न वामदेवः किमुतापरे सुराः । तन्मायया मोहितबुद्धयस्त्विदं विनिर्मितं चात्मसमं विचक्ष्महे
nāhaṃ na yūyaṃ yadṛtāṃ gatiṃ vidu- rna vāmadevaḥ kimutāpare surāḥ | tanmāyayā mohitabuddhayastvidaṃ vinirmitaṃ cātmasamaṃ vicakṣmahe
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Therefore it is best for me to surrender unto His feet, which alone can deliver one from the miseries of repeated birth and death. Such surrender is all-auspicious and allows one to perceive all happiness. Even the sky cannot estimate the limits of its own expansion. So what can others do when the Lord Himself is unable to estimate His own limits?
यस्यावतारकर्माणि गायन्ति ह्यस्मदादयः । न यं विदन्ति तत्त्वेन तस्मै भगवते नमः
yasyāvatārakarmāṇi gāyanti hyasmadādayaḥ | na yaṃ vidanti tattvena tasmai bhagavate namaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Since neither Lord Śiva nor you nor I could ascertain the limits of spiritual happiness, how can other demigods know it? And because all of us are bewildered by the illusory, external energy of the Supreme Lord, we can see only this manifested cosmos according to our individual ability.
स एष आद्यः पुरुषः कल्पे कल्पे सृजत्यजः । आत्माऽऽत्मन्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं संयच्छति च पाति च
sa eṣa ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ kalpe kalpe sṛjatyajaḥ | ātmā''tmanyātmanā''tmānaṃ saṃyacchati ca pāti ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose incarnations and activities are chanted by us for glorification, though He can hardly be fully known as He is.
विशुद्धं केवलं ज्ञानं प्रत्यक् सम्यगवस्थितम् । सत्यं पूर्णमनाद्यन्तं निर्गुणं नित्यमद्वयम्
viśuddhaṃ kevalaṃ jñānaṃ pratyak samyagavasthitam | satyaṃ pūrṇamanādyantaṃ nirguṇaṃ nityamadvayam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
That supreme original Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, expanding His plenary portion as Mahā-Viṣṇu, the first incarnation, creates this manifested cosmos, but He is unborn. The creation, however, takes place in Him, and the material substance and manifestations are all Himself. He maintains them for some time and absorbs them into Himself again.
अहं भवो यज्ञ इमे प्रजेशा दक्षादयो ये भवदादयश्च । स्वर्लोकपालाः खगलोकपाला नृलोकपालास्तललोकपालाः
ahaṃ bhavo yajña ime prajeśā dakṣādayo ye bhavadādayaśca | svarlokapālāḥ khagalokapālā nṛlokapālāstalalokapālāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.
SB 2.6.46
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Nārada, now I shall state, one after another, the transcendental incarnations of the Lord known as līlā-avatāras. Hearing of their activities counteracts all foul matters accumulated in the ear. These pastimes are pleasing to hear and are to be relished. Therefore they are in my heart.
ब्रह्मोवाच । यत्रोद्यतः क्षितितलोद्धरणाय बिभ्रत्- क्रौडीं तनुं सकलयज्ञमयीमनन्तः । अन्तर्महार्णव उपागतमादिदैत्यं तं दंष्ट्रयाद्रिमिव वज्रधरो ददार
brahmovāca | yatrodyataḥ kṣititaloddharaṇāya bibhrat- krauḍīṃ tanuṃ sakalayajñamayīmanantaḥ | antarmahārṇava upāgatamādidaityaṃ taṃ daṃṣṭrayādrimiva vajradharo dadāra
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the planet earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon [Hiraṇyākṣa] appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk.
जातो रुचेरजनयत्सुयमान् सुयज्ञ आकूतिसूनुरमरानथ दक्षिणायाम् । लोकत्रयस्य महतीमहरद्यदार्तिं स्वायम्भुवेन मनुना हरिरित्यनूक्तः
jāto rucerajanayatsuyamān suyajña ākūtisūnuramarānatha dakṣiṇāyām | lokatrayasya mahatīmaharadyadārtiṃ svāyambhuvena manunā harirityanūktaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Prajāpati first begot Suyajña in the womb of his wife Ākūti, and then Suyajña begot demigods, headed by Suyama, in the womb of his wife Dakṣiṇā. Suyajña, as the Indradeva, diminished very great miseries in the three planetary systems [upper, lower and intermediate], and because he so diminished the miseries of the universe, he was later called Hari by the great father of mankind, namely Svāyambhuva Manu.
जज्ञे च कर्दमगृहे द्विज देवहूत्यां स्त्रीभिः समं नवभिरात्मगतिं स्वमात्रे । ऊचे ययाऽऽत्मशमलं गुणसङ्गपङ्क- मस्मिन्विधूय कपिलस्य गतिं प्रपेदे
jajñe ca kardamagṛhe dvija devahūtyāṃ strībhiḥ samaṃ navabhirātmagatiṃ svamātre | ūce yayā''tmaśamalaṃ guṇasaṅgapaṅka- masminvidhūya kapilasya gatiṃ prapede
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord then appeared as the Kapila incarnation, being the son of the prajāpati brāhmaṇa Kardama and his wife, Devahūti, along with nine other women [sisters]. He spoke to His mother about self-realization, by which, in that very lifetime, she became fully cleansed of the mud of the material modes and thereby achieved liberation, the path of Kapila.
अत्रेरपत्यमभिकाङ्क्षत आह तुष्टो दत्तो मयाहमिति यद्भगवान् स दत्तः । यत्पादपङ्कजपरागपवित्रदेहा योगर्द्धिमापुरुभयीं यदुहैहयाद्याः
atrerapatyamabhikāṅkṣata āha tuṣṭo datto mayāhamiti yadbhagavān sa dattaḥ | yatpādapaṅkajaparāgapavitradehā yogarddhimāpurubhayīṃ yaduhaihayādyāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The great sage Atri prayed for offspring, and the Lord, being satisfied with him, promised to incarnate as Atri’s son, Dattātreya [Datta, the son of Atri]. And by the grace of the lotus feet of the Lord, many Yadus, Haihayas, etc., became so purified that they obtained both material and spiritual blessings.
तप्तं तपो विविधलोकसिसृक्षया मे आदौ सनात्स्वतपसः स चतुःसनोऽभूत् । प्राक्कल्पसम्प्लवविनष्टमिहात्मतत्त्वं सम्यग्जगाद मुनयो यदचक्षतात्मन्
taptaṃ tapo vividhalokasisṛkṣayā me ādau sanātsvatapasaḥ sa catuḥsano'bhūt | prākkalpasamplavavinaṣṭamihātmatattvaṃ samyagjagāda munayo yadacakṣatātman
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
To create different planetary systems I had to undergo austerities and penance, and the Lord, thus being pleased with me, incarnated in four sanas [Sanaka, Sanatkumāra, Sanandana and Sanātana]. In the previous creation the spiritual truth was devastated, but the four sanas explained it so nicely that the truth at once became clearly perceived by the sages.
धर्मस्य दक्षदुहितर्यजनिष्ट मूर्त्यां नारायणो नर इति स्वतपःप्रभावः । दृष्ट्वाऽऽत्मनो भगवतो नियमावलोपं देव्यस्त्वनङ्गपृतना घटितुं न शेकुः
dharmasya dakṣaduhitaryajaniṣṭa mūrtyāṃ nārāyaṇo nara iti svatapaḥprabhāvaḥ | dṛṣṭvā''tmano bhagavato niyamāvalopaṃ devyastvanaṅgapṛtanā ghaṭituṃ na śekuḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
To exhibit His personal way of austerity and penance, He appeared in twin forms as Nārāyaṇa and Nara in the womb of Mūrti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Dakṣa. Celestial beauties, the companions of Cupid, went to try to break His vows, but they were unsuccessful, for they saw that many beauties like them were emanating from Him, the Personality of Godhead.
कामं दहन्ति कृतिनो ननु रोषदृष्ट्या रोषं दहन्तमुत ते न दहन्त्यसह्यम् । सोऽयं यदन्तरमलं प्रविशन् बिभेति कामः कथं नु पुनरस्य मनः श्रयेत
kāmaṃ dahanti kṛtino nanu roṣadṛṣṭyā roṣaṃ dahantamuta te na dahantyasahyam | so'yaṃ yadantaramalaṃ praviśan bibheti kāmaḥ kathaṃ nu punarasya manaḥ śrayeta
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Great stalwarts like Lord Śiva can, by their wrathful glances, overcome lust and vanquish him, yet they cannot be free from the overwhelming effects of their own wrath. Such wrath can never enter into the heart of Him [the Lord], who is above all this. So how can lust take shelter in His mind?
विद्धः सपत्न्युदितपत्रिभिरन्ति राज्ञो बालोऽपि सन्नुपगतस्तपसे वनानि । तस्मा अदाद्ध्रुवगतिं गृणते प्रसन्नो दिव्याः स्तुवन्ति मुनयो यदुपर्यधस्तात्
viddhaḥ sapatnyuditapatribhiranti rājño bālo'pi sannupagatastapase vanāni | tasmā adāddhruvagatiṃ gṛṇate prasanno divyāḥ stuvanti munayo yaduparyadhastāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Being insulted by sharp words spoken by the co-wife of the king, even in his presence, Prince Dhruva, though only a boy, took to severe penances in the forest. And the Lord, being satisfied by his prayer, awarded him the Dhruva planet, which is worshiped by great sages, both upward and downward.
यद्वेनमुत्पथगतं द्विजवाक्यवज्र- विप्लुष्टपौरुषभगं निरये पतन्तम् । त्रात्वार्थितो जगति पुत्रपदं च लेभे दुग्धा वसूनि वसुधा सकलानि येन
yadvenamutpathagataṃ dvijavākyavajra- vipluṣṭapauruṣabhagaṃ niraye patantam | trātvārthito jagati putrapadaṃ ca lebhe dugdhā vasūni vasudhā sakalāni yena
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mahārāja Vena went astray from the path of righteousness, and the brāhmaṇas chastised him by the thunderbolt curse. By this King Vena was burnt with his good deeds and opulence and was en route to hell. The Lord, by His causeless mercy, descended as his son, by the name of Pṛthu, delivered the condemned King Vena from hell, and exploited the earth by drawing all kinds of crops as produce.
नाभेरसावृषभ आस सुदेविसूनु- र्यो वै चचार समदृग्जडयोगचर्याम् । यत्पारमहंस्यमृषयः पदमामनन्ति स्वस्थः प्रशान्तकरणः परिमुक्तसङ्गः
nābherasāvṛṣabha āsa sudevisūnu- ryo vai cacāra samadṛgjaḍayogacaryām | yatpāramahaṃsyamṛṣayaḥ padamāmananti svasthaḥ praśāntakaraṇaḥ parimuktasaṅgaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord appeared as the son of Sudevī, the wife of King Nābhi, and was known as Ṛṣabhadeva. He performed materialistic yoga to equibalance the mind. This stage is also accepted as the highest perfectional situation of liberation, wherein one is situated in one’s self and is completely satisfied.
सत्रे ममास भगवान् हयशीरषाथो साक्षात्स यज्ञपुरुषस्तपनीयवर्णः । छन्दोमयो मखमयोऽखिलदेवताऽऽत्मा वाचो बभूवुरुशतीः श्वसतोऽस्य नस्तः
satre mamāsa bhagavān hayaśīraṣātho sākṣātsa yajñapuruṣastapanīyavarṇaḥ | chandomayo makhamayo'khiladevatā''tmā vāco babhūvuruśatīḥ śvasato'sya nastaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord appeared as the Hayagrīva incarnation in a sacrifice performed by me [Brahmā]. He is the personified sacrifices, and the hue of His body is golden. He is the personified Vedas as well, and the Supersoul of all demigods. When He breathed, all the sweet sounds of the Vedic hymns came out of His nostrils.
मत्स्यो युगान्तसमये मनुनोपलब्धः क्षोणीमयो निखिलजीवनिकायकेतः । विस्रंसितानुरुभये सलिले मुखान्मे आदाय तत्र विजहार ह वेदमार्गान्
matsyo yugāntasamaye manunopalabdhaḥ kṣoṇīmayo nikhilajīvanikāyaketaḥ | visraṃsitānurubhaye salile mukhānme ādāya tatra vijahāra ha vedamārgān
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
At the end of the millennium, the would-be Vaivasvata Manu, of the name Satyavrata, would see that the Lord in the fish incarnation is the shelter of all kinds of living entities, up to those in the earthly planets. Because of my fear of the vast water at the end of the millennium, the Vedas come out of my [Brahmā’s] mouth, and the Lord enjoys those vast waters and protects the Vedas.
क्षीरोदधावमरदानवयूथपाना- मुन्मथ्नताममृतलब्धय आदिदेवः । पृष्ठेन कच्छपवपुर्विदधार गोत्रं निद्राक्षणोऽद्रिपरिवर्तकषाणकण्डूः
kṣīrodadhāvamaradānavayūthapānā- munmathnatāmamṛtalabdhaya ādidevaḥ | pṛṣṭhena kacchapavapurvidadhāra gotraṃ nidrākṣaṇo'driparivartakaṣāṇakaṇḍūḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and demons were churning the Ocean of Milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.
त्रैविष्टपोरुभयहा स नृसिंहरूपं कृत्वा भ्रमद्भ्रुकुटिदंष्ट्रकरालवक्त्रम् । दैत्येन्द्रमाशु गदयाभिपतन्तमारा- दूरौ निपात्य विददार नखैः स्फुरन्तम्
traiviṣṭaporubhayahā sa nṛsiṃharūpaṃ kṛtvā bhramadbhrukuṭidaṃṣṭrakarālavaktram | daityendramāśu gadayābhipatantamārā- dūrau nipātya vidadāra nakhaiḥ sphurantam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead assumed the incarnation of Nṛsiṁhadeva in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods. He killed the king of the demons [Hiraṇyakaśipu], who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth.
अन्तःसरस्युरुबलेन पदे गृहीतो ग्राहेण यूथपतिरम्बुजहस्त आर्तः । आहेदमादिपुरुषाखिललोकनाथ तीर्थश्रवः श्रवणमङ्गलनामधेय
antaḥsarasyurubalena pade gṛhīto grāheṇa yūthapatirambujahasta ārtaḥ | āhedamādipuruṣākhilalokanātha tīrthaśravaḥ śravaṇamaṅgalanāmadheya
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The leader of the elephants, whose leg was attacked in a river by a crocodile of superior strength, was much aggrieved. Taking a lotus flower in his trunk, he addressed the Lord, saying, “O original enjoyer, Lord of the universe! O deliverer, as famous as a place of pilgrimage! All are purified simply by hearing Your holy name, which is worthy to be chanted.”
श्रुत्वा हरिस्तमरणार्थिनमप्रमेय- श्चक्रायुधः पतगराजभुजाधिरूढः । चक्रेण नक्रवदनं विनिपाट्य तस्मा- द्धस्ते प्रगृह्य भगवान् कृपयोज्जहार
śrutvā haristamaraṇārthinamaprameya- ścakrāyudhaḥ patagarājabhujādhirūḍhaḥ | cakreṇa nakravadanaṃ vinipāṭya tasmā- ddhaste pragṛhya bhagavān kṛpayojjahāra
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead, after hearing the elephant’s plea, felt that the elephant needed His immediate help, for he was in great distress. Thus at once the Lord appeared there on the wings of the king of birds, Garuḍa, fully equipped with His weapon, the wheel [cakra]. With the wheel He cut to pieces the mouth of the crocodile to save the elephant, and He delivered the elephant by lifting him by his trunk.
ज्यायान् गुणैरवरजोऽप्यदितेः सुतानां लोकान् विचक्रम इमान् यदथाधियज्ञः । क्ष्मां वामनेन जगृहे त्रिपदच्छलेन याच्ञामृते पथि चरन् प्रभुभिर्न चाल्यः
jyāyān guṇairavarajo'pyaditeḥ sutānāṃ lokān vicakrama imān yadathādhiyajñaḥ | kṣmāṃ vāmanena jagṛhe tripadacchalena yācñāmṛte pathi caran prabhubhirna cālyaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord, although transcendental to all material modes, still surpassed all the qualities of the sons of Aditi, known as the Ādityas. The Lord appeared as the youngest son of Aditi. And because He surpassed all the planets of the universe, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the pretense of asking for a measurement of three footsteps of land, He took away all the lands of Bali Mahārāja. He asked simply because without begging, no authority can take one’s rightful possession.
नार्थो बलेरयमुरुक्रमपादशौच- मापः शिखाधृतवतो विबुधाधिपत्यम् । यो वै प्रतिश्रुतमृते न चिकीर्षदन्य- दात्मानमङ्ग स शिरसा हरयेऽभिमेने
nārtho balerayamurukramapādaśauca- māpaḥ śikhādhṛtavato vibudhādhipatyam | yo vai pratiśrutamṛte na cikīrṣadanya- dātmānamaṅga sa śirasā haraye'bhimene
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bali Mahārāja, who put on his head the water washed from the lotus feet of the Lord, did not think of anything besides his promise, in spite of being forbidden by his spiritual master. The king dedicated his own personal body to fulfill the measurement of the Lord’s third step. For such a personality, even the kingdom of heaven, which he conquered by his strength, was of no value.
तुभ्यं च नारद भृशं भगवान् विवृद्ध- भावेन साधु परितुष्ट उवाच योगम् । ज्ञानं च भागवतमात्मसतत्त्वदीपं यद्वासुदेवशरणा विदुरञ्जसैव
tubhyaṃ ca nārada bhṛśaṃ bhagavān vivṛddha- bhāvena sādhu parituṣṭa uvāca yogam | jñānaṃ ca bhāgavatamātmasatattvadīpaṃ yadvāsudevaśaraṇā vidurañjasaiva
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Nārada, you were taught about the science of God and His transcendental loving service by the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation of Haṁsāvatāra. He was very much pleased with you, due to your intense proportion of devotional service. He also explained unto you, lucidly, the full science of devotional service, which is especially understandable by persons who are souls surrendered unto Lord Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead.
चक्रं च दिक्ष्वविहतं दशसु स्वतेजो मन्वन्तरेषु मनुवंशधरो बिभर्ति । दुष्टेषु राजसु दमं व्यदधात्स्वकीर्तिं सत्ये त्रिपृष्ठ उशतीं प्रथयंश्चरित्रैः
cakraṃ ca dikṣvavihataṃ daśasu svatejo manvantareṣu manuvaṃśadharo bibharti | duṣṭeṣu rājasu damaṃ vyadadhātsvakīrtiṃ satye tripṛṣṭha uśatīṃ prathayaṃścaritraiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
As the incarnation of Manu, the Lord became the descendant of the Manu dynasty and ruled over the miscreant kingly order, subduing them by His powerful wheel weapon. Undeterred in all circumstances, His rule was characterized by His glorious fame, which spread over the three lokas, and above them to the planetary system of Satyaloka, the topmost in the universe.
धन्वन्तरिश्च भगवान् स्वयमेव कीर्ति- र्नाम्ना नृणां पुरुरुजां रुज आशु हन्ति । यज्ञे च भागममृतायुरवावरुन्ध- मायुष्च वेदमनुशास्त्यवतीर्य लोके
dhanvantariśca bhagavān svayameva kīrti- rnāmnā nṛṇāṃ pururujāṃ ruja āśu hanti | yajñe ca bhāgamamṛtāyuravāvarundha- māyuṣca vedamanuśāstyavatīrya loke
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-diseased living entities simply by His fame personified, and only because of Him do the demigods achieve long lives. Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified. He also exacted a share from the sacrifices, and it is He only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe.
क्षत्रं क्षयाय विधिनोपभृतं महात्मा ब्रह्मध्रुगुज्झितपथं नरकार्तिलिप्सु । उद्धन्त्यसाववनिकण्टकमुग्रवीर्यः त्रिःसप्तकृत्व उरुधारपरश्वधेन
kṣatraṃ kṣayāya vidhinopabhṛtaṃ mahātmā brahmadhrugujjhitapathaṃ narakārtilipsu | uddhantyasāvavanikaṇṭakamugravīryaḥ triḥsaptakṛtva urudhāraparaśvadhena
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the ruling administrators, who are known as the kṣatriyas, turned astray from the path of the Absolute Truth, being desirous to suffer in hell, the Lord, in His incarnation as the sage Paraśurāma, uprooted those unwanted kings, who appeared as the thorns of the earth. Thus He thrice seven times uprooted the kṣatriyas with His keenly sharpened chopper.
अस्मत्प्रसादसुमुखः कलया कलेश इक्ष्वाकुवंश अवतीर्य गुरोर्निदेशे । तिष्ठन् वनं सदयितानुज आविवेश यस्मिन् विरुध्य दशकन्धर आर्तिमार्च्छत्
asmatprasādasumukhaḥ kalayā kaleśa ikṣvākuvaṃśa avatīrya gurornideśe | tiṣṭhan vanaṃ sadayitānuja āviveśa yasmin virudhya daśakandhara ārtimārcchat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His plenary extensions, appeared in the family of Mahārāja Ikṣvāku as the Lord of His internal potency, Sītā. Under the order of His father, Mahārāja Daśaratha, He entered the forest and lived there for considerable years with His wife and younger brother. Rāvaṇa, who was very materially powerful, with ten heads on his shoulders, committed a great offense against Him and was thus ultimately vanquished.
यस्मा अदादुदधिरूढभयाङ्गवेपो मार्गं सपद्यरिपुरं हरवद्दिधक्षोः । दूरे सुहृन्मथितरोषसुशोणदृष्ट्या तातप्यमानमकरोरगनक्रचक्रः
yasmā adādudadhirūḍhabhayāṅgavepo mārgaṃ sapadyaripuraṃ haravaddidhakṣoḥ | dūre suhṛnmathitaroṣasuśoṇadṛṣṭyā tātapyamānamakaroraganakracakraḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead Rāmacandra, being aggrieved for His distant intimate friend [Sītā], glanced over the city of the enemy Rāvaṇa with red-hot eyes like those of Hara [who wanted to burn the kingdom of heaven]. The great ocean, trembling in fear, gave Him His way because its family members, the aquatics like the sharks, snakes and crocodiles, were being burnt by the heat of the angry red-hot eyes of the Lord.
वक्षःस्थलस्पर्शरुग्णमहेन्द्रवाह- दन्तैर्विडम्बितककुब्जुष ऊढहासम् । सद्योऽसुभिः सह विनेष्यति दारहर्तु- र्विस्फूर्जितैर्धनुष उच्चरतोऽधिसैन्ये
vakṣaḥsthalasparśarugṇamahendravāha- dantairviḍambitakakubjuṣa ūḍhahāsam | sadyo'subhiḥ saha vineṣyati dārahartu- rvisphūrjitairdhanuṣa uccarato'dhisainye
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When Rāvaṇa was engaged in the battle, the trunk of the elephant which carried the King of heaven, Indra, broke in pieces, having collided with the chest of Rāvaṇa, and the scattered broken parts illuminated all directions. Rāvaṇa therefore felt proud of his prowess and began to loiter in the midst of the fighting soldiers, thinking himself the conqueror of all directions. But his laughter, overtaken by joy, along with his very air of life, suddenly ceased with the tingling sound of the bow of Rāmacandra, the Personality of Godhead.
भूमेः सुरेतरवरूथविमर्दितायाः क्लेशव्ययाय कलया सितकृष्णकेशः । जातः करिष्यति जनानुपलक्ष्यमार्गः कर्माणि चात्ममहिमोपनिबन्धनानि
bhūmeḥ suretaravarūthavimarditāyāḥ kleśavyayāya kalayā sitakṛṣṇakeśaḥ | jātaḥ kariṣyati janānupalakṣyamārgaḥ karmāṇi cātmamahimopanibandhanāni
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion. The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.
तोकेन जीवहरणं यदुलूकिकायाः त्रैमासिकस्य च पदा शकटोऽपवृत्तः । यद्रिङ्गतान्तरगतेन दिविस्पृशोर्वा उन्मूलनं त्वितरथार्जुनयोर्न भाव्यम्
tokena jīvaharaṇaṃ yadulūkikāyāḥ traimāsikasya ca padā śakaṭo'pavṛttaḥ | yadriṅgatāntaragatena divispṛśorvā unmūlanaṃ tvitarathārjunayorna bhāvyam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
There is no doubt about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s being the Supreme Lord. Otherwise, how was it possible for Him to kill a giant demon like Pūtanā when He was just on the lap of His mother, to overturn a cart with His leg when He was only three months old, or to uproot a pair of arjuna trees so high that they touched the sky, when He was only crawling? All these activities are impossible for anyone other than the Lord Himself.
यद्वै व्रजे व्रजपशून् विषतोयपीथान् पालांस्त्वजीवयदनुग्रहदृष्टिवृष्ट्या । तच्छुद्धयेऽतिविषवीर्यविलोलजिह्व- मुच्चाटयिष्यदुरगं विहरन् ह्रदिन्याम्
yadvai vraje vrajapaśūn viṣatoyapīthān pālāṃstvajīvayadanugrahadṛṣṭivṛṣṭyā | tacchuddhaye'tiviṣavīryavilolajihva- muccāṭayiṣyaduragaṃ viharan hradinyām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Then also when the cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned water of the river Yamunā, and after the Lord [in His childhood] revived them by His merciful glance, just to purify the water of the river Yamunā He jumped into it as if playing and chastised the venomous Kāliya snake, which was lurking there, its tongue emitting waves of poison. Who can perform such herculean tasks but the Supreme Lord?
तत्कर्म दिव्यमिव यन्निशि निःशयानं दावाग्निना शुचिवने परिदह्यमाने । उन्नेष्यति व्रजमतोऽवसितान्तकालं नेत्रे पिधाय्य सबलोऽनधिगम्यवीर्यः
tatkarma divyamiva yanniśi niḥśayānaṃ dāvāgninā śucivane paridahyamāne | unneṣyati vrajamato'vasitāntakālaṃ netre pidhāyya sabalo'nadhigamyavīryaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
On the very night of the day of the chastisement of the Kāliya snake, when the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi were sleeping carefreely, there was a forest fire ablaze due to dry leaves, and it appeared that all the inhabitants were sure to meet their death. But the Lord, along with Balarāma, saved them simply by closing His eyes. Such are the superhuman activities of the Lord.
गृह्णीत यद्यदुपबन्धममुष्य माता शुल्बं सुतस्य न तु तत्तदमुष्य माति । यज्जृम्भतोऽस्य वदने भुवनानि गोपी संवीक्ष्य शङ्कितमनाः प्रतिबोधिताऽऽसीत्
gṛhṇīta yadyadupabandhamamuṣya mātā śulbaṃ sutasya na tu tattadamuṣya māti | yajjṛmbhato'sya vadane bhuvanāni gopī saṃvīkṣya śaṅkitamanāḥ pratibodhitā''sīt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the cowherd woman [Kṛṣṇa’s foster mother, Yaśodā] was trying to tie the hands of her son with ropes, she found the rope to be always insufficient in length, and when she finally gave up, Lord Kṛṣṇa, by and by, opened His mouth, wherein the mother found all the universes situated. Seeing this, she was doubtful in her mind, but she was convinced in a different manner of the mystic nature of her son.
नन्दं च मोक्ष्यति भयाद्वरुणस्य पाशा- द्गोपान् बिलेषु पिहितान् मयसूनुना च । अह्न्यापृतं निशि शयानमतिश्रमेण लोकं विकुण्ठमुपनेष्यति गोकुलं स्म
nandaṃ ca mokṣyati bhayādvaruṇasya pāśā- dgopān bileṣu pihitān mayasūnunā ca | ahnyāpṛtaṃ niśi śayānamatiśrameṇa lokaṃ vikuṇṭhamupaneṣyati gokulaṃ sma
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Kṛṣṇa saved His foster father, Nanda Mahārāja, from the fear of the demigod Varuṇa and released the cowherd boys from the caves of the mountain, for they were placed there by the son of Maya. Also, to the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who were busy working during daytime and sleeping soundly at night because of their hard labor in the day, Lord Kṛṣṇa awarded promotion to the highest planet in the spiritual sky. All these acts are transcendental and certainly prove without any doubt His Godhood.
गोपैर्मखे प्रतिहते व्रजविप्लवाय देवेऽभिवर्षति पशून् कृपया रिरक्षुः । धर्तोच्छिलीन्ध्रमिव सप्तदिनानि सप्त- वर्षो महीध्रमनघैककरे सलीलम्
gopairmakhe pratihate vrajaviplavāya deve'bhivarṣati paśūn kṛpayā rirakṣuḥ | dhartocchilīndhramiva saptadināni sapta- varṣo mahīdhramanaghaikakare salīlam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana, under instruction of Kṛṣṇa, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly King, Indra, the whole tract of land known as Vraja was threatened with being washed away by constant heavy rains for seven days. Lord Kṛṣṇa, out of His causeless mercy upon the inhabitants of Vraja, held up the hill known as Govardhana with one hand only, although He was only seven years old. He did this to protect the animals from the onslaught of water.
क्रीडन् वने निशि निशाकररश्मिगौर्यां रासोन्मुखः कलपदायतमूर्च्छितेन । उद्दीपितस्मररुजां व्रजभृद्वधूनां हर्तुर्हरिष्यति शिरो धनदानुगस्य
krīḍan vane niśi niśākararaśmigauryāṃ rāsonmukhaḥ kalapadāyatamūrcchitena | uddīpitasmararujāṃ vrajabhṛdvadhūnāṃ harturhariṣyati śiro dhanadānugasya
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the Lord was engaged in His pastimes of the rāsa dance in the forest of Vṛndāvana, enlivening the sexual desires of the wives of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana by sweet and melodious songs, a demon of the name Śaṅkhacūḍa, a rich follower of the treasurer of heaven [Kuvera], kidnapped the damsels, and the Lord severed his head from his trunk.
कालेन मीलितधियामवमृश्य नॄणां स्तोकायुषां स्वनिगमो बत दूरपारः । आविर्हितस्त्वनुयुगं स हि सत्यवत्यां वेदद्रुमं विटपशो विभजिष्यति स्म
kālena mīlitadhiyāmavamṛśya nṝṇāṃ stokāyuṣāṃ svanigamo bata dūrapāraḥ | āvirhitastvanuyugaṃ sa hi satyavatyāṃ vedadrumaṃ viṭapaśo vibhajiṣyati sma
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord Himself in His incarnation as the son of Satyavatī [Vyāsadeva] will consider his compilation of the Vedic literature to be very difficult for the less intelligent persons with short life, and thus He will divide the tree of Vedic knowledge into different branches, according to the circumstances of the particular age.
देवद्विषां निगमवर्त्मनि निष्ठितानां पूर्भिर्मयेन विहिताभिरदृश्यतूर्भिः । लोकान् घ्नतां मतिविमोहमतिप्रलोभं वेषं विधाय बहु भाष्यत औपधर्म्यम्
devadviṣāṃ nigamavartmani niṣṭhitānāṃ pūrbhirmayena vihitābhiradṛśyatūrbhiḥ | lokān ghnatāṃ mativimohamatipralobhaṃ veṣaṃ vidhāya bahu bhāṣyata aupadharmyam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the atheists, after being well versed in the Vedic scientific knowledge, annihilate inhabitants of different planets, flying unseen in the sky on well-built rockets prepared by the great scientist Maya, the Lord will bewilder their minds by dressing Himself attractively as Buddha and will preach on subreligious principles.
यर्ह्यालयेष्वपि सतां न हरेः कथाः स्युः पाखण्डिनो द्विजजना वृषला नृदेवाः । स्वाहा स्वधा वषडिति स्म गिरो न यत्र शास्ता भविष्यति कलेर्भगवान् युगान्ते
yarhyālayeṣvapi satāṃ na hareḥ kathāḥ syuḥ pākhaṇḍino dvijajanā vṛṣalā nṛdevāḥ | svāhā svadhā vaṣaḍiti sma giro na yatra śāstā bhaviṣyati kalerbhagavān yugānte
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, at the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher castes, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the lowborn śūdra class or those less than them, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser.
सर्गे तपोऽहमृषयो नव ये प्रजेशाः स्थाने च धर्ममखमन्वमरावनीशाः । अन्ते त्वधर्महरमन्युवशासुराद्या मायाविभूतय इमाः पुरुशक्तिभाजः
sarge tapo'hamṛṣayo nava ye prajeśāḥ sthāne ca dharmamakhamanvamarāvanīśāḥ | ante tvadharmaharamanyuvaśāsurādyā māyāvibhūtaya imāḥ puruśaktibhājaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
At the beginning of creation there are penance, myself [Brahmā] and the Prajāpatis, the great sages who generate; then, during the maintenance of the creation, there are Lord Viṣṇu, the demigods with controlling powers, and the kings of different planets. But at the end there is irreligion, and then Lord Śiva and the atheists full of anger, etc. All of them are different representative manifestations of the energy of the supreme power, the Lord.
विष्णोर्नु वीर्यगणनां कतमोऽर्हतीह यः पार्थिवान्यपि कविर्विममे रजांसि । चस्कम्भ यः स्वरहसास्खलता त्रिपृष्ठं यस्मात्त्रिसाम्यसदनादुरुकम्पयानम्
viṣṇornu vīryagaṇanāṃ katamo'rhatīha yaḥ pārthivānyapi kavirvimame rajāṃsi | caskambha yaḥ svarahasāskhalatā tripṛṣṭhaṃ yasmāttrisāmyasadanādurukampayānam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Who can describe completely the prowess of Viṣṇu? Even the scientist, who might have counted the particles of the atoms of the universe, cannot do so. Because it is He only who in His form of Trivikrama moved His leg effortlessly beyond the topmost planet, Satyaloka, up to the neutral state of the three modes of material nature. And all were moved.
नान्तं विदाम्यहममी मुनयोऽग्रजास्ते मायाबलस्य पुरुषस्य कुतोऽपरे ये । गायन् गुणान् दशशतानन आदिदेवः शेषोऽधुनापि समवस्यति नास्य पारम्
nāntaṃ vidāmyahamamī munayo'grajāste māyābalasya puruṣasya kuto'pare ye | gāyan guṇān daśaśatānana ādidevaḥ śeṣo'dhunāpi samavasyati nāsya pāram
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Neither I nor all the sages born before you know fully the omnipotent Personality of Godhead. So what can others, who are born after us, know about Him? Even the first incarnation of the Lord, namely Śeṣa, has not been able to reach the limit of such knowledge, although He is describing the qualities of the Lord with ten hundred faces.
येषां स एव भगवान् दययेदनन्तः सर्वात्मनाऽऽश्रितपदो यदि निर्व्यलीकम् । ते दुस्तरामतितरन्ति च देवमायां नैषां ममाहमिति धीः श्वशृगालभक्ष्ये
yeṣāṃ sa eva bhagavān dayayedanantaḥ sarvātmanā''śritapado yadi nirvyalīkam | te dustarāmatitaranti ca devamāyāṃ naiṣāṃ mamāhamiti dhīḥ śvaśṛgālabhakṣye
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
But anyone who is specifically favored by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, due to unalloyed surrender unto the service of the Lord, can overcome the insurmountable ocean of illusion and can understand the Lord. But those who are attached to this body, which is meant to be eaten at the end by dogs and jackals, cannot do so.
ते वै विदन्त्यतितरन्ति च देवमायां स्त्रीशूद्रहूणशबरा अपि पापजीवाः । यद्यद्भुतक्रमपरायणशीलशिक्षा- स्तिर्यग्जना अपि किमु श्रुतधारणा ये
te vai vidantyatitaranti ca devamāyāṃ strīśūdrahūṇaśabarā api pāpajīvāḥ | yadyadbhutakramaparāyaṇaśīlaśikṣā- stiryagjanā api kimu śrutadhāraṇā ye
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Surrendered souls, even from groups leading sinful lives, such as women, the laborer class, the mountaineers and the Siberians, or even the birds and beasts, can also know about the science of Godhead and become liberated from the clutches of the illusory energy by surrendering unto the pure devotees of the Lord and by following in their footsteps in devotional service.
शश्वत्प्रशान्तमभयं प्रतिबोधमात्रं शुद्धं समं सदसतः परमात्मतत्त्वम् । शब्दो न यत्र पुरुकारकवान् क्रियार्थो माया परैत्यभिमुखे च विलज्जमाना
śaśvatpraśāntamabhayaṃ pratibodhamātraṃ śuddhaṃ samaṃ sadasataḥ paramātmatattvam | śabdo na yatra purukārakavān kriyārtho māyā paraityabhimukhe ca vilajjamānā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
What is realized as the Absolute Brahman is full of unlimited bliss without grief. That is certainly the ultimate phase of the supreme enjoyer, the Personality of Godhead. He is eternally void of all disturbances and is fearless. He is complete consciousness as opposed to matter. Uncontaminated and without distinctions, He is the principle primeval cause of all causes and effects, in whom there is no sacrifice for fruitive activities and in whom the illusory energy does not stand.
तद्वै पदं भगवतः परमस्य पुंसो ब्रह्मेति यद्विदुरजस्रसुखं विशोकम् । सध्र्यङ् नियम्य यतयो यमकर्तहेतिं जह्युः स्वराडिव निपानखनित्रमिन्द्रः
tadvai padaṃ bhagavataḥ paramasya puṃso brahmeti yadvidurajasrasukhaṃ viśokam | sadhryaṅ niyamya yatayo yamakartahetiṃ jahyuḥ svarāḍiva nipānakhanitramindraḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In such a transcendental state there is no need of artificial control of the mind, mental speculation or meditation, as performed by the jñānīs and yogīs. One gives up such processes, as the heavenly King, Indra, forgoes the trouble to dig a well.
स श्रेयसामपि विभुर्भगवान् यतोऽस्य भावस्वभावविहितस्य सतः प्रसिद्धिः । देहे स्वधातुविगमेऽनुविशीर्यमाणे व्योमेव तत्र पुरुषो न विशीर्यतेऽजः
sa śreyasāmapi vibhurbhagavān yato'sya bhāvasvabhāvavihitasya sataḥ prasiddhiḥ | dehe svadhātuvigame'nuviśīryamāṇe vyomeva tatra puruṣo na viśīryate'jaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead is the supreme master of everything auspicious because the results of whatever actions are performed by the living being, in either the material or spiritual existence, are awarded by the Lord. As such, He is the ultimate benefactor. Every individual living entity is unborn, and therefore even after the annihilation of the material elementary body, the living entity exists, exactly like the air within the body.
सोऽयं तेऽभिहितस्तात भगवान् विश्वभावनः । समासेन हरेर्नान्यदन्यस्मात्सदसच्च यत्
so'yaṃ te'bhihitastāta bhagavān viśvabhāvanaḥ | samāsena harernānyadanyasmātsadasacca yat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
My dear son, I have now explained in brief the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is creator of the manifested worlds. Without Him (Hari, the Lord), there are no other causes of the phenomenal and noumenal existences.
इदं भागवतं नाम यन्मे भगवतोदितम् । सङ्ग्रहोऽयं विभूतीनां त्वमेतद्विपुलीकुरु
idaṃ bhāgavataṃ nāma yanme bhagavatoditam | saṅgraho'yaṃ vibhūtīnāṃ tvametadvipulīkuru
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Nārada, this science of God, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was spoken to me in summary by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it was spoken as the accumulation of His diverse potencies. Please expand this science yourself.
यथा हरौ भगवति नृणां भक्तिर्भविष्यति । सर्वात्मन्यखिलाधारे इति सङ्कल्प्य वर्णय
yathā harau bhagavati nṛṇāṃ bhaktirbhaviṣyati | sarvātmanyakhilādhāre iti saṅkalpya varṇaya
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please describe the science of Godhead with determination and in a manner by which it will be quite possible for the human being to develop transcendental devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead Hari, the Supersoul of every living being and the summum bonum source of all energies.
मायां वर्णयतोऽमुष्य ईश्वरस्यानुमोदतः । शृण्वतः श्रद्धया नित्यं माययाऽऽत्मा न मुह्यति
māyāṃ varṇayato'muṣya īśvarasyānumodataḥ | śṛṇvataḥ śraddhayā nityaṃ māyayā''tmā na muhyati
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord’s activities in association with His different energies should be described, appreciated and heard in accordance with the teachings of the Supreme Lord. If this is done regularly with devotion and respect, one is sure to get out of the illusory energy of the Lord.
राजोवाच । ब्रह्मणा चोदितो ब्रह्मन् गुणाख्यानेऽगुणस्य च । यस्मै यस्मै यथा प्राह नारदो देवदर्शनः
rājovāca | brahmaṇā codito brahman guṇākhyāne'guṇasya ca | yasmai yasmai yathā prāha nārado devadarśanaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: How did Nārada Muni, whose hearers are as fortunate as those instructed by Lord Brahmā, explain the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is without material qualities, and before whom did he speak?
एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि तत्त्वं वेदविदां वर । हरेरद्भुतवीर्यस्य कथा लोकसुमङ्गलाः
etadveditumicchāmi tattvaṃ vedavidāṃ vara | hareradbhutavīryasya kathā lokasumaṅgalāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The King said: I wish to know. Narrations concerning the Lord, who possesses wonderful potencies, are certainly auspicious for living beings in all planets.
कथयस्व महाभाग यथाहमखिलात्मनि । कृष्णे निवेश्य निःसङ्गं मनस्त्यक्ष्ये कलेवरम्
kathayasva mahābhāga yathāhamakhilātmani | kṛṣṇe niveśya niḥsaṅgaṃ manastyakṣye kalevaram
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O greatly fortunate Śukadeva Gosvāmī, please continue narrating Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam so that I can place my mind upon the Supreme Soul, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and, being completely freed from material qualities, thus relinquish this body.
शृण्वतः श्रद्धया नित्यं गृणतश्च स्वचेष्टितम् । कालेन नातिदीर्घेण भगवान् विशते हृदि
śṛṇvataḥ śraddhayā nityaṃ gṛṇataśca svaceṣṭitam | kālena nātidīrgheṇa bhagavān viśate hṛdi
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Persons who hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly and are always taking the matter very seriously will have the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifested in their hearts within a short time.
प्रविष्टः कर्णरन्ध्रेण स्वानां भावसरोरुहम् । धुनोति शमलं कृष्णः सलिलस्य यथा शरत्
praviṣṭaḥ karṇarandhreṇa svānāṃ bhāvasaroruham | dhunoti śamalaṃ kṛṣṇaḥ salilasya yathā śarat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The sound incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Soul [i.e., Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam], enters into the heart of a self-realized devotee, sits on the lotus flower of his loving relationship, and thus cleanses the dust of material association, such as lust, anger and hankering. Thus it acts like autumnal rains upon pools of muddy water.
धौतात्मा पुरुषः कृष्णपादमूलं न मुञ्चति । मुक्तसर्वपरिक्लेशः पान्थः स्वशरणं यथा
dhautātmā puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇapādamūlaṃ na muñcati | muktasarvaparikleśaḥ pānthaḥ svaśaraṇaṃ yathā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A pure devotee of the Lord whose heart has once been cleansed by the process of devotional service never relinquishes the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, for they fully satisfy him, as a traveler is satisfied at home after a troubled journey.
यदधातुमतो ब्रह्मन् देहारम्भोऽस्य धातुभिः । यदृच्छया हेतुना वा भवन्तो जानते यथा
yadadhātumato brahman dehārambho'sya dhātubhiḥ | yadṛcchayā hetunā vā bhavanto jānate yathā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental spirit soul is different from the material body. Does he acquire the body accidentally or by some cause? Will you kindly explain this, for it is known to you.
आसीद्यदुदरात्पद्मं लोकसंस्थानलक्षणम् । यावानयं वै पुरुष इयत्तावयवैः पृथक् । तावानसाविति प्रोक्तः संस्थावयववानिव
āsīdyadudarātpadmaṃ lokasaṃsthānalakṣaṇam | yāvānayaṃ vai puruṣa iyattāvayavaiḥ pṛthak | tāvānasāviti proktaḥ saṃsthāvayavavāniva
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
If the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whose abdomen the lotus stem sprouted, is possessed of a gigantic body according to His own caliber and measurement, then what is the specific difference between the body of the Lord and those of common living entities?
अजः सृजति भूतानि भूतात्मा यदनुग्रहात् । ददृशे येन तद्रूपं नाभिपद्मसमुद्भवः
ajaḥ sṛjati bhūtāni bhūtātmā yadanugrahāt | dadṛśe yena tadrūpaṃ nābhipadmasamudbhavaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Brahmā, who was not born of a material source but of the lotus flower coming out of the navel abdomen of the Lord, is the creator of all those who are materially born. Of course, by the grace of the Lord, Brahmā was able to see the form of the Lord.
स चापि यत्र पुरुषो विश्वस्थित्युद्भवाप्ययः । मुक्त्वाऽऽत्ममायां मायेशः शेते सर्वगुहाशयः
sa cāpi yatra puruṣo viśvasthityudbhavāpyayaḥ | muktvā''tmamāyāṃ māyeśaḥ śete sarvaguhāśayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please also explain the Personality of Godhead, who lies in every heart as the Supersoul, and as the Lord of all energies, but is untouched by His external energy.
पुरुषावयवैर्लोकाः सपालाः पूर्वकल्पिताः । लोकैरमुष्यावयवाः सपालैरिति शुश्रुम
puruṣāvayavairlokāḥ sapālāḥ pūrvakalpitāḥ | lokairamuṣyāvayavāḥ sapālairiti śuśruma
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O learned brāhmaṇa, it was formerly explained that all the planets of the universe with their respective governors are situated in the different parts of the gigantic body of the virāṭ-puruṣa. I have also heard that the different planetary systems are supposed to be in the gigantic body of the virāṭ-puruṣa. But what is their actual position? Will you please explain that?
यावान् कल्पो विकल्पो वा यथा कालोऽनुमीयते । भूतभव्यभवच्छब्द आयुर्मानं च यत्सतः
yāvān kalpo vikalpo vā yathā kālo'numīyate | bhūtabhavyabhavacchabda āyurmānaṃ ca yatsataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Also please explain the duration of time between creation and annihilation, and that of other subsidiary creations, as well as the nature of time, indicated by the sound of past, present and future. Also, please explain the duration and measurement of life of the different living beings known as the demigods, the human beings, etc., in different planets of the universe.
कालस्यानुगतिर्या तु लक्ष्यतेऽण्वी बृहत्यपि । यावत्यः कर्मगतयो यादृशीर्द्विजसत्तम
kālasyānugatiryā tu lakṣyate'ṇvī bṛhatyapi | yāvatyaḥ karmagatayo yādṛśīrdvijasattama
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O purest of the brāhmaṇas, please also explain the cause of the different durations of time, both short and long, as well as the beginning of time, following the course of action.
यस्मिन् कर्मसमावायो यथा येनोपगृह्यते । गुणानां गुणिनां चैव परिणाममभीप्सताम्
yasmin karmasamāvāyo yathā yenopagṛhyate | guṇānāṃ guṇināṃ caiva pariṇāmamabhīpsatām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Then again, kindly describe how the proportionate accumulation of the reactions resulting from the different modes of material nature act upon the desiring living being, promoting or degrading him among the different species of life, beginning from the demigods down to the most insignificant creatures.
भूपातालककुब्व्योम ग्रहनक्षत्रभूभृताम् । सरित्समुद्रद्वीपानां सम्भवश्चैतदोकसाम्
bhūpātālakakubvyoma grahanakṣatrabhūbhṛtām | saritsamudradvīpānāṃ sambhavaścaitadokasām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O best of the brāhmaṇas, please also describe how the creation of the globes throughout the universe, the four directions of the heavens, the sky, the planets, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, the seas and the islands, as well as their different kinds of inhabitants, takes place.
प्रमाणमण्डकोशस्य बाह्याभ्यन्तरभेदतः । महतां चानुचरितं वर्णाश्रमविनिश्चयः
pramāṇamaṇḍakośasya bāhyābhyantarabhedataḥ | mahatāṃ cānucaritaṃ varṇāśramaviniścayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Also, please describe the inner and outer space of the universe by specific divisions, as well as the character and activities of the great souls, and also the characteristics of the different classifications of the castes and orders of social life.
युगानि युगमानं च धर्मो यश्च युगे युगे । अवतारानुचरितं यदाश्चर्यतमं हरेः
yugāni yugamānaṃ ca dharmo yaśca yuge yuge | avatārānucaritaṃ yadāścaryatamaṃ hareḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please explain all the different ages in the duration of the creation, and also the duration of such ages. Also tell me about the different activities of the different incarnations of the Lord in different ages.
नृणां साधारणो धर्मः सविशेषश्च यादृशः । श्रेणीनां राजर्षीणां च धर्मः कृच्छ्रेषु जीवताम्
nṛṇāṃ sādhāraṇo dharmaḥ saviśeṣaśca yādṛśaḥ | śreṇīnāṃ rājarṣīṇāṃ ca dharmaḥ kṛcchreṣu jīvatām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please also explain what may generally be the common religious affiliations of human society, as well as their specific occupational duties in religion, the classification of the social orders as well as the administrative royal orders, and the religious principles for one who may be in distress.
तत्त्वानां परिसङ्ख्यानं लक्षणं हेतुलक्षणम् । पुरुषाराधनविधिर्योगस्याध्यात्मिकस्य च
tattvānāṃ parisaṅkhyānaṃ lakṣaṇaṃ hetulakṣaṇam | puruṣārādhanavidhiryogasyādhyātmikasya ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Kindly explain all about the elementary principles of creation, the number of such elementary principles, their causes, and their development, and also the process of devotional service and the method of mystic powers.
योगेश्वरैश्वर्यगतिर्लिङ्गभङ्गस्तु योगिनाम् । वेदोपवेदधर्माणामितिहासपुराणयोः
yogeśvaraiśvaryagatirliṅgabhaṅgastu yoginām | vedopavedadharmāṇāmitihāsapurāṇayoḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
What are the opulences of the great mystics, and what is their ultimate realization? How does the perfect mystic become detached from the subtle astral body? What is the basic knowledge of the Vedic literatures, including the branches of history and the supplementary Purāṇas?
सम्प्लवः सर्वभूतानां विक्रमः प्रतिसङ्क्रमः । इष्टापूर्तस्य काम्यानां त्रिवर्गस्य च यो विधिः
samplavaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ vikramaḥ pratisaṅkramaḥ | iṣṭāpūrtasya kāmyānāṃ trivargasya ca yo vidhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please explain unto me how the living beings are generated, how they are maintained, and how they are annihilated. Tell me also of the advantages and disadvantages of discharging devotional service unto the Lord. What are the Vedic rituals and injunctions of the supplementary Vedic rites, and what are the procedures of religion, economic development and sense satisfaction?
यश्चानुशायिनां सर्गः पाखण्डस्य च सम्भवः । आत्मनो बन्धमोक्षौ च व्यवस्थानं स्वरूपतः
yaścānuśāyināṃ sargaḥ pākhaṇḍasya ca sambhavaḥ | ātmano bandhamokṣau ca vyavasthānaṃ svarūpataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please also explain how, merged in the body of the Lord, living beings are created, and how the infidels appear in the world. Also please explain how the unconditioned living entities exist.
यथाऽऽत्मतन्त्रो भगवान् विक्रीडत्यात्ममायया । विसृज्य वा यथा मायामुदास्ते साक्षिवद्विभुः
yathā''tmatantro bhagavān vikrīḍatyātmamāyayā | visṛjya vā yathā māyāmudāste sākṣivadvibhuḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The independent Personality of Godhead enjoys His pastimes by His internal potency and at the time of annihilation gives them up to the external potency, and He remains a witness to it all.
सर्वमेतच्च भगवन् पृच्छते मेऽनुपूर्वशः । तत्त्वतोऽर्हस्युदाहर्तुं प्रपन्नाय महामुने
sarvametacca bhagavan pṛcchate me'nupūrvaśaḥ | tattvato'rhasyudāhartuṃ prapannāya mahāmune
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O great sage, representative of the Lord, kindly satisfy my inquisitiveness in all that I have inquired from you and all that I may not have inquired from you from the very beginning of my questionings. Since I am a soul surrendered unto you, please impart full knowledge in this connection.
अत्र प्रमाणं हि भवान् परमेष्ठी यथाऽऽत्मभूः । परे चेहानुतिष्ठन्ति पूर्वेषां पूर्वजैः कृतम्
atra pramāṇaṃ hi bhavān parameṣṭhī yathā''tmabhūḥ | pare cehānutiṣṭhanti pūrveṣāṃ pūrvajaiḥ kṛtam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O great sage, you are as good as Brahmā, the original living being. Others follow custom only, as followed by the previous philosophical speculators.
न मेऽसवः परायन्ति ब्रह्मन्ननशनादमी । पिबतोऽच्युतपीयूषमन्यत्र कुपिताद्द्विजात्
na me'savaḥ parāyanti brahmannanaśanādamī | pibato'cyutapīyūṣamanyatra kupitāddvijāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O learned brāhmaṇa, because of my drinking the nectar of the message of the infallible Personality of Godhead, which is flowing down from the ocean of your speeches, I do not feel any sort of exhaustion due to my fasting.
सूत उवाच । स उपामन्त्रितो राज्ञा कथायामिति सत्पतेः । ब्रह्मरातो भृशं प्रीतो विष्णुरातेन संसदि
sūta uvāca | sa upāmantrito rājñā kathāyāmiti satpateḥ | brahmarāto bhṛśaṃ prīto viṣṇurātena saṃsadi
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Sūta Gosvāmī said: Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī, being invited by Mahārāja Parīkṣit to speak on topics of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the devotees, was very much pleased.
प्राह भागवतं नाम पुराणं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् । ब्रह्मणे भगवत्प्रोक्तं ब्रह्मकल्प उपागते
prāha bhāgavataṃ nāma purāṇaṃ brahmasammitam | brahmaṇe bhagavatproktaṃ brahmakalpa upāgate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He began to reply to the inquiries of Mahārāja Parīkṣit by saying that the science of the Personality of Godhead was spoken first by the Lord Himself to Brahmā when he was first born. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supplementary Vedic literature, and it is just in pursuance of the Vedas.
यद्यत्परीक्षिदृषभः पाण्डूनामनुपृच्छति । आनुपूर्व्येण तत्सर्वमाख्यातुमुपचक्रमे
yadyatparīkṣidṛṣabhaḥ pāṇḍūnāmanupṛcchati | ānupūrvyeṇa tatsarvamākhyātumupacakrame
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He also prepared himself to reply to all that King Parīkṣit had inquired from him. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the best in the dynasty of the Pāṇḍus, and thus he was able to ask the right questions from the right person.
श्रीशुक उवाच । आत्ममायामृते राजन् परस्यानुभवात्मनः । न घटेतार्थसम्बन्धः स्वप्नद्रष्टुरिवाञ्जसा
śrīśuka uvāca | ātmamāyāmṛte rājan parasyānubhavātmanaḥ | na ghaṭetārthasambandhaḥ svapnadraṣṭurivāñjasā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working.
बहुरूप इवाभाति मायया बहुरूपया । रममाणो गुणेष्वस्या ममाहमिति मन्यते
bahurūpa ivābhāti māyayā bahurūpayā | ramamāṇo guṇeṣvasyā mamāhamiti manyate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The illusioned living entity appears in so many forms offered by the external energy of the Lord. While enjoying in the modes of material nature, the encaged living entity misconceives, thinking in terms of “I” and “mine.”
यर्हि वाव महिम्नि स्वे परस्मिन् कालमाययोः । रमेत गतसम्मोहस्त्यक्त्वोदास्ते तदोभयम्
yarhi vāva mahimni sve parasmin kālamāyayoḥ | rameta gatasammohastyaktvodāste tadobhayam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
As soon as the living entity becomes situated in his constitutional glory and begins to enjoy the transcendence beyond time and material energy, he at once gives up the two misconceptions of life [I and mine] and thus becomes fully manifested as the pure self.
आत्मतत्त्वविशुद्ध्यर्थं यदाह भगवान् ऋतम् । ब्रह्मणे दर्शयन् रूपमव्यलीकव्रतादृतः
ātmatattvaviśuddhyarthaṃ yadāha bhagavān ṛtam | brahmaṇe darśayan rūpamavyalīkavratādṛtaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, the Personality of Godhead, being very much pleased with Lord Brahmā because of his nondeceptive penance in bhakti-yoga, presented His eternal and transcendental form before Brahmā. And that is the objective goal for purifying the conditioned soul.
स आदिदेवो जगतां परो गुरुः स्वधिष्ण्यमास्थाय सिसृक्षयैक्षत । तां नाध्यगच्छद्दृशमत्र सम्मतां प्रपञ्चनिर्माणविधिर्यया भवेत्
sa ādidevo jagatāṃ paro guruḥ svadhiṣṇyamāsthāya sisṛkṣayaikṣata | tāṃ nādhyagacchaddṛśamatra sammatāṃ prapañcanirmāṇavidhiryayā bhavet
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā, the first spiritual master, supreme in the universe, could not trace out the source of his lotus seat, and while thinking of creating the material world, he could not understand the proper direction for such creative work, nor could he find out the process for such creation.
स चिन्तयन् द्व्यक्षरमेकदाम्भसि उपाशृणोद्द्विर्गदितं वचो विभुः । स्पर्शेषु यत्षोडशमेकविंशं निष्किञ्चनानां नृप यद्धनं विदुः
sa cintayan dvyakṣaramekadāmbhasi upāśṛṇoddvirgaditaṃ vaco vibhuḥ | sparśeṣu yatṣoḍaśamekaviṃśaṃ niṣkiñcanānāṃ nṛpa yaddhanaṃ viduḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
While thus engaged in thinking, in the water, Brahmājī heard twice from nearby two syllables joined together. One of the syllables was taken from the sixteenth and the other from the twenty-first of the sparśa alphabets, and both joined to become the wealth of the renounced order of life.
निशम्य तद्वक्तृदिदृक्षया दिशो विलोक्य तत्रान्यदपश्यमानः । स्वधिष्ण्यमास्थाय विमृश्य तद्धितं तपस्युपादिष्ट इवादधे मनः
niśamya tadvaktṛdidṛkṣayā diśo vilokya tatrānyadapaśyamānaḥ | svadhiṣṇyamāsthāya vimṛśya taddhitaṃ tapasyupādiṣṭa ivādadhe manaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When he heard the sound, he tried to find the speaker, searching on all sides. But when he was unable to find anyone besides himself, he thought it wise to sit down on his lotus seat firmly and give his attention to the execution of penance, as he was instructed.
दिव्यं सहस्राब्दममोघदर्शनो जितानिलात्मा विजितोभयेन्द्रियः । अतप्यत स्माखिललोकतापनं तपस्तपीयांस्तपतां समाहितः
divyaṃ sahasrābdamamoghadarśano jitānilātmā vijitobhayendriyaḥ | atapyata smākhilalokatāpanaṃ tapastapīyāṃstapatāṃ samāhitaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā underwent penances for one thousand years by the calculations of the demigods. He heard this transcendental vibration from the sky, and he accepted it as divine. Thus he controlled his mind and senses, and the penances he executed were a great lesson for the living entities. Thus he is known as the greatest of all ascetics.
तस्मै स्वलोकं भगवान् सभाजितः सन्दर्शयामास परं न यत्परम् । व्यपेतसङ्क्लेशविमोहसाध्वसं स्वदृष्टवद्भिर्पुरुषैरभिष्टुतम्
tasmai svalokaṃ bhagavān sabhājitaḥ sandarśayāmāsa paraṃ na yatparam | vyapetasaṅkleśavimohasādhvasaṃ svadṛṣṭavadbhirpuruṣairabhiṣṭutam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead, being thus very much satisfied with the penance of Lord Brahmā, was pleased to manifest His personal abode, Vaikuṇṭha, the supreme planet above all others. This transcendental abode of the Lord is adored by all self-realized persons freed from all kinds of miseries and fear of illusory existence.
(स्वदृष्टवद्भिर्विबुधैरभिष्टुतम्) प्रवर्तते यत्र रजस्तमस्तयोः सत्त्वं च मिश्रं न च कालविक्रमः । न यत्र माया किमुतापरे हरे- रनुव्रता यत्र सुरासुरार्चिताः
(svadṛṣṭavadbhirvibudhairabhiṣṭutam) pravartate yatra rajastamastayoḥ sattvaṃ ca miśraṃ na ca kālavikramaḥ | na yatra māyā kimutāpare hare- ranuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In that personal abode of the Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the influence of time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that region. Without discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees.
श्यामावदाताः शतपत्रलोचनाः पिशङ्गवस्त्राः सुरुचः सुपेशसः । सर्वे चतुर्बाहव उन्मिषन्मणि- प्रवेकनिष्काभरणाः सुवर्चसः । प्रवालवैदूर्यमृणालवर्चसः परिस्फुरत्कुण्डलमौलिमालिनः
śyāmāvadātāḥ śatapatralocanāḥ piśaṅgavastrāḥ surucaḥ supeśasaḥ | sarve caturbāhava unmiṣanmaṇi- pravekaniṣkābharaṇāḥ suvarcasaḥ | pravālavaidūryamṛṇālavarcasaḥ parisphuratkuṇḍalamaulimālinaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bodily features very attractive. They are just the age of growing youths, they all have four hands, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be effulgent.
भ्राजिष्णुभिर्यः परितो विराजते लसद्विमानावलिभिर्महात्मनाम् । विद्योतमानः प्रमदोत्तमाद्युभिः सविद्युदभ्रावलिभिर्यथा नभः
bhrājiṣṇubhiryaḥ parito virājate lasadvimānāvalibhirmahātmanām | vidyotamānaḥ pramadottamādyubhiḥ savidyudabhrāvalibhiryathā nabhaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Some of them are effulgent like coral and diamonds in complexion and have garlands on their heads, blooming like lotus flowers, and some wear earrings.
श्रीर्यत्र रूपिण्युरुगायपादयोः करोति मानं बहुधा विभूतिभिः । प्रेङ्खं श्रिता या कुसुमाकरानुगै- र्विगीयमाना प्रियकर्म गायती
śrīryatra rūpiṇyurugāyapādayoḥ karoti mānaṃ bahudhā vibhūtibhiḥ | preṅkhaṃ śritā yā kusumākarānugai- rvigīyamānā priyakarma gāyatī
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Vaikuṇṭha planets are also surrounded by various airplanes, all glowing and brilliantly situated. These airplanes belong to the great mahātmās or devotees of the Lord. The ladies are as beautiful as lightning because of their celestial complexions, and all these combined together appear just like the sky decorated with both clouds and lightning.
ददर्श तत्राखिलसात्वतां पतिं श्रियः पतिं यज्ञपतिं जगत्पतिम् । सुनन्दनन्दप्रबलार्हणादिभिः स्वपार्षदमुख्यैः परिसेवितं विभुम्
dadarśa tatrākhilasātvatāṃ patiṃ śriyaḥ patiṃ yajñapatiṃ jagatpatim | sunandanandaprabalārhaṇādibhiḥ svapārṣadamukhyaiḥ parisevitaṃ vibhum
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The goddess of fortune in her transcendental form is engaged in the loving service of the Lord’s lotus feet, and being moved by the black bees, followers of spring, she is not only engaged in variegated pleasure — service to the Lord, along with her constant companions — but is also engaged in singing the glories of the Lord’s activities.
भृत्यप्रसादाभिमुखं दृगासवं प्रसन्नहासारुणलोचनाननम् । किरीटिनं कुण्डलिनं चतुर्भुजं पीताम्बरं वक्षसि लक्षितं श्रिया
bhṛtyaprasādābhimukhaṃ dṛgāsavaṃ prasannahāsāruṇalocanānanam | kirīṭinaṃ kuṇḍalinaṃ caturbhujaṃ pītāmbaraṃ vakṣasi lakṣitaṃ śriyā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā saw in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the Personality of Godhead, who is the Lord of the entire devotee community, the Lord of the goddess of fortune, the Lord of all sacrifices, and the Lord of the universe, and who is served by the foremost servitors like Nanda, Sunanda, Prabala and Arhaṇa, His immediate associates.
अध्यर्हणीयासनमास्थितं परं वृतं चतुःषोडशपञ्चशक्तिभिः । युक्तं भगैः स्वैरितरत्र चाध्रुवैः स्व एव धामन् रममाणमीश्वरम्
adhyarhaṇīyāsanamāsthitaṃ paraṃ vṛtaṃ catuḥṣoḍaśapañcaśaktibhiḥ | yuktaṃ bhagaiḥ svairitaratra cādhruvaiḥ sva eva dhāman ramamāṇamīśvaram
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead, seen leaning favorably towards His loving servitors, His very sight intoxicating and attractive, appeared to be very much satisfied. He had a smiling face decorated with an enchanting reddish hue. He was dressed in yellow robes and wore earrings and a helmet on his head. He had four hands, and His chest was marked with the lines of the goddess of fortune.
तद्दर्शनाह्लादपरिप्लुतान्तरो हृष्यत्तनुः प्रेमभराश्रुलोचनः । ननाम पादाम्बुजमस्य विश्वसृग्- यत्पारमहंस्येन पथाधिगम्यते
taddarśanāhlādapariplutāntaro hṛṣyattanuḥ premabharāśrulocanaḥ | nanāma pādāmbujamasya viśvasṛg- yatpāramahaṃsyena pathādhigamyate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord was seated on His throne and was surrounded by different energies like the four, the sixteen, the five, and the six natural opulences, along with other insignificant energies of the temporary character. But He was the factual Supreme Lord, enjoying His own abode.
तं प्रीयमाणं समुपस्थितं तदा प्रजाविसर्गे निजशासनार्हणम् । बभाष ईषत्स्मितशोचिषा गिरा प्रियः प्रियं प्रीतमनाः करे स्पृशन्
taṃ prīyamāṇaṃ samupasthitaṃ tadā prajāvisarge nijaśāsanārhaṇam | babhāṣa īṣatsmitaśociṣā girā priyaḥ priyaṃ prītamanāḥ kare spṛśan
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā, thus seeing the Personality of Godhead in His fullness, was overwhelmed with joy within his heart, and thus in full transcendental love and ecstasy, his eyes filled with tears of love. He thus bowed down before the Lord. That is the way of the highest perfection for the living being [paramahaṁsa].
श्रीभगवानुवाच । त्वयाहं तोषितः सम्यग्वेदगर्भ सिसृक्षया । चिरं भृतेन तपसा दुस्तोषः कूटयोगिनाम्
śrībhagavānuvāca | tvayāhaṃ toṣitaḥ samyagvedagarbha sisṛkṣayā | ciraṃ bhṛtena tapasā dustoṣaḥ kūṭayoginām
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
And seeing Brahmā present before Him, the Lord accepted him as worthy to create living beings, to be controlled as He desired, and thus being much satisfied with him, the Lord shook hands with Brahmā and, slightly smiling, addressed him thus.
वरं वरय भद्रं ते वरेशं माभिवाञ्छितम् । ब्रह्मञ्छ्रेयःपरिश्रामः पुंसो मद्दर्शनावधिः
varaṃ varaya bhadraṃ te vareśaṃ mābhivāñchitam | brahmañchreyaḥpariśrāmaḥ puṃso maddarśanāvadhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The beautiful Personality of Godhead addressed Lord Brahmā: O Brahmā, impregnated with the Vedas, I am very much pleased with your long-accumulated penance with the desire for creation. Hardly am I pleased with the pseudo mystics.
मनीषितानुभावोऽयं मम लोकावलोकनम् । यदुपश्रुत्य रहसि चकर्थ परमं तपः
manīṣitānubhāvo'yaṃ mama lokāvalokanam | yadupaśrutya rahasi cakartha paramaṃ tapaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I wish you good luck. O Brahmā, you may ask from Me, the giver of all benediction, all that you may desire. You may know that the ultimate benediction, as the result of all penances, is to see Me by realization.
प्रत्यादिष्टं मया तत्र त्वयि कर्मविमोहिते । तपो मे हृदयं साक्षादात्माहं तपसोऽनघ
pratyādiṣṭaṃ mayā tatra tvayi karmavimohite | tapo me hṛdayaṃ sākṣādātmāhaṃ tapaso'nagha
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The highest perfectional ingenuity is the personal perception of My abodes, and this has been possible because of your submissive attitude in the performance of severe penance according to My order.
सृजामि तपसैवेदं ग्रसामि तपसा पुनः । बिभर्मि तपसा विश्वं वीर्यं मे दुश्चरं तपः
sṛjāmi tapasaivedaṃ grasāmi tapasā punaḥ | bibharmi tapasā viśvaṃ vīryaṃ me duścaraṃ tapaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo penance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and therefore penance and I are nondifferent.
ब्रह्मोवाच । भगवन् सर्वभूतानामध्यक्षोऽवस्थितो गुहाम् । वेद ह्यप्रतिरुद्धेन प्रज्ञानेन चिकीर्षितम्
brahmovāca | bhagavan sarvabhūtānāmadhyakṣo'vasthito guhām | veda hyapratiruddhena prajñānena cikīrṣitam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.
तथापि नाथमानस्य नाथ नाथय नाथितम् । परावरे यथा रूपे जानीयां ते त्वरूपिणः
tathāpi nāthamānasya nātha nāthaya nāthitam | parāvare yathā rūpe jānīyāṃ te tvarūpiṇaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Brahmā said: O Personality of Godhead, You are situated in every living entity’s heart as the supreme director, and therefore You are aware of all endeavors by Your superior intelligence, without any hindrance whatsoever.
यथाऽऽत्ममायायोगेन नानाशक्त्युपबृंहितम् । विलुम्पन् विसृजन् गृह्णन् बिभ्रदात्मानमात्मना
yathā''tmamāyāyogena nānāśaktyupabṛṃhitam | vilumpan visṛjan gṛhṇan bibhradātmānamātmanā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In spite of that, my Lord, I am praying to You to kindly fulfill my desire. May I please be informed how, in spite of Your transcendental form, You assume the mundane form, although You have no such form at all.
क्रीडस्यमोघसङ्कल्प ऊर्णनाभिर्यथोर्णुते । तथा तद्विषयां धेहि मनीषां मयि माधव
krīḍasyamoghasaṅkalpa ūrṇanābhiryathorṇute | tathā tadviṣayāṃ dhehi manīṣāṃ mayi mādhava
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
And [please inform me] how You, by Your own Self, manifest different energies for annihilation, generation, acceptance and maintenance by combination and permutation.
भगवच्छिक्षितमहं करवाणि ह्यतन्द्रितः । नेहमानः प्रजासर्गं बध्येयं यदनुग्रहात्
bhagavacchikṣitamahaṃ karavāṇi hyatandritaḥ | nehamānaḥ prajāsargaṃ badhyeyaṃ yadanugrahāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O master of all energies, please tell me philosophically all about them. You play like a spider that covers itself by its own energy, and Your determination is infallible.
यावत्सखा सख्युरिवेश ते कृतः प्रजाविसर्गे विभजामि भो जनम् । अविक्लवस्ते परिकर्मणि स्थितो मा मे समुन्नद्धमदोऽजमानिनः
yāvatsakhā sakhyuriveśa te kṛtaḥ prajāvisarge vibhajāmi bho janam | aviklavaste parikarmaṇi sthito mā me samunnaddhamado'jamāninaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please tell me so that I may be taught in the matter by the instruction of the Personality of Godhead and may thus act instrumentally to generate living entities, without being conditioned by such activities.
श्रीभगवानुवाच । ज्ञानं परमगुह्यं मे यद्विज्ञानसमन्वितम् । सरहस्यं तदङ्गं च गृहाण गदितं मया
śrībhagavānuvāca | jñānaṃ paramaguhyaṃ me yadvijñānasamanvitam | sarahasyaṃ tadaṅgaṃ ca gṛhāṇa gaditaṃ mayā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O my Lord, the unborn, You have shaken hands with me just as a friend does with a friend [as if equal in position]. I shall be engaged in the creation of different types of living entities, and I shall be occupied in Your service. I shall have no perturbation, but I pray that all this may not give rise to pride, as if I were the Supreme.
यावानहं यथाभावो यद्रूपगुणकर्मकः । तथैव तत्त्वविज्ञानमस्तु ते मदनुग्रहात्
yāvānahaṃ yathābhāvo yadrūpaguṇakarmakaḥ | tathaiva tattvavijñānamastu te madanugrahāt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Personality of Godhead said: Knowledge about Me as described in the scriptures is very confidential, and it has to be realized in conjunction with devotional service. The necessary paraphernalia for that process is being explained by Me. You may take it up carefully.
अहमेवासमेवाग्रे नान्यद्यत्सदसत्परम् । पश्चादहं यदेतच्च योऽवशिष्येत सोऽस्म्यहम्
ahamevāsamevāgre nānyadyatsadasatparam | paścādahaṃ yadetacca yo'vaśiṣyeta so'smyaham
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All of Me, namely My actual eternal form and My transcendental existence, color, qualities and activities — let all be awakened within you by factual realization, out of My causeless mercy.
ऋतेऽर्थं यत्प्रतीयेत न प्रतीयेत चात्मनि । तद्विद्यादात्मनो मायां यथाऽऽभासो यथा तमः
ṛte'rthaṃ yatpratīyeta na pratīyeta cātmani | tadvidyādātmano māyāṃ yathā''bhāso yathā tamaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead.
यथा महान्ति भूतानि भूतेषूच्चावचेष्वनु । प्रविष्टान्यप्रविष्टानि तथा तेषु न तेष्वहम्
yathā mahānti bhūtāni bhūteṣūccāvaceṣvanu | praviṣṭānyapraviṣṭāni tathā teṣu na teṣvaham
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.
एतावदेव जिज्ञास्यं तत्त्वजिज्ञासुनाऽऽत्मनः । अन्वयव्यतिरेकाभ्यां यत्स्यात्सर्वत्र सर्वदा
etāvadeva jijñāsyaṃ tattvajijñāsunā''tmanaḥ | anvayavyatirekābhyāṃ yatsyātsarvatra sarvadā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything.
एतन्मतं समातिष्ठ परमेण समाधिना । भवान् कल्पविकल्पेषु न विमुह्यति कर्हिचित्
etanmataṃ samātiṣṭha parameṇa samādhinā | bhavān kalpavikalpeṣu na vimuhyati karhicit
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly.
श्रीशुक उवाच । सम्प्रदिश्यैवमजनो जनानां परमेष्ठिनम् । पश्यतस्तस्य तद्रूपमात्मनो न्यरुणद्धरिः
śrīśuka uvāca | sampradiśyaivamajano janānāṃ parameṣṭhinam | paśyatastasya tadrūpamātmano nyaruṇaddhariḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O Brahmā, just follow this conclusion by fixed concentration of mind, and no pride will disturb you, neither in the partial nor in the final devastation.
अन्तर्हितेन्द्रियार्थाय हरये विहिताञ्जलिः । सर्वभूतमयो विश्वं ससर्जेदं स पूर्ववत्
antarhitendriyārthāya haraye vihitāñjaliḥ | sarvabhūtamayo viśvaṃ sasarjedaṃ sa pūrvavat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said to Mahārāja Parīkṣit: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, after being seen in His transcendental form, instructing Brahmājī, the leader of the living entities, disappeared.
प्रजापतिर्धर्मपतिरेकदा नियमान् यमान् । भद्रं प्रजानामन्विच्छन्नातिष्ठत्स्वार्थकाम्यया
prajāpatirdharmapatirekadā niyamān yamān | bhadraṃ prajānāmanvicchannātiṣṭhatsvārthakāmyayā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
On the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who is the object of transcendental enjoyment for the senses of devotees, Brahmā, with folded hands, began to re-create the universe, full with living entities, as it was previously.
तं नारदः प्रियतमो रिक्थादानामनुव्रतः । शुश्रूषमाणः शीलेन प्रश्रयेण दमेन च
taṃ nāradaḥ priyatamo rikthādānāmanuvrataḥ | śuśrūṣamāṇaḥ śīlena praśrayeṇa damena ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus once upon a time the forefather of living entities and the father of religiousness, Lord Brahmā, situated himself in acts of regulative principles, desiring self-interest for the welfare of all living entities.
मायां विविदिषन् विष्णोर्मायेशस्य महामुनिः । महाभागवतो राजन् पितरं पर्यतोषयत्
māyāṃ vividiṣan viṣṇormāyeśasya mahāmuniḥ | mahābhāgavato rājan pitaraṃ paryatoṣayat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Nārada, the most dear of the inheritor sons of Brahmā, always ready to serve his father, strictly follows the instructions of his father by his mannerly behavior, meekness and sense control.
तुष्टं निशाम्य पितरं लोकानां प्रपितामहम् । देवर्षिः परिपप्रच्छ भवान् यन्मानुपृच्छति
tuṣṭaṃ niśāmya pitaraṃ lokānāṃ prapitāmaham | devarṣiḥ paripapraccha bhavān yanmānupṛcchati
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Nārada very much pleased his father and desired to know all about the energies of Viṣṇu, the master of all energies, for Nārada was the greatest of all sages and greatest of all devotees, O King.
तस्मा इदं भागवतं पुराणं दशलक्षणम् । प्रोक्तं भगवता प्राह प्रीतः पुत्राय भूतकृत्
tasmā idaṃ bhāgavataṃ purāṇaṃ daśalakṣaṇam | proktaṃ bhagavatā prāha prītaḥ putrāya bhūtakṛt
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The great sage Nārada also inquired in detail from his father, Brahmā, the great-grandfather of all the universe, after seeing him well satisfied.
नारदः प्राह मुनये सरस्वत्यास्तटे नृप । ध्यायते ब्रह्म परमं व्यासायामिततेजसे
nāradaḥ prāha munaye sarasvatyāstaṭe nṛpa | dhyāyate brahma paramaṃ vyāsāyāmitatejase
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereupon the supplementary Vedic literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which was described by the Personality of Godhead and which contains ten characteristics, was told with satisfaction by the father [Brahmā] to his son Nārada.
यदुताहं त्वया पृष्टो वैराजात्पुरुषादिदम् । यथाऽऽसीत्तदुपाख्यास्ये प्रश्नानन्यांश्च कृत्स्नशः
yadutāhaṃ tvayā pṛṣṭo vairājātpuruṣādidam | yathā''sīttadupākhyāsye praśnānanyāṃśca kṛtsnaśaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In succession, O King, the great sage Nārada instructed Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam unto the unlimitedly powerful Vyāsadeva, who meditated in devotional service upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, on the bank of the river Sarasvatī.
SB 2.9.46
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, your questions as to how the universe became manifested from the gigantic form of the Personality of Godhead, as well as other questions, I shall answer in detail by explanation of the four verses already mentioned.
श्रीशुक उवाच । अत्र सर्गो विसर्गश्च स्थानं पोषणमूतयः । मन्वन्तरेशानुकथा निरोधो मुक्तिराश्रयः
śrīśuka uvāca | atra sargo visargaśca sthānaṃ poṣaṇamūtayaḥ | manvantareśānukathā nirodho muktirāśrayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are ten divisions of statements regarding the following: the creation of the universe, subcreation, planetary systems, protection by the Lord, the creative impetus, the change of Manus, the science of God, returning home, back to Godhead, liberation, and the summum bonum.
दशमस्य विशुद्ध्यर्थं नवानामिह लक्षणम् । वर्णयन्ति महात्मानः श्रुतेनार्थेन चाञ्जसा
daśamasya viśuddhyarthaṃ navānāmiha lakṣaṇam | varṇayanti mahātmānaḥ śrutenārthena cāñjasā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
To isolate the transcendence of the summum bonum, the symptoms of the rest are described sometimes by Vedic inference, sometimes by direct explanation, and sometimes by summary explanations given by the great sages.
भूतमात्रेन्द्रियधियां जन्म सर्ग उदाहृतः । ब्रह्मणो गुणवैषम्याद्विसर्गः पौरुषः स्मृतः
bhūtamātrendriyadhiyāṃ janma sarga udāhṛtaḥ | brahmaṇo guṇavaiṣamyādvisargaḥ pauruṣaḥ smṛtaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The elementary creation of sixteen items of matter — namely the five elements [fire, water, land, air and sky], sound, form, taste, smell, touch, and the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and mind — is known as sarga, whereas subsequent resultant interaction of the modes of material nature is called visarga.
स्थितिर्वैकुण्ठविजयः पोषणं तदनुग्रहः । मन्वन्तराणि सद्धर्म ऊतयः कर्मवासनाः
sthitirvaikuṇṭhavijayaḥ poṣaṇaṃ tadanugrahaḥ | manvantarāṇi saddharma ūtayaḥ karmavāsanāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The right situation for the living entities is to obey the laws of the Lord and thus be in perfect peace of mind under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Manus and their laws are meant to give right direction in life. The impetus for activity is the desire for fruitive work.
अवतारानुचरितं हरेश्चास्यानुवर्तिनाम् । सतामीशकथाः प्रोक्ता नानाख्यानोपबृंहिताः
avatārānucaritaṃ hareścāsyānuvartinām | satāmīśakathāḥ proktā nānākhyānopabṛṃhitāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The science of God describes the incarnations of the Personality of Godhead and His different activities together with the activities of His great devotees.
निरोधोऽस्यानुशयनमात्मनः सह शक्तिभिः । मुक्तिर्हित्वान्यथा रूपं स्वरूपेण व्यवस्थितिः
nirodho'syānuśayanamātmanaḥ saha śaktibhiḥ | muktirhitvānyathā rūpaṃ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The merging of the living entity, along with his conditional living tendency, with the mystic lying down of the Mahā-Viṣṇu is called the winding up of the cosmic manifestation. Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.
आभासश्च निरोधश्च यतश्चाध्यवसीयते । स आश्रयः परं ब्रह्म परमात्मेति शब्द्यते
ābhāsaśca nirodhaśca yataścādhyavasīyate | sa āśrayaḥ paraṃ brahma paramātmeti śabdyate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The supreme one who is celebrated as the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul is the supreme source of the cosmic manifestation as well as its reservoir and winding up. Thus He is the Supreme Fountainhead, the Absolute Truth.
योऽध्यात्मिकोऽयं पुरुषः सोऽसावेवाधिदैविकः । यस्तत्रोभयविच्छेदः पुरुषो ह्याधिभौतिकः
yo'dhyātmiko'yaṃ puruṣaḥ so'sāvevādhidaivikaḥ | yastatrobhayavicchedaḥ puruṣo hyādhibhautikaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The individual person possessing different instruments of senses is called the adhyātmic person, and the individual controlling deity of the senses is called adhidaivic. The embodiment seen on the eyeballs is called the adhibhautic person.
एकमेकतराभावे यदा नोपलभामहे । त्रितयं तत्र यो वेद स आत्मा स्वाश्रयाश्रयः
ekamekatarābhāve yadā nopalabhāmahe | tritayaṃ tatra yo veda sa ātmā svāśrayāśrayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All three of the above-mentioned stages of different living entities are interdependent. In the absence of one, another is not understood. But the Supreme Being who sees every one of them as the shelter of the shelter is independent of all, and therefore He is the supreme shelter.
पुरुषोऽण्डं विनिर्भिद्य यदासौ स विनिर्गतः । आत्मनोऽयनमन्विच्छन्नपोऽस्राक्षीच्छुचिः शुचीः
puruṣo'ṇḍaṃ vinirbhidya yadāsau sa vinirgataḥ | ātmano'yanamanvicchannapo'srākṣīcchuciḥ śucīḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
After separating the different universes, the gigantic universal form of the Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], which came out of the Causal Ocean, the place of appearance for the first puruṣa-avatāra, entered into each of the separate universes, desiring to lie on the created transcendental water [Garbhodaka].
तास्ववात्सीत्स्वसृष्टासु सहस्रपरिवत्सरान् । तेन नारायणो नाम यदापः पुरुषोद्भवाः
tāsvavātsītsvasṛṣṭāsu sahasraparivatsarān | tena nārāyaṇo nāma yadāpaḥ puruṣodbhavāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
That Supreme Person is not impersonal and therefore is distinctively a nara, or person. Therefore the transcendental water created from the Supreme Nara is known as nāra. And because He lies down on that water, He is known as Nārāyaṇa.
द्रव्यं कर्म च कालश्च स्वभावो जीव एव च । यदनुग्रहतः सन्ति न सन्ति यदुपेक्षया
dravyaṃ karma ca kālaśca svabhāvo jīva eva ca | yadanugrahataḥ santi na santi yadupekṣayā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One should definitely know that all material ingredients, activities, time and modes, and the living entities who are meant to enjoy them all, exist by His mercy only, and as soon as He does not care for them, everything becomes nonexistent.
एको नानात्वमन्विच्छन् योगतल्पात्समुत्थितः । वीर्यं हिरण्मयं देवो मायया व्यसृजत्त्रिधा
eko nānātvamanvicchan yogatalpātsamutthitaḥ | vīryaṃ hiraṇmayaṃ devo māyayā vyasṛjattridhā
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Lord, while lying on His bed of mystic slumber, generated the seminal symbol, golden in hue, through external energy out of His desire to manifest varieties of living entities from Himself alone.
अधिदैवमथाध्यात्ममधिभूतमिति प्रभुः । यथैकं पौरुषं वीर्यं त्रिधाभिद्यत तच्छृणु
adhidaivamathādhyātmamadhibhūtamiti prabhuḥ | yathaikaṃ pauruṣaṃ vīryaṃ tridhābhidyata tacchṛṇu
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Just hear from me how the potency of His Lordship divides one into three, called the controlling entities, the controlled entities and the material bodies, in the manner mentioned above.
अन्तःशरीर आकाशात्पुरुषस्य विचेष्टतः । ओजः सहो बलं जज्ञे ततः प्राणो महानसुः
antaḥśarīra ākāśātpuruṣasya viceṣṭataḥ | ojaḥ saho balaṃ jajñe tataḥ prāṇo mahānasuḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From the sky situated within the transcendental body of the manifesting Mahā-Viṣṇu, sense energy, mental force and bodily strength are all generated, as well as the sum total of the fountainhead of the total living force.
अनुप्राणन्ति यं प्राणाः प्राणन्तं सर्वजन्तुषु । अपानन्तमपानन्ति नरदेवमिवानुगाः
anuprāṇanti yaṃ prāṇāḥ prāṇantaṃ sarvajantuṣu | apānantamapānanti naradevamivānugāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
As the followers of a king follow their lord, similarly when the total energy is in motion, all other living entities move, and when the total energy stops endeavoring, all other living entities stop sensual activities.
प्राणेन क्षिपता क्षुत्तृडन्तरा जायते प्रभोः । पिपासतो जक्षतश्च प्राङ्मुखं निरभिद्यत
prāṇena kṣipatā kṣuttṛḍantarā jāyate prabhoḥ | pipāsato jakṣataśca prāṅmukhaṃ nirabhidyata
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The living force, being agitated by the virāṭ-puruṣa, generated hunger and thirst, and when He desired to drink and eat, the mouth opened.
मुखतस्तालु निर्भिन्नं जिह्वा तत्रोपजायते । ततो नानारसो जज्ञे जिह्वया योऽधिगम्यते
mukhatastālu nirbhinnaṃ jihvā tatropajāyate | tato nānāraso jajñe jihvayā yo'dhigamyate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From the mouth the palate became manifested, and thereupon the tongue was also generated. After this all the different tastes came into existence so that the tongue can relish them.
विवक्षोर्मुखतो भूम्नो वह्निर्वाग्व्याहृतं तयोः । जले वै तस्य सुचिरं निरोधः समजायत
vivakṣormukhato bhūmno vahnirvāgvyāhṛtaṃ tayoḥ | jale vai tasya suciraṃ nirodhaḥ samajāyata
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the Supreme desired to speak, speeches were vibrated from the mouth. Then the controlling deity Fire was generated from the mouth. But when He was lying in the water, all these functions remained suspended.
नासिके निरभिद्येतां दोधूयति नभस्वति । तत्र वायुर्गन्धवहो घ्राणो नसि जिघृक्षतः
nāsike nirabhidyetāṃ dodhūyati nabhasvati | tatra vāyurgandhavaho ghrāṇo nasi jighṛkṣataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, when the supreme puruṣa desired to smell odors, the nostrils and respiration were generated, the nasal instrument and odors came into existence, and the controlling deity of air, carrying smell, also became manifested.
यदात्मनि निरालोकमात्मानं च दिदृक्षतः । निर्भिन्ने ह्यक्षिणी तस्य ज्योतिश्चक्षुर्गुणग्रहः
yadātmani nirālokamātmānaṃ ca didṛkṣataḥ | nirbhinne hyakṣiṇī tasya jyotiścakṣurguṇagrahaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus when everything existed in darkness, the Lord desired to see Himself and all that was created. Then the eyes, the illuminating god Sun, the power of vision and the object of sight all became manifested.
बोध्यमानस्य ऋषिभिरात्मनस्तज्जिघृक्षतः । कर्णौ च निरभिद्येतां दिशः श्रोत्रं गुणग्रहः
bodhyamānasya ṛṣibhirātmanastajjighṛkṣataḥ | karṇau ca nirabhidyetāṃ diśaḥ śrotraṃ guṇagrahaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
By development of the desire of the great sages to know, the ears, the power of hearing, the controlling deity of hearing, and the objects of hearing became manifested. The great sages desired to hear about the Self.
वस्तुनो मृदुकाठिन्यलघुगुर्वोष्णशीतताम् । जिघृक्षतस्त्वङ् निर्भिन्ना तस्यां रोममहीरुहाः । तत्र चान्तर्बहिर्वातस्त्वचा लब्धगुणो वृतः
vastuno mṛdukāṭhinyalaghugurvoṣṇaśītatām | jighṛkṣatastvaṅ nirbhinnā tasyāṃ romamahīruhāḥ | tatra cāntarbahirvātastvacā labdhaguṇo vṛtaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When there was a desire to perceive the physical characteristics of matter, such as softness, hardness, warmth, cold, lightness and heaviness, the background of sensation, the skin, the skin pores, the hairs on the body and their controlling deities (the trees) were generated. Within and outside the skin is a covering of air through which sense perception became prominent.
हस्तौ रुरुहतुस्तस्य नानाकर्मचिकीर्षया । तयोस्तु बलमिन्द्रश्च आदानमुभयाश्रयम्
hastau ruruhatustasya nānākarmacikīrṣayā | tayostu balamindraśca ādānamubhayāśrayam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter when the Supreme Person desired to perform varieties of work, the two hands and their controlling strength, and Indra, the demigod in heaven, became manifested, as also the acts dependent on both the hands and the demigod.
गतिं जिगीषतः पादौ रुरुहातेऽभिकामिकाम् । पद्भ्यां यज्ञः स्वयं हव्यं कर्मभिः क्रियते नृभिः
gatiṃ jigīṣataḥ pādau ruruhāte'bhikāmikām | padbhyāṃ yajñaḥ svayaṃ havyaṃ karmabhiḥ kriyate nṛbhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereupon, because of His desiring to control movement, His legs became manifested, and from the legs the controlling deity named Viṣṇu was generated. By His personal supervision of this act, all varieties of human being are busily engaged in dutiful occupational sacrifice.
निरभिद्यत शिश्नो वै प्रजानन्दामृतार्थिनः । उपस्थ आसीत्कामानां प्रियं तदुभयाश्रयम्
nirabhidyata śiśno vai prajānandāmṛtārthinaḥ | upastha āsītkāmānāṃ priyaṃ tadubhayāśrayam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereupon, for sexual pleasure, begetting offspring and tasting heavenly nectar, the Lord developed the genitals, and thus there is the genital organ and its controlling deity, the Prajāpati. The object of sexual pleasure and the controlling deity are under the control of the genitals of the Lord.
उत्सिसृक्षोर्धातुमलं निरभिद्यत वै गुदम् । ततः पायुस्ततो मित्र उत्सर्ग उभयाश्रयः
utsisṛkṣordhātumalaṃ nirabhidyata vai gudam | tataḥ pāyustato mitra utsarga ubhayāśrayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, when He desired to evacuate the refuse of eatables, the evacuating hole, anus, and the sensory organ thereof developed along with the controlling deity Mitra. The sensory organ and the evacuating substance are both under the shelter of the controlling deity.
आसिसृप्सोः पुरः पुर्या नाभिद्वारमपानतः । तत्रापानस्ततो मृत्युः पृथक्त्वमुभयाश्रयम्
āsisṛpsoḥ puraḥ puryā nābhidvāramapānataḥ | tatrāpānastato mṛtyuḥ pṛthaktvamubhayāśrayam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, when He desired to move from one body to another, the navel and the air of departure and death were combinedly created. The navel is the shelter for both, namely death and the separating force.
आदित्सोरन्नपानानामासन् कुक्ष्यन्त्रनाडयः । नद्यः समुद्राश्च तयोस्तुष्टिः पुष्टिस्तदाश्रये
āditsorannapānānāmāsan kukṣyantranāḍayaḥ | nadyaḥ samudrāśca tayostuṣṭiḥ puṣṭistadāśraye
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When there was a desire to have food and drink, the abdomen and the intestines and also the arteries became manifested. The rivers and seas are the source of their sustenance and metabolism.
निदिध्यासोरात्ममायां हृदयं निरभिद्यत । ततो मनस्ततश्चन्द्रः सङ्कल्पः काम एव च
nididhyāsorātmamāyāṃ hṛdayaṃ nirabhidyata | tato manastataścandraḥ saṅkalpaḥ kāma eva ca
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When there was a desire to think about the activities of His own energy, then the heart (the seat of the mind), the mind, the moon, determination and all desire became manifested.
त्वक्चर्ममांसरुधिरमेदोमज्जास्थिधातवः । भूम्यप्तेजोमयाः सप्त प्राणो व्योमाम्बुवायुभिः
tvakcarmamāṃsarudhiramedomajjāsthidhātavaḥ | bhūmyaptejomayāḥ sapta prāṇo vyomāmbuvāyubhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The seven elements of the body, namely the thin layer on the skin, the skin itself, the flesh, blood, fat, marrow and bone, are all made of earth, water and fire, whereas the life breath is produced by the sky, water and air.
गुणात्मकानीन्द्रियाणि भूतादिप्रभवा गुणाः । मनः सर्वविकारात्मा बुद्धिर्विज्ञानरूपिणी
guṇātmakānīndriyāṇi bhūtādiprabhavā guṇāḥ | manaḥ sarvavikārātmā buddhirvijñānarūpiṇī
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The sense organs are attached to the modes of material nature, and the modes of material nature are products of the false ego. The mind is subjected to all kinds of material experiences (happiness and distress), and the intelligence is the feature of the mind’s deliberation.
एतद्भगवतो रूपं स्थूलं ते व्याहृतं मया । मह्यादिभिश्चावरणैरष्टभिर्बहिरावृतम्
etadbhagavato rūpaṃ sthūlaṃ te vyāhṛtaṃ mayā | mahyādibhiścāvaraṇairaṣṭabhirbahirāvṛtam
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thus by all this, the external feature of the Personality of Godhead is covered by gross forms such as those of planets, which were explained to you by me.
अतः परं सूक्ष्मतममव्यक्तं निर्विशेषणम् । अनादिमध्यनिधनं नित्यं वाङ्मनसः परम्
ataḥ paraṃ sūkṣmatamamavyaktaṃ nirviśeṣaṇam | anādimadhyanidhanaṃ nityaṃ vāṅmanasaḥ param
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Therefore beyond this [gross manifestation] is a transcendental manifestation finer than the finest form. It has no beginning, no intermediate stage and no end; therefore it is beyond the limits of expression or mental speculation and is distinct from the material conception.
अमुनी भगवद्रूपे मया ते अनुवर्णिते । उभे अपि न गृह्णन्ति मायासृष्टे विपश्चितः
amunī bhagavadrūpe mayā te anuvarṇite | ubhe api na gṛhṇanti māyāsṛṣṭe vipaścitaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Neither of the above forms of the Lord, as just described unto you from the material angle of vision, is accepted by the pure devotees of the Lord who know Him well.
स वाच्यवाचकतया भगवान् ब्रह्मरूपधृक् । नामरूपक्रिया धत्ते सकर्माकर्मकः परः
sa vācyavācakatayā bhagavān brahmarūpadhṛk | nāmarūpakriyā dhatte sakarmākarmakaḥ paraḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He, the Personality of Godhead, manifests Himself in a transcendental form, being the subject of His transcendental name, quality, pastimes, entourage and transcendental variegatedness. Although He is unaffected by all such activities, He appears to be so engaged.
सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति तिस्रः सुरनृनारकाः । तत्राप्येकैकशो राजन् भिद्यन्ते गतयस्त्रिधा । यदैकैकतरोऽन्याभ्यां स्वभाव उपहन्यते
sattvaṃ rajastama iti tisraḥ suranṛnārakāḥ | tatrāpyekaikaśo rājan bhidyante gatayastridhā | yadaikaikataro'nyābhyāṃ svabhāva upahanyate
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
According to the different modes of material nature — the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of darkness — there are different living creatures, who are known as demigods, human beings and hellish living entities. O King, even a particular mode of nature, being mixed with the other two, is divided into three, and thus each kind of living creature is influenced by the other modes and acquires its habits also.
स एवेदं जगद्धाता भगवान् धर्मरूपधृक् । पुष्णाति स्थापयन् विश्वं तिर्यङ् नरसुरात्मभिः
sa evedaṃ jagaddhātā bhagavān dharmarūpadhṛk | puṣṇāti sthāpayan viśvaṃ tiryaṅ narasurātmabhiḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He, the Personality of Godhead, as the maintainer of all in the universe, appears in different incarnations after establishing the creation, and thus He reclaims all kinds of conditioned souls amongst the humans, the nonhumans and the demigods.
(नरसुरादिभिः) ततः कालाग्निरुद्रात्मा यत्सृष्टमिदमात्मनः । सन्नियच्छति कालेन घनानीकमिवानिलः
(narasurādibhiḥ) tataḥ kālāgnirudrātmā yatsṛṣṭamidamātmanaḥ | sanniyacchati kālena ghanānīkamivānilaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Thereafter, at the end of the millennium, the Lord Himself in the form of Rudra, the destroyer, will annihilate the complete creation as the wind displaces the clouds.
इत्थम्भावेन कथितो भगवान् भगवत्तमः । नेत्थम्भावेन हि परं द्रष्टुमर्हन्ति सूरयः
itthambhāvena kathito bhagavān bhagavattamaḥ | netthambhāvena hi paraṃ draṣṭumarhanti sūrayaḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The great transcendentalists thus describe the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the pure devotees deserve to see more glorious things in transcendence, beyond these features.
नास्य कर्मणि जन्मादौ परस्यानुविधीयते । कर्तृत्वप्रतिषेधार्थं माययाऽऽरोपितं हि तत्
nāsya karmaṇi janmādau parasyānuvidhīyate | kartṛtvapratiṣedhārthaṃ māyayā''ropitaṃ hi tat
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
There is no direct engineering by the Lord for the creation and destruction of the material world. What is described in the Vedas about His direct interference is simply to counteract the idea that material nature is the creator.
अयं तु ब्रह्मणः कल्पः सविकल्प उदाहृतः । विधिः साधारणो यत्र सर्गाः प्राकृतवैकृताः
ayaṃ tu brahmaṇaḥ kalpaḥ savikalpa udāhṛtaḥ | vidhiḥ sādhāraṇo yatra sargāḥ prākṛtavaikṛtāḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This process of creation and annihilation described in summary herein is the regulative principle during the duration of Brahmā’s one day. It is also the regulative principle in the creation of mahat, in which the material nature is dispersed.
परिमाणं च कालस्य कल्पलक्षणविग्रहम् । यथा पुरस्ताद्व्याख्यास्ये पाद्मं कल्पमथो शृणु
parimāṇaṃ ca kālasya kalpalakṣaṇavigraham | yathā purastādvyākhyāsye pādmaṃ kalpamatho śṛṇu
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
O King, I shall in due course explain the measurement of time in its gross and subtle features with the specific symptoms of each, but for the present let me explain unto you the Pādma-kalpa.
शौनक उवाच । यदाह नो भवान् सूत क्षत्ता भागवतोत्तमः । चचार तीर्थानि भुवस्त्यक्त्वा बन्धून् सुदुस्त्यजान्
śaunaka uvāca | yadāha no bhavān sūta kṣattā bhāgavatottamaḥ | cacāra tīrthāni bhuvastyaktvā bandhūn sudustyajān
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śaunaka Ṛṣi, after hearing all about the creation, inquired from Sūta Gosvāmī about Vidura, for Sūta Gosvāmī had previously informed him how Vidura left home, leaving aside all his relatives, who were very difficult to leave.
सूत उवाच । राज्ञा परीक्षिता पृष्टो यदवोचन्महामुनिः । तद्वोऽभिधास्ये शृणुत राज्ञः प्रश्नानुसारतः
sūta uvāca | rājñā parīkṣitā pṛṣṭo yadavocanmahāmuniḥ | tadvo'bhidhāsye śṛṇuta rājñaḥ praśnānusārataḥ
Meaning (English) — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī explained: I shall now explain to you the very subjects explained by the great sage in answer to King Parīkṣit’s inquiries. Please hear them attentively.