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Sourceषट्-सन्दर्भ-नामक-श्री-भागवत-सन्दर्भे तृतीयः परमात्म-सन्दर्भः तौ सन्तोषयता सन्तौ श्रील-रूप-सनातनौ । दाक्षिणात्येन भट्टेन प्नुअर् एतद् विविच्यते ॥इ॥ तस्याद्यं ग्रन्थनालेखं क्रान्तम् उत्क्रान्त-खण्डितम् । पर्यालोच्याथ पर्यायं कृत्वा लिखति जीवकः ॥इइ॥ [१] अथ परमात्मा विव्रियते । अत्र तं जगद्-गत-जीव-निरूपण-पूर्वकं निरूपयति द्वाभ्याम् - क्षेत्रज्ञ एता मनसो विभूतीर् जीवस्य माया-रचितस्य नित्याः । आविर्हिताः क्वापि तिरोहिताश् च शुद्धो विचष्टे ह्य् अविशुद्ध-कर्तुः ॥ [भ्प् ५.११.१२] क्षेत्रज्ञ आत्मा पुरुषः पुराणः साक्षात् स्वयं ज्योतिर् अजः परेशः । नारायणो भगवान् वासुदेवः स्व-माययात्मन्य् अवधीयमानः ॥ [भ्प् ५.११.१३] यः शुद्धोऽपि मायातः परोऽपि माया-रचितस्य वक्ष्यमाणस्य सर्व- क्षेत्रस्य मायया कल्पितस्य मनसोऽन्तः-करणस्यैताः विभूतीर् वृत्तीर् विचष्टे विशेषेण पश्यति, पश्यंस् तत्राविष्टो भवति, स खल्व् असौ जीव-नामा स्व-शरीर-द्वय-लक्षण-क्षेत्रस्य ज्ञातृत्वात् क्षेत्रज्ञ उच्यते इत्य् अर्थः । तद् उक्तम् - यया संमोहितो जीवो आत्मानं त्रिगुणात्मकं परोऽपि मनुतेऽनर्थं तत्-कृतं चाभिपद्यते ॥ [भ्प् १.७.५] इति । तस्य मनसः कीदृशतया माया-रचितस्य तत्राह - जीवध्य जीवोपाधितया जीव-तादात्म्येन रचितस्य । ततश् च तत् तयोपचर्यमाणस्येत्य् अर्थः । ततश् च कीदृशस्य, अविशुद्धं भगवद्-बहिर्मुखं कर्म करोतीति तादृशस्य । कीदृशीर् विभूतीर् नित्या अनादित एवानुगताः । अत्र स कदा कीदृशीर् इत्य् अपेक्षायाम् आह - जाग्रत् स्वप्नयोर् आविर्भूताः सुषुप्तौ तिरोहिताश् चेति । यस् तु पुराणो जगत्-कारण-भूतः पुरुषः आद्योऽवतारः पुरुषः परस्येत्य् आदि [भ्प् २.६.४१] द्वितीयादौ प्रसिद्धः । साक्षाद् एव स्वयं ज्योतिः स्वप्रकाशो तनु जीववद् अन्यापेक्षया । अजो जन्मादि-शून्यः । परेषां ब्रह्मादीनां अपीशः । नारं जीव-समूहः स्वनियम्यत्वेनायनं यस्य सः । भगवान् ऐश्वर्याद्य्-अंशत्वात् । वासुदेवः सर्व-भूतानाम् आश्रयः । स्व-मायया स्व-स्वरूप-शक्त्या आत्मनि स्व- स्वरूपे अवधीयमानः अवस्थाप्य-मानः । कर्म-कर्तृ-प्रयोगः । मायायां मयिकेऽप्य् अन्तर्यामितया प्रविष्टोऽपि स्वरूप-शक्त्या स्वरूपस्य एव न तु तत्-संसक्त इत्य् अर्थः । वासुदेवत्वेन सर्व-क्षेत्र-ज्ञातृत्वात् सोऽपरः । माया-मोहितात् जीवाद् अन्यः माया-रहितः शुद्धः । क्षेत्रज्ञः आत्मा परमात्मेति । तद् एवम् अपि मुख्यं क्षेत्रज्ञत्वं परमात्मन्य् एव । तद् उक्तम् - सर्वं पुमान् वेद गुणांश् च तज्-ज्ञो न वेद सर्वज्ञम् अनन्तम् ईडे इति [भ्प् ६.४.२५] । श्री-गीतोपनिषत्सु - इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रम् इत्य् अभिधीयते । एतद् यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥ [गीता १३.१] क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत । क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर् ज्ञानं यत् तज् ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥ [गीता १३.१] अत्र खलु क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धीति सर्वेष्व् अपि क्षेत्रेषु मां च क्षेत्रज्ञं विद्धि, न तु जीवम् इव स्वक्षेत्र एव इत्य् एवार्थं वहति । न च जीवेशयोः समानाधिकरण्येन निर्विशेष-चिद्-वस्त्व् एव ज्ञेयतया निर्दिशति । सर्व-क्षेत्रेष्व् इत्य् अस्य विअयर्थ्यापत्तेः । ज्ञेयं यत् तत् प्रवक्ष्यामीत्य् आदौ सर्वतः पाणि-पादं तद् सर्वतोऽक्षि-शिरो-मुखम् इत्य् [गीता १३.१३] आदिना सविशेषस्यैव निर्देक्ष्यमाणत्वात् । अमानित्वम् इत्य् आदिना ज्ञानस्य च तथौपदेक्ष्यमाणत्वात् । किं च क्षेत्रज्ञं चापीत्य् अत्र त्त्वम् असीतिवत् सामानाधिकरण्येन तन्- निर्विशेष-ज्ञाने विवक्षिते क्षेत्रज्ञेश्वरयोर् ज्ञानम् इत्य् एवनानूद्येत न तु क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञयोत् ज्ञानम् इति । किन्तु क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञयोर् इत्य् अस्यायम् अर्थः । द्विव्दिहयोर् अपि क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञयोर् ज्ञानं तन् ममैव ज्ञानं मतम् । अन्यार्थस् तु परामर्श इति न्यायेन यज्-ज्ञानैकतात्-पर्यकम् इत्य् अर्थः । ज्ञेयस्यैकत्वेनैव निर्दिष्टत्वात् योग्यत्वाच् च । न च निरीश्वर-साङ्ख्यवत् क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञ-मात्र-विभागाद् अत्र ज्ञानं मतं ममेत्य् अनेनेश्वरस्यावेक्षितत्वात् । न च विवर्त-वादवद् ईश्वरस्यापि भ्रम-मात्र- प्रतीत-पुरुषत्वम् । तद्-वचन-लक्षण-सवेद-गीतादि-शास्त्राणाम् अप्रामाण्याद् बौद्ध-वादापत्तेः । तस्यां च सत्यां बौद्धानाम् इव विवर्त- वादिनां तद्-व्याख्यानायुक्तेः । न च तस्य सत्य-पुरुषत्वेऽपि निर्विशेष- ज्ञानम् एव मोक्ष-साधनम् इति तदीय-शास्त्रान्तरतः समाहार्यम् । एवं सतत-युक्ता ये [१२.१] इत्य् आदि पूर्वाध्याये निर्विशेष-ज्ञानस्य हेयत्वेन विवक्षितत्वात् । तत्रैव च ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि इत्य् [१२.६] आदिनानन्य-भक्तान् उद्दिश्य तेषाम् अहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्यु-संसार-सागराद् इत्य् [१२.७] अनेन तज् ज्ञानापेक्षापि नादृतेति । तद् उक्तम् एकादशे स्वयं भगवता - यत् कर्मभिर् यत् तपसेत्य् आदि [भ्प् ११.२०.३२] । मोक्ष-धर्मे च - य वै साधन-सम्पत्तिः पुरुषार्थ-चतुष्टये । तया विना तद् आप्नोति नरो नारायणाश्रयः ॥ इति । अत्र तु पूर्वाध्याय-विश्लाघितं तद् एवावृथाकर्तुं सविशेषतया निर्दिश्य इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः मद्-भक्त एतद् विज्ञाय मद्-भावायोपपद्यते ॥ [गीता १३.१८] इत्य् अन्तेन भक्ति-संवलिततया सुकरार्थ-प्रायं कृतम् । अतएवात्र व्यष्टि- क्षेत्रज्ञ एव भक्तत्वेन निर्दिष्टः समष्टि-क्षेत्रज्ञस् तु ज्ञेयत्वेनेति क्षेत्र-ज्ञानाभ्यां सह ज्ञेयस्य पाठाद् अनुस्मार्य तद्-अनन्तरं च तस्य तस्य च जीवत्वम् ईश्वरत्वं च क्षरं नेति दर्शितम् । यतः - पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृति-जान् गुणान् । कारणं गुण-सङ्गोऽस्य सद्-असद्-योनि-जन्मसु ॥ [गीता १३.२१] इति जीवस्य प्रकृतिस्थत्वं निर्दिश्य स्वतस् तस्याप्राकृतत्व-दर्शनया स्फुटम् एवाक्षरत्वं ज्ञापितम् । उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः परमात्मेति चाप्य् उक्तो देहे ऽस्मिन् पुरुषः परः ॥ [गीता १३.२२] इति जीवात् परत्वेन निर्दिष्टस्य परमात्माख्य-पुरुषस्य तु कैमुत्येनैव तद् दर्शितम् । द्वाव् इमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश् चाक्षर एव च क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थो ऽक्षर उच्यते ॥ [गीता १५.१६] उत्तमः पुरुषस् त्व् अन्यः परमात्मेत्य् उदाहृतः यो लोकत्रयम् आविश्य बिभर्त्य् अव्यय ईश्वरः ॥ [गीता १५.१७] इत्य् अत्र जीवस्याप्य् अक्षरत्वं कण्ठोक्तम् एव । तत्रोपद्रष्टा परम-साक्षी, अनुमन्ता तत्-तत्-कर्मानुरूपः प्रवर्तकः । भर्ता पोषकः । भोक्ता पालयिता । महेश्वरः सर्वाधिकर्ता । परमात्मा सर्वान्तर्यामीति व्याख्येयम् । उत्तरपद्ययोस् तु । कूटस्थ एक-रूपतया तु यः काल-व्यापी स कूटस्थ इत्य् अमरकोषाद् अवगतार्थः । असौ शुद्ध-जीव एव उत्तमः पुरुषस् त्व् अन्य इत्य् उत्तरात् । तद् एवम् अत्रापि क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञ-सर्व-क्षेत्रज्ञा उक्ताः । अत्र चोत्तरयोर् अन्य इत्य् अनेन भिन्नयोर् एव सतोर् अक्षरयोर्न तत्-तद्-रूपता- परित्यागः सम्भवेद् इति न कदाचिद् अपि निर्विशेष-रूपेनावस्थितिर् इति दर्शितम् । तस्मान् मद्-भावायोपपद्यते इति यद् उक्तं तद् अपि तत्-सार्ष्टि- प्राप्ति-तात्पर्यकम्[*एन्द्नोते #१] । तद् एवं द्वयोर् अक्षरत्वेन साम्येऽपि जीवस्य हीन-शक्तित्वात् प्रकृत्य्-आविष्टस्य तन्-निवृत्त्य्-अर्थम् ईश्वर एव भजनीयत्वेन ज्ञेय इति भावः । तस्माद् इदं शरीरम् इत्य् आदिकं पुनर् इत्थं विवेचनीयम् । इदं स्व- स्वापरोक्षम् इत्य् अर्थः । शरीर-क्षेत्रयोर् एकैकत्वेन ग्रहणम् अत्र व्यक्ति- पर्यवसानेन जाति-पुरस्कारेणैवेति गम्यते । सर्व-क्षेत्रेष्व् इति बहु- वचनेनानुवादात् । एतद् यो वेत्ति इत्य् अत्र देहो ऽसवो ऽक्षा-मनव इत्य् आदौ सर्वं पुमान् वेद-गुणांश् च तज्-ज्ञः [भ्प् ६.४.२५] इत्य्-उक्त-दिशा क्षेत्रज्ञ एता मनसो विभूतीर् इत्य्-उक्त-दिशा च जानातीत्य् अर्थः । क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धीति । तद् उक्तम् -- विष्टभ्याहम् इदं कृत्स्नम् एकांशेन स्थितो जगत् [गीता १०.४२] । यत्र गत्य्-अन्तरं नास्ति तत्रैव लक्षणा- मय-कष्टम् आश्रीयेत । तथापि तेन सामानाधिकरण्यं यदि विवक्षितं स्यात् तर्हि क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धीत्य् एतावद् एव तं च मां विद्धीत्य् एतावद् एव वा प्रोच्येत, न तु सर्व-क्स्रेषु भारतेत्य् अधिकम् अपि । किन्तु क्षेत्रज्ञ एता मनसो व्भूतीर् इत्य् आदिवत् क्षेत्रज्ञ-द्वयम् अपि वक्तव्यम् एव स्यात् । तथा च ब्रह्म-सूत्रं गुहां प्रविष्टावात्मानौ हि तद्-दर्शनाद् इति [व्स् १.२.११] तद्-वैध्यम् एव चोपसंहृतम् । पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हीत्य् आदिना । तस्माद् उपक्रमार्थस्योपसंहाराधीनत्वाद् एष एवार्थः समञ्जसः । यथोक्तं ब्रह्म-सूत्र-कृद्भिः - असद् व्यपदेशान् नेति चेन् न धर्मान्तरेण वाक्य-शेषाद् इति [व्स् २.१.१७] । अथ क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञयोर् ज्ञानम् इत्य् अत्र यत् क्षेत्रे ज्ञानेन्द्रिय-गतं चेतना- गतं च ज्ञानं दर्शयिष्यते यच् च पूर्व-क्षेत्र-ज्ञे निज-निज-क्षेत्र-ज्ञानं दर्शितं तत् तत् मज्-ज्ञानांशस्य क्षेत्रेषु च्छाया-रूपत्वात् क्षेत्र-ज्ञेषु यत् किञ्चिद् अंशांशतया प्रवेशान् ममैव ज्ञानं मतम् इति । तस्मात् साधूक्तं मुख्यं क्षेत्रज्ञत्वं परमात्मन्य् एवेति । अत्र श्री-भगवतः परमात्म-रूपेणाविर्भावोऽपि । अजनि च यन् मयं तद्- अविमुच्य-नियन्तृ भवेद् इत्य्-उक्त-दिशा [भ्प् १०.८७.३०] शक्ति-विशेषालिङ्गित्वाद् यस्माद् एवांशाज् जीवानाम् आविर्भावस् तेनैवेति ज्ञेयम् । तद् उक्तं तत्रैव विष्टभ्याहम् इत्य् आदि । श्री-विष्णु-पुराणे च - यस्यायुतांशांशे विश्व-शक्तिर् इयं स्थिता । पर-ब्रह्म-स्वरूपस्य प्रणमाम तम् अव्ययम् ॥ इति [विप् १.९.५३] पूर्ण-शुद्ध-शक्तिस् तु कला-काष्ठा-निमेषाद् इत्य् अनेन दर्शिता । तथा श्री- नारद-पञ्चरात्रे -- नारद उवाच - शुद्ध-सर्गम् अहं देव ज्ञातुम् इच्छामि तत्त्वतः । सर्ग-द्वयस्य चैवस्य यः परत्वेन वर्तते ॥ तत्रैतत् पूर्वोक्तः प्राधानिकः शाक्तश् चेत्य् एतत् सर्गद्वयस्येति ज्ञेयम् । श्री-भगवान् उवाच - यः सर्व-व्यापको देवः पर-ब्रह्म च शाश्वतम् । चित्-सामान्यं जगत्य् अस्मिन् परमानन्द-लक्षणम् ॥ वासुदेवाद् अभिन्नस् तु बह्न्-अर्केन्दु-शत-प्रभम् । वासुदेवोऽपि भगवांस् तद्-धर्मा परमेश्वरः ॥ स्वां दीप्तिं क्षोभयत्य् एव तेजसा तेन वै युतम् । प्रकाश-रूपो भगवान् अच्युतं चासकृद् द्विज ॥ सोऽच्युतोऽच्युत-तेजाश् च स्वरूपं वितनोति वै । आश्रित्य वासुदेवं च स्वस्थो मेघो जलं यथा ॥ क्षोभयित्वा स्वम् आत्मानं सत्य-भास्वर-विग्रहम् । उत्पादयामास तदा समुद्रोर्मि-जलं यथा ॥ स चिन्मयः प्रकाशात्मा उत्पाद्यात्मानम् आत्मना । पुरुषाख्यम् अनन्तं च प्रकाश-प्रसरं महत् ॥ स च वै सर्व-जीवानाम् आश्रयः परमेश्वरः । अन्तर्यामी च तेषां वै तारकाणाम् इवाम्बरम् ॥ सेन्धनः पावको यद्वत् स्फुलिङ्ग-निचयं द्विज । अनिच्छातः प्रेरयति तद्वद् एव परः प्रभुः ॥ प्राग्-वासना-निबन्धानां बन्धानां च विमुक्तये । तस्माद् विद्धि तद्-अंशांशस् तान् सर्वांशत्वम् अजम् प्रभुम् ॥ इति । अतएव यत् तु ब्रह्मादौ श्री-प्रद्युम्नस्य मन्वादौ श्री-विष्णोः, रुद्रादौ श्री-सङ्कर्षणस्यान्तर्यामित्वं श्रूयते तन् नानांशम् आदायावतीर्णस्य तस्यैव तत्-तद्-अंशेन तत्-तद्-अन्तर्यामित्वम् इति मन्तव्यम् । अतएव रुद्रस्य सङ्कर्षण-प्रकृतित्वं पुरुष-प्रकृतित्वं चेत्य् उभयम् अप्य् आम्नातं प्रकृतिम् आत्मनः सङ्कर्षण-संज्ञां भव उपधावतीत्य् आदौ [भ्प् ५.१७.१६] आदाव् अभूच् छत-धृतिर् इत्य् आदौ च [भ्प् ११.४.५] । एष एव-- भूतात्मा चेन्द्रियात्मा च प्रधानात्मा तथा भवान् । आत्मा च परमात्मा च त्वम् एकः पञ्चधा स्थितः ॥ इत्य् [विप् ५.१८.५०] आदौ विवृतम् । तस्मात् सर्वान्तर्यामी पुरुष एव ब्रह्मेति परमात्मेतीत्य् आदौ परमात्मत्वेन निर्दिस्ट इति स्थितम् । व्याख्यातं च स्वामिभिः । नमस् तुभ्यं भगवते ब्रह्मणे परमात्मन [भ्प् १०.२८.६] इत्य् अत्र वरुण-स्तुतौ । परमात्मने सर्व-जीव-नियन्त्रे इति । अस्य परमात्मनो मायोपाधितया पुरुषत्वं तूपचरितम् एव । तद् उक्तं वैष्णवे एव - नान्तोऽस्ति यस्य न च यस्य समुद्भवोऽस्ति वृद्धिर् न यस्य परिणाम-विवर्जितस्य । नापेक्षयं च समुपैत्य विकल्प-स्वस्तु यस् तं नतोऽस्मि पुरुषोत्तमम् आद्यम् ईड्यम् ॥ [विप् ६.८.६०] तस्यैव योऽनुगुण-भुग् बहुधैक एव शुद्धोऽप्य् अशुद्ध इव मूर्ति-विभाग-भेदैः । ज्ञानान्वितः सकल-सत्त्व-विभूति-कर्ता तस्मै नतोऽस्मि पुरुषाय सदाव्ययाय ॥ [विप् ६.८.६१] इति । तस्यैवानुपूर्वोक्तात् परमेश्वरात् समनन्तरम् । बहुधा ब्रह्मादि- रूपेण । अशुद्ध इव सृष्ट्य्-आदिष्व् आसक्त इव । मूर्ति-विभागानां दक्षादि- मन्व्-आदि-रूपाणां भेदैः । अर्व-सत्त्वानां विभूतीकर्ता विस्तारकृत् इति स्वामी । तत्र गुण-भुग् इति षाड्-गुण्यानन्द-भोक्तेत्य् अर्थः । यत् तत् सूक्ष्मम् अविज्ञानम् अव्यक्तम् अचलं ध्रुवम् । इन्द्रियैर् इन्द्रियार्थैश् च सर्व-भूतैश् च वर्जितम् ॥ स ह्य् अन्तरात्मा भूतानां क्षेत्रज्ञश् चेति कथ्यते । त्रिगुण-व्यतिरिक्तो वै पुरुषश् चेति कल्पितः ॥ [म्भ् १२.३२१.२८-२९] इति मोक्षधर्मेऽपि नारायणीयोपाख्याने । श्रुतयोऽप्य् एनं शुद्धत्वेनैव वर्णयन्ति एको देवो सर्व-भूतेषु गूढः सर्व-व्यापी सर्व-भूतान्तरात्मा । कर्माध्यक्षः सर्व-भूताधिवासः साक्सी चेताः केवलो निर्गुणश् च ॥ [श्वेतु ६.११] । अजाम् एकां लोहित-शुक्ल-कृष्णां बह्वीः प्रजाः सृजमाना सरूपाः । अजो ह्य् एको जूषमाणोऽनुशेते जहात्य् एनां भुक्त-भोगाम् अजोऽन्यः ॥ इत्य् आद्याः [श्वेतु ४.५] तस्मात् साधु व्याख्यातं क्षेत्रज्ञ एता इत्य् आदि-पद्य-द्वयम् ॥ ॥ ५.११ ॥ श्री-ब्राह्मणो रहूगणम् ॥ १ ॥
ṣaṭ-sandarbha-nāmaka-śrī-bhāgavata-sandarbhe tṛtīyaḥ paramātma-sandarbhaḥ tau santoṣayatā santau śrīla-rūpa-sanātanau | dākṣiṇātyena bhaṭṭena pnuar etad vivicyate ||i|| tasyādyaṃ granthanālekhaṃ krāntam utkrānta-khaṇḍitam | paryālocyātha paryāyaṃ kṛtvā likhati jīvakaḥ ||ii|| [1] atha paramātmā vivriyate | atra taṃ jagad-gata-jīva-nirūpaṇa-pūrvakaṃ nirūpayati dvābhyām - kṣetrajña etā manaso vibhūtīr jīvasya māyā-racitasya nityāḥ | āvirhitāḥ kvāpi tirohitāś ca śuddho vicaṣṭe hy aviśuddha-kartuḥ || [BhP 5.11.12] kṣetrajña ātmā puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ sākṣāt svayaṃ jyotir ajaḥ pareśaḥ | nārāyaṇo bhagavān vāsudevaḥ sva-māyayātmany avadhīyamānaḥ || [BhP 5.11.13] yaḥ śuddho'pi māyātaḥ paro'pi māyā-racitasya vakṣyamāṇasya sarva- kṣetrasya māyayā kalpitasya manaso'ntaḥ-karaṇasyaitāḥ vibhūtīr vṛttīr vicaṣṭe viśeṣeṇa paśyati, paśyaṃs tatrāviṣṭo bhavati, sa khalv asau jīva-nāmā sva-śarīra-dvaya-lakṣaṇa-kṣetrasya jñātṛtvāt kṣetrajña ucyate ity arthaḥ | tad uktam - yayā saṃmohito jīvo ātmānaṃ triguṇātmakaṃ paro'pi manute'narthaṃ tat-kṛtaṃ cābhipadyate || [BhP 1.7.5] iti | tasya manasaḥ kīdṛśatayā māyā-racitasya tatrāha - jīvadhya jīvopādhitayā jīva-tādātmyena racitasya | tataś ca tat tayopacaryamāṇasyety arthaḥ | tataś ca kīdṛśasya, aviśuddhaṃ bhagavad-bahirmukhaṃ karma karotīti tādṛśasya | kīdṛśīr vibhūtīr nityā anādita evānugatāḥ | atra sa kadā kīdṛśīr ity apekṣāyām āha - jāgrat svapnayor āvirbhūtāḥ suṣuptau tirohitāś ceti | yas tu purāṇo jagat-kāraṇa-bhūtaḥ puruṣaḥ ādyo'vatāraḥ puruṣaḥ parasyety ādi [BhP 2.6.41] dvitīyādau prasiddhaḥ | sākṣād eva svayaṃ jyotiḥ svaprakāśo tanu jīvavad anyāpekṣayā | ajo janmādi-śūnyaḥ | pareṣāṃ brahmādīnāṃ apīśaḥ | nāraṃ jīva-samūhaḥ svaniyamyatvenāyanaṃ yasya saḥ | bhagavān aiśvaryādy-aṃśatvāt | vāsudevaḥ sarva-bhūtānām āśrayaḥ | sva-māyayā sva-svarūpa-śaktyā ātmani sva- svarūpe avadhīyamānaḥ avasthāpya-mānaḥ | karma-kartṛ-prayogaḥ | māyāyāṃ mayike'py antaryāmitayā praviṣṭo'pi svarūpa-śaktyā svarūpasya eva na tu tat-saṃsakta ity arthaḥ | vāsudevatvena sarva-kṣetra-jñātṛtvāt so'paraḥ | māyā-mohitāt jīvād anyaḥ māyā-rahitaḥ śuddhaḥ | kṣetrajñaḥ ātmā paramātmeti | tad evam api mukhyaṃ kṣetrajñatvaṃ paramātmany eva | tad uktam - sarvaṃ pumān veda guṇāṃś ca taj-jño na veda sarvajñam anantam īḍe iti [BhP 6.4.25] | śrī-gītopaniṣatsu - idaṃ śarīraṃ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate | etad yo vetti taṃ prāhuḥ kṣetrajña iti tadvidaḥ || [Gītā 13.1] kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata | kṣetrakṣetrajñayor jñānaṃ yat taj jñānaṃ mataṃ mama || [Gītā 13.1] atra khalu kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhīti sarveṣv api kṣetreṣu māṃ ca kṣetrajñaṃ viddhi, na tu jīvam iva svakṣetra eva ity evārthaṃ vahati | na ca jīveśayoḥ samānādhikaraṇyena nirviśeṣa-cid-vastv eva jñeyatayā nirdiśati | sarva-kṣetreṣv ity asya viayarthyāpatteḥ | jñeyaṃ yat tat pravakṣyāmīty ādau sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṃ tad sarvato'kṣi-śiro-mukham ity [Gītā 13.13] ādinā saviśeṣasyaiva nirdekṣyamāṇatvāt | amānitvam ity ādinā jñānasya ca tathaupadekṣyamāṇatvāt | kiṃ ca kṣetrajñaṃ cāpīty atra ttvam asītivat sāmānādhikaraṇyena tan- nirviśeṣa-jñāne vivakṣite kṣetrajñeśvarayor jñānam ity evanānūdyeta na tu kṣetra-kṣetrajñayot jñānam iti | kintu kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor ity asyāyam arthaḥ | dvivdihayor api kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṃ tan mamaiva jñānaṃ matam | anyārthas tu parāmarśa iti nyāyena yaj-jñānaikatāt-paryakam ity arthaḥ | jñeyasyaikatvenaiva nirdiṣṭatvāt yogyatvāc ca | na ca nirīśvara-sāṅkhyavat kṣetra-kṣetrajña-mātra-vibhāgād atra jñānaṃ mataṃ mamety aneneśvarasyāvekṣitatvāt | na ca vivarta-vādavad īśvarasyāpi bhrama-mātra- pratīta-puruṣatvam | tad-vacana-lakṣaṇa-saveda-gītādi-śāstrāṇām aprāmāṇyād bauddha-vādāpatteḥ | tasyāṃ ca satyāṃ bauddhānām iva vivarta- vādināṃ tad-vyākhyānāyukteḥ | na ca tasya satya-puruṣatve'pi nirviśeṣa- jñānam eva mokṣa-sādhanam iti tadīya-śāstrāntarataḥ samāhāryam | evaṃ satata-yuktā ye [12.1] ity ādi pūrvādhyāye nirviśeṣa-jñānasya heyatvena vivakṣitatvāt | tatraiva ca ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi ity [12.6] ādinānanya-bhaktān uddiśya teṣām ahaṃ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṃsāra-sāgarād ity [12.7] anena taj jñānāpekṣāpi nādṛteti | tad uktam ekādaśe svayaṃ bhagavatā - yat karmabhir yat tapasety ādi [BhP 11.20.32] | mokṣa-dharme ca - ya vai sādhana-sampattiḥ puruṣārtha-catuṣṭaye | tayā vinā tad āpnoti naro nārāyaṇāśrayaḥ || iti | atra tu pūrvādhyāya-viślāghitaṃ tad evāvṛthākartuṃ saviśeṣatayā nirdiśya iti kṣetraṃ tathā jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ coktaṃ samāsataḥ mad-bhakta etad vijñāya mad-bhāvāyopapadyate || [Gītā 13.18] ity antena bhakti-saṃvalitatayā sukarārtha-prāyaṃ kṛtam | ataevātra vyaṣṭi- kṣetrajña eva bhaktatvena nirdiṣṭaḥ samaṣṭi-kṣetrajñas tu jñeyatveneti kṣetra-jñānābhyāṃ saha jñeyasya pāṭhād anusmārya tad-anantaraṃ ca tasya tasya ca jīvatvam īśvaratvaṃ ca kṣaraṃ neti darśitam | yataḥ - puruṣaḥ prakṛtistho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān | kāraṇaṃ guṇa-saṅgo'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu || [Gītā 13.21] iti jīvasya prakṛtisthatvaṃ nirdiśya svatas tasyāprākṛtatva-darśanayā sphuṭam evākṣaratvaṃ jñāpitam | upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ paramātmeti cāpy ukto dehe 'smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ || [Gītā 13.22] iti jīvāt paratvena nirdiṣṭasya paramātmākhya-puruṣasya tu kaimutyenaiva tad darśitam | dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭastho 'kṣara ucyate || [Gītā 15.16] uttamaḥ puruṣas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ yo lokatrayam āviśya bibharty avyaya īśvaraḥ || [Gītā 15.17] ity atra jīvasyāpy akṣaratvaṃ kaṇṭhoktam eva | tatropadraṣṭā parama-sākṣī, anumantā tat-tat-karmānurūpaḥ pravartakaḥ | bhartā poṣakaḥ | bhoktā pālayitā | maheśvaraḥ sarvādhikartā | paramātmā sarvāntaryāmīti vyākhyeyam | uttarapadyayos tu | kūṭastha eka-rūpatayā tu yaḥ kāla-vyāpī sa kūṭastha ity amarakoṣād avagatārthaḥ | asau śuddha-jīva eva uttamaḥ puruṣas tv anya ity uttarāt | tad evam atrāpi kṣetra-kṣetrajña-sarva-kṣetrajñā uktāḥ | atra cottarayor anya ity anena bhinnayor eva sator akṣarayorna tat-tad-rūpatā- parityāgaḥ sambhaved iti na kadācid api nirviśeṣa-rūpenāvasthitir iti darśitam | tasmān mad-bhāvāyopapadyate iti yad uktaṃ tad api tat-sārṣṭi- prāpti-tātparyakam[*ENDNOTE #1] | tad evaṃ dvayor akṣaratvena sāmye'pi jīvasya hīna-śaktitvāt prakṛty-āviṣṭasya tan-nivṛtty-artham īśvara eva bhajanīyatvena jñeya iti bhāvaḥ | tasmād idaṃ śarīram ity ādikaṃ punar itthaṃ vivecanīyam | idaṃ sva- svāparokṣam ity arthaḥ | śarīra-kṣetrayor ekaikatvena grahaṇam atra vyakti- paryavasānena jāti-puraskāreṇaiveti gamyate | sarva-kṣetreṣv iti bahu- vacanenānuvādāt | etad yo vetti ity atra deho 'savo 'kṣā-manava ity ādau sarvaṃ pumān veda-guṇāṃś ca taj-jñaḥ [BhP 6.4.25] ity-ukta-diśā kṣetrajña etā manaso vibhūtīr ity-ukta-diśā ca jānātīty arthaḥ | kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhīti | tad uktam -- viṣṭabhyāham idaṃ kṛtsnam ekāṃśena sthito jagat [Gītā 10.42] | yatra gaty-antaraṃ nāsti tatraiva lakṣaṇā- maya-kaṣṭam āśrīyeta | tathāpi tena sāmānādhikaraṇyaṃ yadi vivakṣitaṃ syāt tarhi kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhīty etāvad eva taṃ ca māṃ viddhīty etāvad eva vā procyeta, na tu sarva-ksreṣu bhāratety adhikam api | kintu kṣetrajña etā manaso vbhūtīr ity ādivat kṣetrajña-dvayam api vaktavyam eva syāt | tathā ca brahma-sūtraṃ guhāṃ praviṣṭāvātmānau hi tad-darśanād iti [Vs 1.2.11] tad-vaidhyam eva copasaṃhṛtam | puruṣaḥ prakṛtistho hīty ādinā | tasmād upakramārthasyopasaṃhārādhīnatvād eṣa evārthaḥ samañjasaḥ | yathoktaṃ brahma-sūtra-kṛdbhiḥ - asad vyapadeśān neti cen na dharmāntareṇa vākya-śeṣād iti [Vs 2.1.17] | atha kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānam ity atra yat kṣetre jñānendriya-gataṃ cetanā- gataṃ ca jñānaṃ darśayiṣyate yac ca pūrva-kṣetra-jñe nija-nija-kṣetra-jñānaṃ darśitaṃ tat tat maj-jñānāṃśasya kṣetreṣu cchāyā-rūpatvāt kṣetra-jñeṣu yat kiñcid aṃśāṃśatayā praveśān mamaiva jñānaṃ matam iti | tasmāt sādhūktaṃ mukhyaṃ kṣetrajñatvaṃ paramātmany eveti | atra śrī-bhagavataḥ paramātma-rūpeṇāvirbhāvo'pi | ajani ca yan mayaṃ tad- avimucya-niyantṛ bhaved ity-ukta-diśā [BhP 10.87.30] śakti-viśeṣāliṅgitvād yasmād evāṃśāj jīvānām āvirbhāvas tenaiveti jñeyam | tad uktaṃ tatraiva viṣṭabhyāham ity ādi | śrī-viṣṇu-purāṇe ca - yasyāyutāṃśāṃśe viśva-śaktir iyaṃ sthitā | para-brahma-svarūpasya praṇamāma tam avyayam || iti [ViP 1.9.53] pūrṇa-śuddha-śaktis tu kalā-kāṣṭhā-nimeṣād ity anena darśitā | tathā śrī- nārada-pañcarātre -- nārada uvāca - śuddha-sargam ahaṃ deva jñātum icchāmi tattvataḥ | sarga-dvayasya caivasya yaḥ paratvena vartate || tatraitat pūrvoktaḥ prādhānikaḥ śāktaś cety etat sargadvayasyeti jñeyam | śrī-bhagavān uvāca - yaḥ sarva-vyāpako devaḥ para-brahma ca śāśvatam | cit-sāmānyaṃ jagaty asmin paramānanda-lakṣaṇam || vāsudevād abhinnas tu bahn-arkendu-śata-prabham | vāsudevo'pi bhagavāṃs tad-dharmā parameśvaraḥ || svāṃ dīptiṃ kṣobhayaty eva tejasā tena vai yutam | prakāśa-rūpo bhagavān acyutaṃ cāsakṛd dvija || so'cyuto'cyuta-tejāś ca svarūpaṃ vitanoti vai | āśritya vāsudevaṃ ca svastho megho jalaṃ yathā || kṣobhayitvā svam ātmānaṃ satya-bhāsvara-vigraham | utpādayāmāsa tadā samudrormi-jalaṃ yathā || sa cinmayaḥ prakāśātmā utpādyātmānam ātmanā | puruṣākhyam anantaṃ ca prakāśa-prasaraṃ mahat || sa ca vai sarva-jīvānām āśrayaḥ parameśvaraḥ | antaryāmī ca teṣāṃ vai tārakāṇām ivāmbaram || sendhanaḥ pāvako yadvat sphuliṅga-nicayaṃ dvija | anicchātaḥ prerayati tadvad eva paraḥ prabhuḥ || prāg-vāsanā-nibandhānāṃ bandhānāṃ ca vimuktaye | tasmād viddhi tad-aṃśāṃśas tān sarvāṃśatvam ajam prabhum || iti | ataeva yat tu brahmādau śrī-pradyumnasya manvādau śrī-viṣṇoḥ, rudrādau śrī-saṅkarṣaṇasyāntaryāmitvaṃ śrūyate tan nānāṃśam ādāyāvatīrṇasya tasyaiva tat-tad-aṃśena tat-tad-antaryāmitvam iti mantavyam | ataeva rudrasya saṅkarṣaṇa-prakṛtitvaṃ puruṣa-prakṛtitvaṃ cety ubhayam apy āmnātaṃ prakṛtim ātmanaḥ saṅkarṣaṇa-saṃjñāṃ bhava upadhāvatīty ādau [BhP 5.17.16] ādāv abhūc chata-dhṛtir ity ādau ca [BhP 11.4.5] | eṣa eva-- bhūtātmā cendriyātmā ca pradhānātmā tathā bhavān | ātmā ca paramātmā ca tvam ekaḥ pañcadhā sthitaḥ || ity [ViP 5.18.50] ādau vivṛtam | tasmāt sarvāntaryāmī puruṣa eva brahmeti paramātmetīty ādau paramātmatvena nirdisṭa iti sthitam | vyākhyātaṃ ca svāmibhiḥ | namas tubhyaṃ bhagavate brahmaṇe paramātmana [BhP 10.28.6] ity atra varuṇa-stutau | paramātmane sarva-jīva-niyantre iti | asya paramātmano māyopādhitayā puruṣatvaṃ tūpacaritam eva | tad uktaṃ vaiṣṇave eva - nānto'sti yasya na ca yasya samudbhavo'sti vṛddhir na yasya pariṇāma-vivarjitasya | nāpekṣayaṃ ca samupaitya vikalpa-svastu yas taṃ nato'smi puruṣottamam ādyam īḍyam || [ViP 6.8.60] tasyaiva yo'nuguṇa-bhug bahudhaika eva śuddho'py aśuddha iva mūrti-vibhāga-bhedaiḥ | jñānānvitaḥ sakala-sattva-vibhūti-kartā tasmai nato'smi puruṣāya sadāvyayāya || [ViP 6.8.61] iti | tasyaivānupūrvoktāt parameśvarāt samanantaram | bahudhā brahmādi- rūpeṇa | aśuddha iva sṛṣṭy-ādiṣv āsakta iva | mūrti-vibhāgānāṃ dakṣādi- manv-ādi-rūpāṇāṃ bhedaiḥ | arva-sattvānāṃ vibhūtīkartā vistārakṛt iti svāmī | tatra guṇa-bhug iti ṣāḍ-guṇyānanda-bhoktety arthaḥ | yat tat sūkṣmam avijñānam avyaktam acalaṃ dhruvam | indriyair indriyārthaiś ca sarva-bhūtaiś ca varjitam || sa hy antarātmā bhūtānāṃ kṣetrajñaś ceti kathyate | triguṇa-vyatirikto vai puruṣaś ceti kalpitaḥ || [MBh 12.321.28-29] iti mokṣadharme'pi nārāyaṇīyopākhyāne | śrutayo'py enaṃ śuddhatvenaiva varṇayanti eko devo sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā | karmādhyakṣaḥ sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ sāksī cetāḥ kevalo nirguṇaś ca || [ŚvetU 6.11] | ajām ekāṃ lohita-śukla-kṛṣṇāṃ bahvīḥ prajāḥ sṛjamānā sarūpāḥ | ajo hy eko jūṣamāṇo'nuśete jahāty enāṃ bhukta-bhogām ajo'nyaḥ || ity ādyāḥ [ŚvetU 4.5] tasmāt sādhu vyākhyātaṃ kṣetrajña etā ity ādi-padya-dvayam || || 5.11 || śrī-brāhmaṇo rahūgaṇam || 1 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 1
SRI PARAMATMA SANDARBHA
by Srila Jiva Gosvami(P 120)
Mangalacarana
Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the great philosopher from the southern provinces who greatly pleased Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami, left many valuable notes that defeat various philosophical misconceptions. Systematically arranging these notes, and considering their content, Jiva Gosvami writes this book.
Anuccheda 1
Text 1
Now the Supersoul will be described. Although the Lord’s Supersoul feature is also manifested in the spiritual world of Vaikuntha, it is generally said that the Supreme Lord’s Supersoul expansion is present primarily in the material world. The individual spirit souls and the Supersoul, both present in the material world, are described in the following two verses (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.11.12-13):
Text 2
“The individual soul bereft of Krsna consciousness has many ideas and activities created in the mind by the external energy. They have existed from time immemorial. Sometimes they are manifest in the wakening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep (unconsciousness) or trance, they disappear. A person who is liberated in this life (jivan-mukta) can see all these things vividly.*
Text 3
“There are two kinds of ksetrajna: the living entity, as explained above, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is explained as follows. He is the all pervading cause of creation. He is full in Himself and is not dependent on others. He is perceived by hearing and direct perception. He is self-effulgent and does not experience birth, death, old age, or disease. He is the controller of all the demigods, beginning with Lord Brahma. He is called Narayana and He is the shelter of living entities after the annihilation of the material world. He is full of all opulences and He is the resting place of everything material. He is therefore known as Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”*
Text 4
This verse means: “Even though he is by nature pure (suddhah), that is to say beyond the touch of the illusory potency maya, the individual spirit soul sees (vicaste) the (etah) activities (vibhutih) of the mind (manasah), the mind having been created by the illusory potency maya (maya-racitasya). The mind sees all fields of activity. The mind will be further described later in this book. By seeing these activities, the individual soul, who is called the ‘jiva’, enters into them. Because he thus has knowledge of two different material bodies, the soul is thus called ‘ksetrajna ‘ (the knower of the field of action).”
Text 5
The conditioned soul is also described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.5):
“Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.”*
Text 6
Here someone may ask: “How does the illusory energy maya create (maya-racitasya) the material mind (manasah)?” The answer is given in the word “jivasya”, which means by making the individual soul think that the external material body is his true identity. Then someone may ask: “What happens then?” The answer is that the soul then engages in impure material activities that have no relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then someone may ask: “What are these material activities (vibhutih) like?” The answer is given in the word “nityah”, which means “they have been existing from time immemorial”. Then someone may ask: “When are these material activities manifested?” The answer is given that they are manifest in the wakening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep (unconsciousness) or trance, they disappear (tirohitac ca).
Text 7
That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator of the waking state is explained in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.6.42):
“Karanarnavasayi Visnu 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, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.”*
Text 8
Here (in the verse quoted in text 3) the word “svayam-jyotih” means “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is manifested according to His own wish”. This means that the Supreme Lord is not like the individual souls, who are dependent on others. The word “ajah” means that the Lord is free of material birth and other material transformations. The word “parecah” means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is master of Brahma and all other living beings. The word “narayanah” means that because He is the supreme controller, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also the resting place (ayana) of all living entities (nara). The word “bhagavan” means that the Lord is the master of all opulences. The word “vasudevah” means that the Lord is the shelter of all living entities.
Text 9
The words “sva-mayaya atmani avadhiyamanah” mean “by His own internal potency (sva-mayaya) He has manifested (avadhiyamanah) the world within Himself (atmani)”. Therefore in this passage the Lord is in the instrumental case. Thus the Lord enters the world created by the illusory potency maya and, by the power of His own internal potency, there He manifests His spiritual form of the Supersoul. However, He never becomes attached to that world of maya. That is the meaning. Here the Lord is called “vasudevah” because He is the knower of all fields of activities, and therefore no one is superior to Him. The individual spirit soul is bewildered by the illusory potency maya, but the Supersoul (ksetrajna atma) is never bewildered by maya. He is always pure.
Text 10
Thus the primary meaning here is that the Supersoul is the knower of all fields of activity. This is described in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.4.25):
“Nevertheless, the living being is unable to see the Supreme Being, who is omniscient and unlimited. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.”*
Text 11
This is also described in Bhagavad-gita (13.2-3), where the Supreme Personality of Godhead explains:
“This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.*
Text 12
“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.”*
Text 13
Here the words “ksetrajnam capi mam viddhi”, which in prose order become “mam ca ksetrajnam viddhi”, mean “I am also the knower in all bodies”. Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not at all like the individual spirit soul, for the individual soul knows his own body only. That is the meaning. Therefore one should not accept the impersonalist theory, which states that the individual soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are equal. The impersonalist interpretation of the words “sarva-ksetresu” here is complete nonsense.
Text 14
This is so because the personalist idea, that the individual soul and the Supersoul are different, will be affirmed in these words of Bhagavad-gita (13.12-13):
“I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal. This is beginningless and it is subordinate to Me. It is called Brahman, the spirit, and it lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world.* “Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes and faces, and He hears everything. In this way the Supersoul exists.”*
Text 15
Further evidence that the personalist idea is correct is given by the Supreme Lord Himself when He defines the true meaning of knowledge in these words (Bhagavad-gita 13.8-12):
“Humility, pridelessness, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control, renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old-age, and disease, non-attachment to children, wife, home, and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events, constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people, accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth - all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.”*
Text 16
However, if in Bhagavad-gita 13.3 the Supreme Lord had wished to teach that the individual souls are not different from Him, and if this Gita passage were then like the Chandogya Upanisad’s (6.8.7) declaration “tat tvam asi” (You are that), then the Lord would have said “ksetrajnecvarayor jnanam” (to understand the two knowers of this body, who are both the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is called knowledge). He would not have said what He actually did say: “ksetrajna yor jnanam” (to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge).
Text 17
Here is the true meaning of the words “ksetra-ksetrajna yoh”: “To understand the two different persons who know this body is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” This is also confirmed in the following words of Sri Vedanta-sutra (1.3.21):
anyarthac ca paramarcah
“The meaning here is that the individual soul is different from the Supreme.”
Thus, ultimately, the Supreme Lord says here: “True knowledge is knowledge of Me”. This is so because here a single object of knowledge is described. That is the proper understanding.
Text 18
The knowledge here is not like the atheistic sankhya theory, which accepts only the individual soul and the field of the soul’s perception. The reason is given here in the word “mam” (Me). With this word the Supreme Personality of Godhead affirms that He Himself is the proper object of knowledge. Nor is the knowledge described here like the impersonalists’ theory that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is an illusion and only foolish people believe that the Supreme Personality of Godhead really exists. The Vedas, Bhagavad-gita, and other scriptures do not support this idea of the impersonalists, for this idea is the same as the idea of the Buddhists. The impersonalists and the Buddhists actually share the same philosophy, a philosophy that is wildly illogical.
Text 19
Many quotes may be gathered from the scriptures to prove that the impersonalist idea of the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not lead to final liberation. For example, in the previous chapter of Bhagavad-gita it is said that the impersonalist theory should be rejected. There it is said (Bhagavad-gita 12.1-2):
“Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect: those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?* “The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: He whose mind is fixed on My personal form, always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith, is considered by Me to be most perfect.”*
Text 20
The impersonalist theory is also criticized in these words spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself (Bhagavad-gita 12.6-7):
“For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Prtha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.”*
Text 21
The Supreme Personality of Godhead again criticizes it in these words (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.32-33):
“Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties, and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions.”***
Text 22
This is also confirmed by the following words of Sri Moksa-dharma:
“A person who takes shelter of Lord Narayana attains the four goals of life. He does not need to perform any other spiritual activities other than taking shelter of the Lord.”
Text 23
So the previous chapter’s (Chapter 12 of Bhagavad-gita) praise of the personal conception of God shall not go in vain, the Supreme Personality of Godhead again praises the personalist idea in these words (Bhagavad-gita 13.8):
Text 24
“Thus the field of activities (the body), knowledge, and the knowable have been summarily described by Me. Only My devotees can understand this thoroughly and thus attain to My nature.”*
Text 25
Thus it is explained that by engaging in devotional service one may easily understand all this. The knower of one field of activities (body) is the individual soul, the devotee of the Lord. The knower of all fields of activities (bodies) is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the object of knowledge for the individual souls. The truth about the field of activities (the body) and the knower of the field (the spirit soul) should be understood by studying the scriptures. The individual spirit soul is thus one person and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a different person. The scriptures reveal that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never fallible.
Text 26
The fallible individual spirit soul who resides in the material world is described in these words of Bhagavad-gita (13.22):
“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with the material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.”*
Text 27
In this way the individual soul in the material world is described. To reveal the truth about the world beyond the realm of matter, the eternal and infallible Supreme Lord is described in these words (Bhagavad-gita 13.23):
Text 28
“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.”*
Text 29
Superior to the individual soul is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears here in a form called “Paramatma” (the Supersoul). How much is the Supersoul superior to the individual soul? The Bhagavad-gita (15.16-17) reveals:
Text 30
“There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every entity is called infallible.*
Text 31
“Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the Lord Himself, who has entered into these worlds and is maintaining them.”*
Text 32
In these words the Lord Himself declares that the individual spirit soul is also infallible. In Bhagavad-gita 13.23, “upadrasta” means “the supreme witness”, “anumanta” means “the permitter of various activities”, “bharta” means “the maintainer”, “bhokta” means “the protector”, “Mahesvarah” means “the ruler of all”, “paramatma” means “the Supersoul who resides in the hearts of all”.
Text 33
In the following two verses (Bhagavad-gita 15.16-17) the word “kutasthah” is defined by the Amara-kosa dictionary in these words:
“The word ‘kutasthah’ means ‘He whose form does not change in the course of time’.”
The “kutasthah” is thus the pure, liberated individual soul. The Lord then says “uttamah purusas tv anyah” (Above even the liberated soul is the greatest living personality, the Lord Himself).
Text 34
In this way the field of activities (the body), the knower of that field, and the knower of all fields (all bodies) are described. In the following two verses (Bhagavad-gita 15.16-17) the word “anyah” (another) indicates that there are two distinct infallible beings. Thus in liberation the individual soul does not become formless. Thus it is revealed that the Supreme and the individual soul are never formless.
Text 35
Although the Lord clearly says (Bhagavad-gita 13.19) “mad-bhavayopapadyate” (the devotees attain to My nature), the meaning here is that the devotees attain transcendental opulences like those of the Lord Himself, not that they become the Lord. Although the Lord and the individual soul are both equally infallible, the individual soul is not as powerful as the Lord. That is why the individual soul is trapped in the material world and why, in order to become free of that trap of material existence, the individual soul must worship the Supreme Lord. That is the meaning.
Text 36
Let us now consider again the statement of Bhagavad-gita 13.2 (“This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.”*). The word “idam” (this) means “this thing that is directly perceived”. The word “sarva-ksetresu” (in all bodies) in Bhagavad-gita 13.3 is plural because the conditioned soul in the material accepts many sets of two material bodies, one after another.
Note: The conditioned soul has two material bodies: 1. the subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego, and 2. the gross body of senses and limbs.
Text 37
These statements of Bhagavad-gita 13.2 are confirmed by the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.4.25):
“Because they are only matter, the body, the life airs, the external and internal senses, the five gross elements, and the subtle sense objects (form, taste, smell, sound, and touch) cannot know their own nature, the nature of the other senses, or the nature of their controllers. But the living being, because of his spiritual nature, can know his body, the life airs, the senses, the elements, and the sense objects, and he can also know the three qualities that form their roots. Nevertheless, although the living being is completely aware of them, he is unable to see the Supreme Being, who is omniscient and unlimited. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.”*
These statements are again confirmed by these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.11.12-13):
“The individual soul bereft of Krsna consciousness has many ideas and activities created in the mind by the external energy. They have existed from time immemorial. Sometimes they are manifest in the wakening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep (unconsciousness) or trance, they disappear. A person who is liberated in this life (jivan-mukta) can see all these things vividly.* “There are two kinds of ksetrajna: the living entity, as explained above, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is explained as follows. He is the all pervading cause of creation. He is full in Himself and is not dependent on others. He is perceived by hearing and direct perception. He is self-effulgent and does not experience birth, death, old age, or disease. He is the controller of all the demigods, beginning with Lord Brahma. He is called Narayana and He is the shelter of living entities after the annihilation of the material world. He is full of all opulences and He is the resting place of everything material. He is therefore known as Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”*
Text 38
In Bhagavad-gita 13.3 the Supreme Lord’s declaration “ksetrajnam capi mam viddhi” (You should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies) means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead knows what is happening in every body and in the entire universe as a whole. In this way He is not like the individual spirit souls, who each know only what his happening within his own limited sphere of perception.
Text 39
The Supreme Personality of Godhead again declares this in these words (Bhagavad-gita 10.42):
“With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire creation.”*
Text 40
In this passage (Bhagavad-gita 13.3) there is no object other than “mam” (Me). Therefore here it is difficult to reject the direct, literal interpretation and accept instead a secondary, allegorical, roundabout interpretation of these words. If one insists on trying to interpret these words in such a way that they may affirm that the individual soul is identical with the Supreme, the only way he can do it is by re-writing the clear statement “ksetrajnam capi mam viddhi” (You should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies) so that it reads instead “ksetrajnam tam capi mam viddhi” (You should understand that the individual soul and I are the knowers in all bodies). However, it is not possible to thus re-write the words of scripture, and thus it is not possible to say that anyone but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the knower in all bodies, as the words “sarva-ksetresu bharata” declare. Therefore it must be said that two different persons are knowers of the field of activities This is confirmed by Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.11.12-13 (quoted here in text 37) and it is also confirmed by these words of Vedanta-sutra (1.2.11):
guham pravistav atmanau hi tad-darsanat iti.
“Two persons reside in the heart, for that is the conclusion of scripture.”
Text 41
That the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the individual spirit soul are different persons may be inferred by this description of the conditioned soul (Bhagavad-gita 13.22):
“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.”*
That the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the individual spirit soul are different persons is explained again and again in all the scriptures, from the beginning to the end. For example, the author of Vedanta-sutra (Vedanta-sutra 2.1.17) declares:
“If someone says that the individual soul and the Supreme are not different, then I reply: No. That cannot be so, for all the scriptures declare that they have very different natures.”
Text 42
The field of activities described in Bhagavad-gita 13.3 is the part of the world that is perceived by the knowledge-acquiring senses. The knowledge thus obtained will be further described later in this book. As was previously explained, each individual soul has direct knowledge only of his own small field of perception. Thus the knowledge obtained by the individual soul is only a shadow of the knowledge obtained by the Lord. The individual soul has only a very small part of a part of the knowledge possessed by the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is truly said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the primary, the most important knower of the field of action.
Text 43
The Supersoul described here is a direct manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The individual spirit souls are potencies of the Lord. They are parts and parcels of the Lord. This is described in the following prayer of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.30):
“O Supreme eternal! If the embodied living entities were eternal and all pervading like You, then they would not be under Your control. But if the living entities are accepted as minute energies of Your Lordship, then they are at once subject to Your supreme control. Therefore, real liberation entails surrender by the living entities to Your control, and that surrender will make them happy. In that constitutional position only can they be controllers. Therefore, men with limited knowledge who advocate the monistic theory that God and the living entities are equal in all respects are actually misleading themselves and others.”*
Text 44
That the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the individual spirit soul are different may also be inferred by these words spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself (Bhagavad- gita 10.42):
“With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.”*
Text 45
This difference may also be inferred from the following words of Sri Visnu Purana (1.9.52):
“I bow down before the eternal and changeless Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose form is spiritual. By a million-millionth part of His power the material world is manifested.”
Text 46
The perfect and pure potency of the Lord is also described in these words of Sri Visnu Purana (1.9.44):
“Seconds, minutes, hours, and all other units of time are all manifested from the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
Text 47
In Sri Narada-pancaratra, Sri Narada Muni says:
“O Lord, I wish to understand Your pure spiritual realm. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the spiritual and the material worlds rest in You.”
Text 48
In this part of Sri Narada-pancaratra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead answered Narada’s question. After explaining that both spiritual and material worlds are manifested from His potency, the Supreme Personality of Godhead said:
Text 49
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead and the impersonal Brahman are both eternal. Spiritual and full of bliss, They are also manifested in the material world.
Text 50
“Splendid like many hundreds of fires, suns, and moons, the impersonal Brahman is not different than Lord Vasudeva. Lord Vasudeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His nature is that He is the supreme controller.
Text 51
“O brahmana, when He removes the covering of His own Brahman effulgence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead reveals His original, eternal, transcendental form.
Text 52
“He is all-powerful and invincible, and His potency is also all-powerful and invincible. As a cloud in the sky showers rain, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead reveals His original form.
Text 53
“As the ocean manifests many waves, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests many glorious and effulgent transcendental forms.
Text 54
“In this way the spiritual and glorious Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests His limitless form known as the Purusa-avatara.
Text 55
“In this way He is the shelter and controller of all souls. He is the Supersoul residing in the hearts of all beings. As stars rest in the great sky, so everything rests in Him.
Text 56
“As a blazing fire spontaneously manifests many sparks, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead spontaneously manifests the many individual souls.
Text 57
“Know that all living beings are part and parcel of the unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the individual souls, trapped by their own past material desires, come to this material world, the Supreme Personality of Godhead follows them to set them free.”
Text 58
Manifesting His form of Lord Pradyumna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes the Supersoul of Brahma and others. Manifesting His form of Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes the Supersoul of Manu and others. Manifesting His form of Lord Sankarsana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes the Supersoul of Siva and others. This is confirmed by the words of the scriptures. Thus descending to the material world in His different partial forms, the Lord becomes the Supersoul residing in the hearts of all living beings.
Text 59
That Lord Siva is manifested from the purusa-avatara Lord Sankarsana is confirmed by the following two quotes from scripture. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.17.16) it is said:
“Lord Siva knows that Lord Sankarsana is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always meditates upon Him in trance.”*
In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.4.5) it is also said:
“In the beginning, the original Supreme Personality manifested the form of Brahma through the material mode of passion in order to create this universe. The Lord manifested His form as Visnu, the Lord of sacrifice and protector of the twice-born brahmanas and their religious duties to maintain the universe. And when the universe is to be annihilated the same Supreme Lord employs the material mode of ignorance and manifests the form of Rudra. The created living beings are thus always subject to the forces of creation, maintenance, and destruction.”***
Text 60
In the Visnu Purana (5.18.50) it is said:
“O Lord, You are the soul of the gross material elements, the soul of the material senses, the soul of matter’s subtle origin, the soul, and the Supersoul. In these five ways You are manifested.”
Text 61
The Supersoul, who is the purusa-avatara situated in the hearts of all, is also described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.”*
Here the word “Paramatma” indicates the Supersoul.
Text 62
The Supersoul is also described in these prayers spoken by Varuna (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.28.7):
“I offer my respectful obeisances to the Absolute Truth, who is Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.”
Srila Sridhara Svami comments on this verse:
“Here the word ‘paramatmane’ means ‘the controller of all individual souls’.”
Text 63
When He appears in the material world, the Supersoul is called the purusa-avatara. This is described in the following words of Sri Visnu Purana (6.8.58-59):
Text 64
“I bow down before the purusa-avatara, who is the origin of all and the final object of worship. For Him there is no death, no birth, no growth, no change, no decay, and no doubt.
Text 65
“I bow down before the purusa-avatara, who is the master of transcendental virtues, who manifests many forms, who may seem to be impure although in truth He is completely pure, and who is the master of all transcendental knowledge and opulences.”
Text 66
Srila Sridhara Svami comments:
“Here the word ‘anu’ indicates that the purusa-avatara is manifested from the previously described Supreme Personality of Godhead, ‘bahudha’ means ‘with the form of Brahma and many other forms’, ‘asuddha iva’ means ‘as if He were attached to the material creation’, ‘murti-vibhaga-bhedaih’ means ‘in the form of Daksa, Manu, and many other forms’, and ‘sakala-sattva-vibhuti-karta’ means ‘who creates all the opulences manifested by the living entities’.”
Text 67
Here the word “guna-bhuk” means “with the bliss of the six virtues”.
Texts 68 and 69
In the Moksa-dharma, Narayaniyopakhyana (334.29-30), the purusa-avatara is described in these words:
“It is said that the purusa-avatara is very subtle, inconceivable, unmanifested, unchanging, and eternal. He is untouched by the material senses, material sense desires, and the material elements. He is the Supersoul present in the hearts of all living beings and He directly perceives all that happens everywhere and in every body. He is untouched by the modes of material nature.”
Text 70
The Sruti-sastras also affirm that the purusa-avatara is completely pure. For example, in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (6.11 and 4.5) it is said:
Text 71
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as the all pervading Supersoul, the witness present in the hearts of all living entities. He witnesses all activities of the living entity. He is the supreme living force, and yet He is transcendental to all material qualities.”*
Text 72
“A unborn man enjoys an unborn red, white, and black woman who bears many children like herself. Another unborn man renounces this woman and will not enjoy with her.”
Note: The unborn woman is the material nature. The colors red, white, and black are the modes of passion, goodness, and ignorance. The many children are the ingredients of the material universes. The first unborn man is the individual spirit soul trapped in material existence. The second unborn man is the Supersoul, who is always aloof from the material nature.
Text 73
The purusa-avatara was also nicely described in the two verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.11.12-13) quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda. Those verses were spoken by Jada Bharata to King Rahugana.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §2 · English §2
Source[२] अथ तस्याविर्भावे योग्यता-प्राग्वद् भक्तिर् एव ज्ञेया । आविर्भावस् तु त्रिधा यथा नारदीये तन्त्रे[*एन्द्नोते #२] - विष्णोस् तु त्रीणि रूपाणि पुरुषाख्यान्य् अथो विदुः । एकं तु महतः स्रष्टृ द्वितीयं तन्तु-संस्थितम् । तृतीयं सर्व-भूतस्थं तानि ज्ञात्वा विमुच्यते ॥ अत्र प्रथमो यथाग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्ति स ऐक्षतेत्याद्युक्तेः । महा-समष्टि-जीव-प्रकृत्योर् एकतापन्नयोर् द्रष्टेत्य् एक एव । अयम् एव सङ्कर्षण इति महाविष्णुर् इति च । ब्रह्म-संहितायां यथा -- तल्-लिङ्गं भगवान् शम्भुर् ज्योती-रूपं सनातनम् । तस्मिन्न् आविरभूल् लिङ्गे महा-विष्णुर् जगत्-पतिः ॥ [ब्रह्मस् ५.८] सहस्र-शीर्षा पुरुष इत्य् आरभ्य [ब्रह्मस् ५.११] नारायणः स भगवान् आपस् तस्मात् सनातनात् । आविरासन् कारणार्णोनिधिं सङ्कर्षणात्मकः । योग-निद्रां गतस् तस्मिन् सहस्रांशः स्वयं महान् ॥ [ब्रह्मस् ५.१२] तद्-रोम-बिल-जालेषु बीजं सङ्कर्षणस्य च । हैमान्य् अण्डानि जातानि महा-भूतावृतानि तु ॥ ईत्य् आदि [ब्रह्मस् ५.१३] लिङ्गम् इति यस्यायुतायुतांशांशे विश्व-शक्तिर् इयं स्थितेत्य् [विप् १.९.५३] अनुसारेण तस्य महा-भगवतः श्री-गोविन्दस्य पुरुषोत्पादकत्वाल् लिङ्गम् इव लिङ्गं यः खल्व् अंअ-विशेषस् तद् एव शम्भुः । शम्भु-शब्दस्य मुख्याया वृत्तेर् आश्रय इत्य् अर्थः । अथ द्वितीय-पुरुषस् तत् सृष्ट्वा तद् एवानुप्रविशद् इत्य् आद्य् उक्तः समष्टि- जीवान्तर्यामी । तेषां ब्रह्माण्डात्मकानां बहु-भेदाद् बहु-भेदः । तत्रैव सूक्ष्मान्तर्यामी प्रद्युम्नः स्थूलान्तर्याम्य् अनिरुद्ध इति क्वचित् । अनेन महा-वैकुण्ठ-स्थाः सङ्कर्षणादयस् तद्-अंशिनः । ये तु चित्ताद्य्- अधिष्ठातारो वासुदेवादयस् ते तद्-अंशा एवेत्य् आदि विवेचनीयम् । तृतीयोऽपि पुरुषः -- द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते । तयोर् अन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्व् अत्त्य् अनश्नन्न् अन्यो ऽभिचाकशीति ॥ [ऋग्-वेद १.१६३.२०, मुण्डु ७.१.१] इत्य्-आद्य्-उक्तो व्यष्ट्य्-अन्तर्यामी । तेषाम् बहुभेदाद् बहुभेदः । तत्र प्रथमस्याविर्भावो यथा आद्योऽवतारः पुरुषः परस्येति [भ्प् २.६.४१] । टीका च परस्य भूम्नः पुरुषः प्रकृति-प्रवर्तकः । यस्य सहस्र-शीर्षेत्य् आद्य् उक्तो लीला-विग्रहः स आद्योवतारः । इत्य् एषा ॥ अत्र चान्यत्र चावतारत्वं नामैक-पाद-विभूत्य्-आविर्भावत्वं ज्ञेयम् ॥ २.६ ॥ श्री-ब्रह्मा नारदम् ॥२॥
[2] atha tasyāvirbhāve yogyatā-prāgvad bhaktir eva jñeyā | āvirbhāvas tu tridhā yathā nāradīye tantre[*ENDNOTE #2] - viṣṇos tu trīṇi rūpāṇi puruṣākhyāny atho viduḥ | ekaṃ tu mahataḥ sraṣṭṛ dvitīyaṃ tantu-saṃsthitam | tṛtīyaṃ sarva-bhūtasthaṃ tāni jñātvā vimucyate || atra prathamo yathāgneḥ kṣudrā visphuliṅgā vyuccaranti sa aikṣatetyādyukteḥ | mahā-samaṣṭi-jīva-prakṛtyor ekatāpannayor draṣṭety eka eva | ayam eva saṅkarṣaṇa iti mahāviṣṇur iti ca | brahma-saṃhitāyāṃ yathā -- tal-liṅgaṃ bhagavān śambhur jyotī-rūpaṃ sanātanam | tasminn āvirabhūl liṅge mahā-viṣṇur jagat-patiḥ || [BrahmaS 5.8] sahasra-śīrṣā puruṣa ity ārabhya [BrahmaS 5.11] nārāyaṇaḥ sa bhagavān āpas tasmāt sanātanāt | āvirāsan kāraṇārṇonidhiṃ saṅkarṣaṇātmakaḥ | yoga-nidrāṃ gatas tasmin sahasrāṃśaḥ svayaṃ mahān || [BrahmaS 5.12] tad-roma-bila-jāleṣu bījaṃ saṅkarṣaṇasya ca | haimāny aṇḍāni jātāni mahā-bhūtāvṛtāni tu || īty ādi [BrahmaS 5.13] liṅgam iti yasyāyutāyutāṃśāṃśe viśva-śaktir iyaṃ sthitety [ViP 1.9.53] anusāreṇa tasya mahā-bhagavataḥ śrī-govindasya puruṣotpādakatvāl liṅgam iva liṅgaṃ yaḥ khalv aṃa-viśeṣas tad eva śambhuḥ | śambhu-śabdasya mukhyāyā vṛtter āśraya ity arthaḥ | atha dvitīya-puruṣas tat sṛṣṭvā tad evānupraviśad ity ādy uktaḥ samaṣṭi- jīvāntaryāmī | teṣāṃ brahmāṇḍātmakānāṃ bahu-bhedād bahu-bhedaḥ | tatraiva sūkṣmāntaryāmī pradyumnaḥ sthūlāntaryāmy aniruddha iti kvacit | anena mahā-vaikuṇṭha-sthāḥ saṅkarṣaṇādayas tad-aṃśinaḥ | ye tu cittādy- adhiṣṭhātāro vāsudevādayas te tad-aṃśā evety ādi vivecanīyam | tṛtīyo'pi puruṣaḥ -- dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṃ vṛkṣaṃ pariṣasvajāte | tayor anyaḥ pippalaṃ svādv atty anaśnann anyo 'bhicākaśīti || [Ṛg-veda 1.163.20, MuṇḍU 7.1.1] ity-ādy-ukto vyaṣṭy-antaryāmī | teṣām bahubhedād bahubhedaḥ | tatra prathamasyāvirbhāvo yathā ādyo'vatāraḥ puruṣaḥ parasyeti [BhP 2.6.41] | ṭīkā ca parasya bhūmnaḥ puruṣaḥ prakṛti-pravartakaḥ | yasya sahasra-śīrṣety ādy ukto līlā-vigrahaḥ sa ādyovatāraḥ | ity eṣā || atra cānyatra cāvatāratvaṃ nāmaika-pāda-vibhūty-āvirbhāvatvaṃ jñeyam || 2.6 || śrī-brahmā nāradam ||2||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 2
Anuccheda 2
Text 1
Now will be explained the truth that the purusa-avatara reveals Himself in response to the soul’s devotion. The purusa-avatara manifests three forms, which are described in the following words of the Narada Tantra:
Text 2
“Visnu has three forms called purusas. The first, Maha-Visnu, is the creator of the total material energy (mahat), the second is Garbhodasayi, who is situated within each universe, and the third is Ksirodasayi, who lives in the heart of every living being. He who knows these three becomes liberated from the clutches of maya.”*
Text 3
The first purusa-avatara is described in these words of the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (2.1.20):
yathagneh ksudra visphulinga vyuccaranti
“As many tiny sparks are manifested from a great fire, so many individual spirit souls are manifested from the Supreme.”
In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (1.2.5) it is also said: sa aiksata
“The Supreme Lord glanced and the material creation became manifested.”
In this way it is explained that with His glance the first purusa-avatara manifested the material nature and the conditioned state of the individual spirit souls.
Text 4
The first purusa-avatara is known as Lord Sankarsana and Lord Maha-Visnu. He is described in the following words of Brahma-samhita (5.8, 5.10, and 5.11):
“The divine plenary portion of Krsna creates the mundane world. At creation there appears a divine halo of the nature of His own subjective portion (svamsa). This halo is divine Sambhu, the masculine symbol or manifested emblem of the Supreme Lord. This halo is the dim twilight reflection of the supreme eternal effulgence. This masculine symbol is the subjective portion of divinity who functions as progenitor of the mundane world, subject to the supreme regulatrix (niyati).”**
“The Lord of the world, Maha-Visnu, is manifest in Sambhu by His subjective portion in the form of His glance.”**
“The Lord of the mundane world, Maha-Visnu, possesses thousands of thousands of heads, eyes, and hands. He is the source of thousands of thousands of avataras in His thousands of thousands of subjective portions. He is the creator of thousands of thousands of individual souls.”**
Text 5
The first purusa-avatara is also described in these words of Brahma-samhita (5.13 and 5.14):
“The same Mahä-Viñëu is spoken of by the name of “Näräyaëa” in this mundane world. From that eternal person has sprung the vast expanse of water of the spiritual Causal Ocean. The subjective portion of Saìkarñaëa who abides in paravyoma, the above supreme puruña with thousands of subjective portions, reposes in the state of divine sleep [yoga-nidrä] in the waters of the spiritual Causal Ocean.” **
Text 6
“The spiritual seeds of Sankarsana existing in the pores of skin of Maha-Visnu are born as so many golden sperms. These sperms are covered with five great elements.”**
Text 7
The word “linga” (masculine symbol) described in the passage from Brahma-samhita (5.8) quoted here in text 4, is explained in the following words of Sri Visnu Purana (1.9.52, quoted in this book in anuccheda 1, text 45):
“I bow down before the eternal and changeless Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose form is spiritual. By a million-millionth part of His power the material world is manifested.”
The “linga” is thus manifested from Lord Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus Lord Siva is a partial manifestation of Lord Govinda. The word “Sambhu” here means “the resting place of activities”. Thus it is explained that the “linga” is a partial manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Text 8
Now the second purusa-avatara will be described. In the Taittiriya Upanisad (2.6.2) it is said:
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates the material world and then enters it.”
These words describe the Supreme Lord’s becoming the Supersoul present in the hearts of all living entities. There are many different material universes, and the Lord enters all of them to become the Supersoul.
Text 9
Lord Pradyumna is the Supersoul presiding over the subtle elements. Lord Aniruddha is the Supersoul presiding over the gross elements. Lord Sankarsana and other expansions reside in Maha-Vaikuntha. Lord Vasudeva and other expansions preside over the mind and senses. In this way it is explained.
Text 10
The third purusa-avatara is also described in these words of Svetasvatara Upanisad (4.6-7):
“The individual spirit soul and the Supersoul, Supreme Personality of Godhead, are like two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree (the sense gratification afforded by the material body), and the other bird (the Supersoul) is not trying to eat these fruits, but is simply watching His friend.*
Text 11
These words describe the Supersoul as He appears in the hearts of the many living entities. Because there are many different living entities, the Supersoul appears many times in this way. The first purusa-avatara is described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.6.42):
Text 12
“Lord Karanarnavasayi Visnu 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, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.”*
Text 13
Srila Sridhara Svami comments:
“Here the word ‘parasya’ means ‘of the Bhuma-purusa’ and ‘purusah’ means ‘He who puts the material energy in motion’. This pastime form of the Lord, who is described here by the words ‘adyo’vatarah’, is also described in these words of the Rg Veda (10.90.1):
“In His form of the purusa-avatara, a form with thousands of heads, thousands of eyes, and thousands of feet, the Lord filled the universe and went ten fingers beyond it.”
Text 14
In other places in scripture are also described the Lord’s incarnations within the material world, a world that bears the name “eka-pada-vibhuti” (the world that is one-fourth of the Supreme Lord’s opulence). The verse quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda was spoken by Sri Brahma to Sri Narada.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §3 · English §3
Source[३] द्वितीयस्य यथा - कालेन सोऽजः पुरुषायुषाभि- प्रवृत्त-योगेन विरूढ-बोधः स्वयं तद् अन्तर्-हृदये ऽवभातम् अपश्यतापश्यत यन् न पूर्वम् ॥ मृणाल-गौरायत-शेष-भोग- पर्यङ्क एकं पुरुषं शयानम् । [भ्प् ३.८.२३] अयं गर्भोदक-स्थः सहस्र-शीर्षा प्रद्युम्न एव । पुरुषायुषा वत्सर- शतेन । योगो भक्ति-योगः । एतद् अग्रेऽप्य् अव्यक्त-मूलम् इत्य् अत्र अव्यक्तं प्रधानं मूलम् अधोभागो यस्येत्य् अर्थः । भुवनाङ्घ्रिपेन्द्रम् इति । भुवनानि चतुर्दश तद्-रूपा अङ्घ्रिपास् तेषाम् इन्द्रं तन्-नियन्तृत्वेन वर्तमानम् इत्य् अर्थः ॥ ३.८ ॥ श्री-मैत्रेयो विदुरम् ॥ ३ ॥
[3] dvitīyasya yathā - kālena so'jaḥ puruṣāyuṣābhi- pravṛtta-yogena virūḍha-bodhaḥ svayaṃ tad antar-hṛdaye 'vabhātam apaśyatāpaśyata yan na pūrvam || mṛṇāla-gaurāyata-śeṣa-bhoga- paryaṅka ekaṃ puruṣaṃ śayānam | [BhP 3.8.23] ayaṃ garbhodaka-sthaḥ sahasra-śīrṣā pradyumna eva | puruṣāyuṣā vatsara- śatena | yogo bhakti-yogaḥ | etad agre'py avyakta-mūlam ity atra avyaktaṃ pradhānaṃ mūlam adhobhāgo yasyety arthaḥ | bhuvanāṅghripendram iti | bhuvanāni caturdaśa tad-rūpā aṅghripās teṣām indraṃ tan-niyantṛtvena vartamānam ity arthaḥ || 3.8 || śrī-maitreyo viduram || 3 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 3
Anuccheda 3
Text 1
The second purusa-avatara is described in these words (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.22-30):
“At the end of Brahma’s one hundred years, when his meditation was complete, he developed the required knowledge, and as a result he could see in his heart the Supreme within himself, whom he could not see before with the greatest endeavour.* “Brahma could see that on the water there was a gigantic lotuslike white bedstead, the body of Sesa-naga, on which the Personality of Godhead was lying alone. The whole atmosphere was illuminated by the rays of the jewels bedecking the hood of Sesa-naga, and that illumination dissipated all the darkness of those regions.* “The luster of the transcendental body of the Lord mocked the beauty of the coral mountain. The coral mountain is very beautifully dressed by the evening sky, but the yellow dress of the Lord mocked its beauty. There is gold on the summit of the mountain, but the Lord’s helmet, bedecked with jewels, mocked it. The mountain’s waterfalls, herbs, etc., with a panorama of flowers, seem like garlands, but the Lord’s gigantic body, and His hands and legs, decorated with jewels, pearls, tulasi leaves, and flower garlands, mocked the scene on the mountain.* “His transcendental body, unlimited in length and breadth, occupied the three planetary systems, upper, middle, and lower. His body was self-illuminated by unparalleled dress and variegatedness and was properly ornamented.* “The Lord showed His lotus feet by raising them. His lotus feet are the source of all awards achieved by devotional service free from material contamination. Such awards are for those who worship Him in pure devotion. The splendor of the transcendental rays from His moonlike toenails and fingernails appeared like the petals of a flower.* “He also acknowledged the service of the devotees and vanquished their distress by His beautiful smile. The reflection of His face, decorated with earrings, was so pleasing because it dazzled with the rays from His lips and the beauty of His nose and eyebrows.* “My dear Vidura, the Lord’s waist was covered with yellow cloth resembling the saffron dust of the kadamba flower, and it was encircled by a well-decorated belt. His chest was decorated with the srivatsa marking and a necklace of unlimited value.* “As a sandalwood tree is decorated with fragrant flowers and branches, the Lord’s body was decorated with valuable jewels and pearls. He was the self-situated tree, the Lord of all others in the universe. And as a sandalwood tree is covered with many snakes, so the Lord’s body was covered by the hoods of Ananta.* “Like a great mountain, the Lord stands as the abode for all moving and nonmoving living entities. He is the friend of the snakes because Lord Ananta is His friend. As a mountain has thousands of golden peaks, so the Lord was seen with the thousands of golden-helmeted hoods of Ananta-naga. And as a mountain is sometimes filled with jewels, so His transcendental body was fully decorated with valuable jewels. As a mountain is sometimes submerged in the ocean water, so the Lord is sometimes submerged in the water of devastation.”*
Text 2
These verses describe the thousand-headed Lord Pradyumna who resides on the Garbha Ocean. The word “purusayusa” means “for a hundred years”, “and yogena” means “by practicing the yoga of devotional service”. In Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.29 the word “avyakta-mulam” means “the root of pradhana, the unmanifested origin of matter”, and “bhuvanagghripendram” means because He is the Supreme Controller, He is like the king of the trees that are the fourteen material worlds”. This verse was spoken by Sri Maitreya to Vidura.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §4 · English §4
Source[४] तृतीयस्याविर्भावो यथा - केचित् स्व-देहान्तर्-हृदयावकाशे प्रादेश-मात्रं पुरुषं वसन्तम् । चतुर्-भुजं कञ्ज-रथाङ्ग-शङ्ख- गदा-धरं धारणया स्मरन्ति ॥ [भ्प् २.२.८] प्रादेशस् तर्जन्य्-अङ्गुष्ठेयोर् विस्तारस् तत् प्रमाणं हृद्य् अपेक्षया मनुष्याधिकारत्वाद् इति न्यायेन ॥ २.२ ॥ श्री-शुकः ॥४॥
[4] tṛtīyasyāvirbhāvo yathā - kecit sva-dehāntar-hṛdayāvakāśe prādeśa-mātraṃ puruṣaṃ vasantam | catur-bhujaṃ kañja-rathāṅga-śaṅkha- gadā-dharaṃ dhāraṇayā smaranti || [BhP 2.2.8] prādeśas tarjany-aṅguṣṭheyor vistāras tat pramāṇaṃ hṛdy apekṣayā manuṣyādhikāratvād iti nyāyena || 2.2 || śrī-śukaḥ ||4||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 4
Anuccheda 4
Text 1
The third purusa-avatara is described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.2.8):
“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.”*
Text 2
Here the word “pradesa” means “the distance between the forefinger and thumb. In the Vedanta-sutra (1.3.25) it is said:
hrdy apeksaya tu manusyadhikaratvat
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead indeed appears in the hearts of human beings.”
Paramātma · Sanskrit §5 · English §5
Source[५] एवं पुरुषस्यानेक-विधत्वेऽपि दृष्टान्तेनैक्यम् उपपादयति । यथानिलः स्थावर-जङ्गमानाम् आत्म-स्वरूपेण निविष्ट ईशेत् । एवं परो भगवान् वासुदेवः क्षेत्रज्ञ आत्मेदम् अनुप्रविष्टः ॥ [भ्प् ५.११.१४] आत्म-स्वरूपेण प्राण-रूपेण ईशेद् ईशेत नियमयति । इदं विश्वम् । श्रुतिश् च - वायुर् यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव । एकस् तथा सर्व-भूतान्तरात्मा रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश् च ॥ इति काठके [कठु २.२.१०] ॥ ५.११ ॥ श्री-ब्राह्मणो रहूगणम् ॥५ ॥
[5] evaṃ puruṣasyāneka-vidhatve'pi dṛṣṭāntenaikyam upapādayati | yathānilaḥ sthāvara-jaṅgamānām ātma-svarūpeṇa niviṣṭa īśet | evaṃ paro bhagavān vāsudevaḥ kṣetrajña ātmedam anupraviṣṭaḥ || [BhP 5.11.14] ātma-svarūpeṇa prāṇa-rūpeṇa īśed īśeta niyamayati | idaṃ viśvam | śrutiś ca - vāyur yathaiko bhuvanaṃ praviṣṭo rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva | ekas tathā sarva-bhūtāntarātmā rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo bahiś ca || iti kāṭhake [KaṭhU 2.2.10] || 5.11 || śrī-brāhmaṇo rahūgaṇam ||5 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 5
Anuccheda 5
Text 1
Although He appears in many forms, the purusa-avatara is one person. This is shown by the following example given in Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.11.14):
Text 2
“He is full of all opulences, and He is the resting place of everything material. He is therefore known as Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By His own potency He is present within the hearts of all living entities, just as the air or vital force is within the bodies of all beings, moving and nonmoving. In this way He controls the body. In His partial feature the Supreme Personality of Godhead enters all bodies and controls them.”*
Text 3
Here the word “atma-svarupena” means “in the form of the vital force”, “nivista icet” means He enters and controls”, and “idam” means this material universe”.
Text 4
Srutic ca
A similar example is given in these words of the Katha Upanisad (2.2.10):
“As the air that enters all living beings is one, so the Supersoul who enters the hearts of all living beings is a single person.”
Text 5
The verse quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda was spoken by Jada Bharata to King Rahugana.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §6 · English §6
Source[६] तथा, एक एव परो ह्य् आत्मा सर्वेषाम् एव देहिनाम् । नानेव गृह्यते मूढैर् यथा ज्योतिर् यथा नभः ॥ [भ्प् १०.५४.४४] देहिनां जीवानाम् । आत्मा परमात्मा ॥ १०.५४ ॥ श्री-बलदेवः श्री- रुक्मिणीम् ॥६॥
[6] tathā, eka eva paro hy ātmā sarveṣām eva dehinām | nāneva gṛhyate mūḍhair yathā jyotir yathā nabhaḥ || [BhP 10.54.44] dehināṃ jīvānām | ātmā paramātmā || 10.54 || śrī-baladevaḥ śrī- rukmiṇīm ||6||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 6
Anuccheda 6
Text 1
That the many forms of the Supersoul are all one person only is also confirmed by the following example given in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.54.44):
“Bewildered fools think that the Supersoul, who resides in all embodied beings, is many different persons. The truth is that He is a single transcendental person. As the sky is one, and as a flame is one, so the Supersoul is a single person.”
Text 2
Here the word “dehinam” means “of the individual spirit souls”, and the word “atma” means the Supersoul”. This verse was spoken by Lord Balarama to Srimati Rukmini.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §7 · English §7
Source[७] एवम् एक एव परो ह्य् आत्मा भूतेष्व् आत्मन्य् अवस्थितः । यथेन्दुर् उदपात्रेषु भूतान्य् एकात्मकानि च ॥ [भ्प् ११.१८.३२] भूतेषु जीवेषु एक एव पर आत्मा न त्व् असौ जीववत् तत्र तत्र लिप्तो भवति इत्य् आह आत्मनि स्व-स्वरूप एवावस्थितः । भूतानि जीव-देहा अपि येन कारण- रूपेणैकात्मकानीति ॥ ११.१८ ॥ श्री-भगवान् उद्धवम् ॥७॥
[7] evam eka eva paro hy ātmā bhūteṣv ātmany avasthitaḥ | yathendur udapātreṣu bhūtāny ekātmakāni ca || [BhP 11.18.32] bhūteṣu jīveṣu eka eva para ātmā na tv asau jīvavat tatra tatra lipto bhavati ity āha ātmani sva-svarūpa evāvasthitaḥ | bhūtāni jīva-dehā api yena kāraṇa- rūpeṇaikātmakānīti || 11.18 || śrī-bhagavān uddhavam ||7||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 7
Anuccheda 7
Text 1
That the Supersoul is a single person is also confirmed by the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.18.32):
“As the moon reflected in many bodies of water is a single moon, and as the entire material creation is the energy of the single Supreme Lord, so the Supersoul residing in the hearts of all living beings is a single person.”
Text 2
Here the word “bhutesu” means “in the individual spirit souls”. The Supersoul residing in those souls is a single person (eka eva paro hy atma). However, the Supersoul is not like the individual souls, who are contaminated by the touch of material nature. “Atmani” means “situated in His own form”, and “bhutani” means “the material bodies of the individual souls”. “Atmakani” indicates that the Supreme Lord is the creator of the material bodies.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §8 · English §8
Source[८] एवम् एकस्य पुरुषस्य नानात्वम् उपपाद्य तस्य पुनर् अंशा विव्रियन्ते । अत्र द्विविधा अंशा स्वांशा विभिन्नांशाश् च । विभिन्नांशा तटस्थ-शक्त्य्-आत्मका जीवा इति वक्ष्यते । स्वांशास् तु गुण-लीलाद्य्-अवतार-भेदेन विविधाः । तत्र लीलाद्य्-अवताराः प्रसङ्ग-सङ्गत्या श्री-कृष्ण-सन्दर्भे वक्ष्यते । गुणावतारा यथा - आदाव् अभूच् छत-धृती रजसास्य सर्गे, विष्णुः स्थितौ क्रतुपतिर् द्विज-धर्म-सेतुः । रुद्रोऽप्ययाय तमसा पुरुषः स आद्य इत्य् उद्भव-स्थिति-लयाः सततं प्रजासु ॥ [भ्प् ११.४.५] स युगपत् गुण-त्रयाधिष्ठाद्यः पुरुषः पृथक् पृथग् अपि तत्-तद्- गुणाधिष्ठान-लीलयैव आदौ रजसा अस्य जगतः सर्गे विसर्गे कार्ये शत- धृतिर् ब्रह्माभूत् । स्थितौ विष्णुः सत्त्वेनेति शेषः । तत्र साक्षाद्-गुणानुक्तिश् च तयातिरोहित-स्वरूपतया तत्-सम्बन्धोपचारस्याप्य् उट्टङ्कनम् अयुक्तम् इत्य् अभिप्रायेण । पालन-कर्तृत्वेन क्रतुपतिस् तत्-फल-दाता । यज्ञ-रूपस् तु लीलावतार-मध्य एव श्री-ब्रह्मणा द्वितीये गणितः । द्विजानां धर्मानां च सेतुः पालक इत्य् अर्थः । नमसा तस्याप्ययाय रुद्रोऽभूत् इत्य् अनेन प्रकारेणोद्भव-स्थिति-लया भवन्तीति । अत्र ब्रह्म-रुद्रयोर् अवतारावसरो मोक्ष-धर्मे विवृत्तोऽस्ति । यथा -- ब्राह्मे रात्रिक्षये प्राप्ते तस्य ह्य् अमित-तेजसः प्रसादात् प्रादुरभवत् पद्मं पद्म-निभेक्षण तत्र ब्रह्मा समभवत् स तस्यैव प्रसादजः अह्नः क्षये ललाताच् च सुतो देवस्य वै तथा क्रोधाविष्टस्य संजज्ञे रुद्रः संहार-कारकः [म्भ् १२.३२८.१५-१६] श्री-विष्णोस् तु तृतीये दृश्यते - तल्-लोक-पद्मं स उ एव विष्णुः प्रावीविशत् सर्व-गुणावभासम् । तस्मिन् स्वयं वेद-मयो विधाता स्वयम्भुवं यं स्म वदन्ति सोऽभूत् ॥ [भ्प् ३.८.१५] अस्यार्थः - तल्-लोकात्मकं पद्मम् । सर्व-गुणान् जीवभोग्यान् अर्थान् अवभासयतीति तथा । तत् यस्माज् जातं श्री-नारायणाख्यः पुरुष एव विष्णु- संज्ञः सन् स्थापन-रूपान्तर्यामितायै प्रावीविशत् प्रकर्षेनालुप्त- शक्तितयैवाविशत् । स्वार्थे णिच् । तस्मिन् श्री-विष्णुना लब्ध-स्थितौ पद्मं पुनः सृष्ट्य्-अर्थं स्वयम् एव ब्रह्माभूत् स्थितस्यैव मृदादेर् घटादितया सृष्टेः । अतएव स्थित्य्-आदये हरि-विरिञ्चिर् एति संज्ञा इत्य् अन्यत्रापि ॥ ॥ ११.४ ॥ द्रुमिलो निमिम् ॥ ८ ॥
[8] evam ekasya puruṣasya nānātvam upapādya tasya punar aṃśā vivriyante | atra dvividhā aṃśā svāṃśā vibhinnāṃśāś ca | vibhinnāṃśā taṭastha-śakty-ātmakā jīvā iti vakṣyate | svāṃśās tu guṇa-līlādy-avatāra-bhedena vividhāḥ | tatra līlādy-avatārāḥ prasaṅga-saṅgatyā śrī-kṛṣṇa-sandarbhe vakṣyate | guṇāvatārā yathā - ādāv abhūc chata-dhṛtī rajasāsya sarge, viṣṇuḥ sthitau kratupatir dvija-dharma-setuḥ | rudro'pyayāya tamasā puruṣaḥ sa ādya ity udbhava-sthiti-layāḥ satataṃ prajāsu || [BhP 11.4.5] sa yugapat guṇa-trayādhiṣṭhādyaḥ puruṣaḥ pṛthak pṛthag api tat-tad- guṇādhiṣṭhāna-līlayaiva ādau rajasā asya jagataḥ sarge visarge kārye śata- dhṛtir brahmābhūt | sthitau viṣṇuḥ sattveneti śeṣaḥ | tatra sākṣād-guṇānuktiś ca tayātirohita-svarūpatayā tat-sambandhopacārasyāpy uṭṭaṅkanam ayuktam ity abhiprāyeṇa | pālana-kartṛtvena kratupatis tat-phala-dātā | yajña-rūpas tu līlāvatāra-madhya eva śrī-brahmaṇā dvitīye gaṇitaḥ | dvijānāṃ dharmānāṃ ca setuḥ pālaka ity arthaḥ | namasā tasyāpyayāya rudro'bhūt ity anena prakāreṇodbhava-sthiti-layā bhavantīti | atra brahma-rudrayor avatārāvasaro mokṣa-dharme vivṛtto'sti | yathā -- brāhme rātrikṣaye prāpte tasya hy amita-tejasaḥ prasādāt prādurabhavat padmaṃ padma-nibhekṣaṇa tatra brahmā samabhavat sa tasyaiva prasādajaḥ ahnaḥ kṣaye lalātāc ca suto devasya vai tathā krodhāviṣṭasya saṃjajñe rudraḥ saṃhāra-kārakaḥ [MBh 12.328.15-16] śrī-viṣṇos tu tṛtīye dṛśyate - tal-loka-padmaṃ sa u eva viṣṇuḥ prāvīviśat sarva-guṇāvabhāsam | tasmin svayaṃ veda-mayo vidhātā svayambhuvaṃ yaṃ sma vadanti so'bhūt || [BhP 3.8.15] asyārthaḥ - tal-lokātmakaṃ padmam | sarva-guṇān jīvabhogyān arthān avabhāsayatīti tathā | tat yasmāj jātaṃ śrī-nārāyaṇākhyaḥ puruṣa eva viṣṇu- saṃjñaḥ san sthāpana-rūpāntaryāmitāyai prāvīviśat prakarṣenālupta- śaktitayaivāviśat | svārthe ṇic | tasmin śrī-viṣṇunā labdha-sthitau padmaṃ punaḥ sṛṣṭy-arthaṃ svayam eva brahmābhūt sthitasyaiva mṛdāder ghaṭāditayā sṛṣṭeḥ | ataeva sthity-ādaye hari-viriñcir eti saṃjñā ity anyatrāpi || || 11.4 || drumilo nimim || 8 ||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 8
Anuccheda 8
Text 1
In this way it has been explained that although the purusa-avatara is a single person, He nevertheless expands in many different forms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has two kinds of expansions: 1. svamsa (personal expansions), and 2. vibhinnamsa (separated expansions). The Lord’s separated expansions are the individual spirit souls, who are all the Lord’s marginal potency (tatastha-sakti). The Lord’s personal expansions are His many incarnations, such as His guna-avatars and lila-avataras. The Lord’s lila-avataras and other incarnations will be described later in the Sri Krsna-sandarbha.
Text 2
The guna-avataras are described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.4.5):
“In the beginning of creation the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested the incarnation of Brahma to create the world through the mode of passion, Visnu, the master of sacrifices and the object of the brahmanas’ worship, to maintain the world through the mode of goodness, and Siva to destroy the world through the mode of ignorance. In this way the residents of the material world are always subject to creation, maintenance, and destruction.”
Text 3
This verse means that the purusa-avatara (adyah purusah) is the controller of all three modes of nature. In His pastime of controlling the various modes, He first becomes Brahma (cata-dhrtih) and with the modes of passion (rajasa) engages in the activities of secondary creation (sarge). Then He becomes Visnu who employs the mode of goodness. In this way the remainder of the verse is to be understood.
Text 4
Note that in this verse the mode of goodness is not specifically stated in relation to Lord Visnu. This is because Lord Visnu is beyond all the modes of material nature and it is not really proper to say that He has contact with the material modes. Because He is the protector, Lord Visnu gives the results of all sacrifices. That is the meaning of the word kratu-patih”. This is explained by Lord Brahma in the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Text 5
The word “dvija-dharma-setuh” means “the protector of the brahmanas’ duties”. The Lord also becomes Siva to destroy the universe by employing the mode of ignorance (tamasa apyayaya rudrah). In this way the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universes is performed (udbhava-sthiti-layah). The position of Brahma and Siva as guna-avataras is described in the following words of the Moksa-dharma:
Text 6
“O lotus-eyed one, at the end of Brahma’s day a lotus flower is manifested from the mercy of the limitlessly powerful Lord.
Text 7
“From this lotus is born Brahma. Thus Brahma is born from the Supreme Lord’s mercy. At the end of his day Brahma becomes angry and from his forehead Siva is born.”
Text 8
Lord Visnu is described in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.8.15):
“Into that universal lotus flower Lord Visnu personally entered as the Supersoul, and when it was thus impregnated with all the modes of material nature, the personality of Vedic wisdom, whom we call the self-born, was generated.”*
Text 9
Here the word “tal-loka-padmam” means “that lotus world”, “sarva-gunavabhasam” means “the manifestation of the modes of nature experienced by the individual souls”, “visnuh pravivicat” means Lord Visnu, who is known as Narayana, entered to become the maintainer and the Supersoul”. The Lord entered by the power of His invincible potency. Here is used the grammatical form called nic. Then, in order to create the material world, Lord Visnu entered this (tasmin) lotus flower and personally (svayam) became Brahma. Then, as a potter fashions pots and other things from clay, the Lord fashioned the material universe from the various material ingredients.
Text 10
This is also described in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.23):
“The transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead is indirectly associated with the three modes of material nature, namely passion, goodness, and ignorance, and just for the material world’s creation, maintenance, and destruction He accepts the three qualitative forms of Brahma, Visnu, and Siva.”*
Text 11
The verse quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda was spoken by Sri Dravida to King Nimi.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §9 · English §9
Source[९] एवं - यो वा अहं च गिरिशं च विभुः स्वयं चे इत्य् [भ्प् ३.९.३] आदौ त्रिपाद् इति । टीका च - यो वै एकस् त्रिपात् त्रयो ब्रह्मादयः पादाः स्कन्धा यस्य इत्य् एषा । वृक्ष-रूपत्वेन तद्-वर्णनाद् एषां स्कन्धत्वम् ॥३.९॥ ब्रह्मा गर्भोदशायिनम् ॥९॥
[9] evaṃ - yo vā ahaṃ ca giriśaṃ ca vibhuḥ svayaṃ ce ity [BhP 3.9.3] ādau tripād iti | ṭīkā ca - yo vai ekas tripāt trayo brahmādayaḥ pādāḥ skandhā yasya ity eṣā | vṛkṣa-rūpatvena tad-varṇanād eṣāṃ skandhatvam ||3.9|| brahmā garbhodaśāyinam ||9||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 9
Anuccheda 9
Text 12
This is also described in the following prayer addressed to Lord Visnu (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.9.16):
“Your Lordship is the prime root of the tree of the planetary systems. This tree has grown by first penetrating the material nature in three trunks - as me, Siva, and You, the almighty - for creation, maintenance, and dissolution, and we three have grown with many branches. Therefore I offer my obeisances unto You, the tree of the cosmic manifestation.”*
Text 13
Srila Sridhara Svami comments:
“The words ‘yo vai ekas tripat’ mean ‘the guna-avataras headed by Brahma are three trunks from Him’.”
Text 14
Thus they are described as trunks of a tree. This verse was spoken by Brahma to Sri Garbhodakasayi Visnu.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §10 · English §10
Source[१०] तेषाम् आविर्भावो यथा - तप्यमानं त्रिभुवनं प्राणायामैधसाग्निना । निर्गतेन मुनेर् मूर्ध्नः समीक्ष्य प्रभवस् त्रयः ॥ अप्सरो-मुनि-गन्धर्व-सिद्ध-विद्याधरोरगैः । वितायमान-यशसस् तद्-आश्रम-पदं ययुः ॥ इत्य् आदि ॥ [भ्प् ४.१.२१-२२] मुनेर् अत्रेः । श्री-मैत्रेयः ॥१०॥
[10] teṣām āvirbhāvo yathā - tapyamānaṃ tribhuvanaṃ prāṇāyāmaidhasāgninā | nirgatena muner mūrdhnaḥ samīkṣya prabhavas trayaḥ || apsaro-muni-gandharva-siddha-vidyādharoragaiḥ | vitāyamāna-yaśasas tad-āśrama-padaṃ yayuḥ || ity ādi || [BhP 4.1.21-22] muner atreḥ | śrī-maitreyaḥ ||10||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 10
Anuccheda 10
Text 1
The guna-avataras are also described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.1.21-22):
“When Atri Muni was engaged in these severe austerities, a blazing fire came out of his head by virtue of his breathing exercise, and that fire was seen by the three principal deities of the three worlds.*
Text 2
“At that time, the three Deities approached the hermitage of Atri Muni, accompanied by the denizens of the heavenly planets, such as the celestial beauties, the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, the Vidyadharas, and the Nagas. Thus they entered the asrama of the great sage, who had become famous by his austerities.”*
Text 3
Here the word “muneh” means “of Atri Muni”. This verse was spoken by Sri Maitreya to Vidura.