Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 2: “The Cosmic Manifestation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Six

Purusa-sukta Confirmed

SB2.6.1

TEXT 1

brahmovaca

vacam vahner mukham ksetram

chandasam sapta dhatavah

havya-kavyamrtannanam

jihva sarva-rasasya ca

SYNONYMS

brahma uvaca—Lord Brahma said; vacam—of the voice; vahneh—of fire; mukham—the mouth; ksetram—the generating center; chandasam—of the Vedic hymns, such as Gayatri; sapta—seven; dhatavah—skin and six other layers; havya-kavya—offerings for the demigods and the forefathers; amrta—food for human beings; annanam—of all sorts of foodstuffs; jihva—the tongue; sarva—all; rasasya—of all delicacies; ca—also.

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma said: The mouth of the virat-purusa [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.

PURPORT

The opulences of the universal form of the Lord are described herein. It is said that His mouth is the generating center of all kinds of voices, and its controlling deity is the fire demigod. And His skin and other six layers of bodily construction are the representative generating centers of the seven kinds of Vedic hymns, like the Gayatri. Gayatri is the beginning of all Vedic mantras, and it is explained in the first volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Since the generating centers are the different parts of the universal form of the Lord, and since the form of the Lord is transcendental to the material creation, it is to be understood that the voice, the tongue, the skin, etc., suggest that the Lord in His transcendental form is not without them. The material voice, or the energy of taking in foodstuff, is generated originally from the Lord; such actions are but perverted reflections of the original reservoirs—the transcendental situation is not without spiritual variegatedness. In the spiritual world, all the perverted forms of material variegatedness are fully represented in their original spiritual identity. The only difference is that material activities are contaminated by the three modes of material nature, whereas the potencies in the spiritual world are all pure because they are engaged in the unalloyed transcendental loving service of the Lord. In the spiritual world, the Lord is the sublime enjoyer of everything, and the living entities there are all engaged in His transcendental loving service without any contamination of the modes of material nature. The activities in the spiritual world are without any of the inebrieties of the material world, but there is no question of impersonal voidness on the spiritual platform, as suggested by the impersonalists. Devotional service is defined in the Narada-pancaratra as follows:

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-
sevanam bhaktir ucyate

[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

Originally, since all the senses are produced of the Lord’s reservoir of senses, the sensual activities of the material world are to be purified by the process of devotional service, and thus the perfection of life can be attained simply by purifying the present position of our material activities. And the purifying process begins from the stage of being liberated from the conception of different designations. Every living entity is engaged in some sort of service, either for the self, or for the family, or for the society, country, etc., but, unfortunately, all such services are rendered due to material attachment. The attachments of the material affinity may be simply changed to the service of the Lord, and thus the treatment of being freed from material attachment begins automatically. The process of liberation is therefore easier through devotional service than by any other methods, for in the Bhagavad-gita (12.5) it is said that one is subjected to various kinds of tribulations if one is impersonally attached: kleso ’dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam.

SB2.6.2

TEXT 2

sarvasunam ca vayos ca

tan-nase paramayane

asvinor osadhinam ca

ghrano moda-pramodayoh

SYNONYMS

sarva—all; asunam—different kinds of life air; ca—and; vayoh—of the air; ca—also; tat—His; nase—in the nose; parama-ayane—in the transcendental generating center; asvinoh—of the Asvini-kumara demigods; osadhinam—of all medicinal herbs; ca—also; ghranah—His smelling power; moda—pleasure; pramodayoh—specific sport.

TRANSLATION

His two nostrils are the generating centers of our breathing and of all other airs, His smelling powers generate the Asvini-kumara demigods and all kinds of medicinal herbs, and His breathing energies produce different kinds of fragrance.

SB2.6.3

TEXT 3

rupanam tejasam caksur

divah suryasya caksini

karnau disam ca tirthanam

srotram akasa-sabdayoh

SYNONYMS

rupanam—for all kinds of forms; tejasam—of all that is illuminating; caksuh—the eyes; divah—that which glitters; suryasya—of the sun; ca—also; aksini—the eyeballs; karnau—the ears; disam—of all directions; ca—and; tirthanam—of all the Vedas; srotram—the sense of hearing; akasa—the sky; sabdayoh—of all sounds.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

The word tirthanam is sometimes interpreted to mean the places of pilgrimage, but Srila Jiva Gosvami says that it means the reception of the Vedic transcendental knowledge. The propounders of the Vedic knowledge are also known as the tirthas.

SB2.6.4

TEXT 4

tad-gatram vastu-saranam

saubhagasya ca bhajanam

tvag asya sparsa-vayos ca

sarva-medhasya caiva hi

SYNONYMS

tat—His; gatram—bodily surface; vastu-saranam—of the active principles of all articles; saubhagasya—of all auspicious opportunities; ca—and; bhajanam—the field of production; tvak—skin; asya—His; sparsa—touch; vayoh—of the moving airs; ca—also; sarva—all kinds of; medhasya—of sacrifices; ca—also; eva—certainly; hi—exactly.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

The air is the moving agent of all the planets, and as such the generating centers for promotion to the deserving planets, the sacrifices, are His bodily surface and are naturally the origin of all auspicious opportunities.

SB2.6.5

TEXT 5

romany udbhijja-jatinam

yair va yajnas tu sambhrtah

kesa-smasru-nakhany asya

sila-lohabhra-vidyutam

SYNONYMS

romani—hairs on the body; udbhijja—vegetables; jatinam—of the kingdoms; yaih—by which; va—either; yajnah—sacrifices; tu—but; sambhrtah—particularly served; kesa—hairs on the head; smasru—facial hair; nakhani—nails; asya—of Him; sila—stones; loha—iron ores; abhra—clouds; vidyutam—electricity.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

The polished nails of the Lord generate electricity, and the clouds rest on the hairs of His head. One can therefore collect all sorts of necessities of life from the person of the Lord, and therefore the Vedas affirm that everything that is produced is caused by the Lord. The Lord is the supreme cause of all causes.

SB2.6.6

TEXT 6

bahavo loka-palanam

prayasah ksema-karmanam

SYNONYMS

bahavah—arms; loka-palanam—of the governing deities of the planets, the demigods; prayasah—almost always; ksema-karmanam—of those who are leaders and protectors of the general mass.

TRANSLATION

The Lord’s arms are the productive fields for the great demigods and other leaders of the living entities who protect the general mass.

PURPORT

This important verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam is corroborated and nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gita (10.41–42) as follows:

yad yad vibhutimat sattvam
srimad urjitam eva va
tat tad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo-’msa-sambhavam

athava bahunaitena
kim jnatena tavarjuna
vistabhyaham idam krtsnam
ekamsena sthito jagat

There are many powerful kings, leaders, learned scholars, scientists, artists, engineers, inventors, excavators, archaeologists, industrialists, politicians, economists, business magnates, and many more powerful deities or demigods like Brahma, Siva, Indra, Candra, Surya, Varuna and Marut, who are all protecting the interest of the universal affairs of maintenance, in different positions, and all of them are different powerful parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is the father of all living entities, who are placed in different high and low positions according to their desires or aspirations. Some of them, as particularly mentioned above, are specifically endowed with powers by the will of the Lord. A sane person must know for certain that a living being, however powerful he may be, is neither absolute nor independent. All living beings must accept the origin of their specific power as mentioned in this verse. And if they act accordingly, then simply by discharging their respective occupational duties they can achieve the highest perfection of life, namely eternal life, complete knowledge and inexhaustible blessings. As long as the powerful men of the world do not accept the origin of their respective powers, namely the Personality of Godhead, the actions of maya (illusion) will continue to act. The actions of maya are such that a powerful person, misled by the illusory, material energy, wrongly accepts himself as all in all and does not develop God consciousness. As such, the false sense of egoism (namely myself and mine) has become overly prominent in the world, and there is a hard struggle for existence in human society. The intelligent class of men, therefore, must admit the Lord as the ultimate source of all energies and thus pay tribute to the Lord for His good blessings. Simply by accepting the Lord as the supreme proprietor of everything, since He is actually so, one can achieve the highest perfection of life. Whatever a person may be in the estimation of the social order of things, if a person tries to reciprocate a feeling of love towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is satisfied with the blessings of the Lord, he will at once feel the highest peace of mind for which he is hankering life after life. Peace of mind, or in other words the healthy state of mind, can be achieved only when the mind is situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The parts and parcels of the Lord are endowed with specific powers for rendering service unto the Lord, just as a big business magnate’s sons are empowered with specific powers of administration. The obedient son of the father never goes against the will of the father and therefore passes life very peacefully in concurrence with the head of the family, the father. Similarly, the Lord being the father, all living beings should fully and satisfactorily discharge the duty and will of the father, as faithful sons. This very mentality will at once bring peace and prosperity to human society.

SB2.6.7

TEXT 7

vikramo bhur bhuvah svas ca

ksemasya saranasya ca

sarva-kama-varasyapi

hares carana aspadam

SYNONYMS

vikramah—forward steps; bhuh bhuvah—of the lower and upper planets; svah—as well as of heaven; ca—also; ksemasya—of protection of all that we have; saranasya—of fearlessness; ca—also; sarva-kama—all that we need; varasya—of all benedictions; api—exactly; hareh—of the Lord; caranah—the lotus feet; aspadam—shelter.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

For absolute protection from all sorts of fear, as well as for all our needs of life, we must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, not only in this planet but also in all the upper, lower and heavenly planets. This absolute dependence on the lotus feet of the Lord is called pure devotional service, and it is directly hinted at within this passage. No one should have any kind of doubt in this matter, nor should one be inclined to seek the help of any other demigods, because all of them are dependent on Him only. Everyone, except the Lord Himself, is dependent on the mercy of the Lord; even the all-pervading Supersoul is also dependent on the supreme aspect of Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead.

SB2.6.8

TEXT 8

apam viryasya sargasya

parjanyasya prajapateh

pumsah sisna upasthas tu

prajaty-ananda-nirvrteh

SYNONYMS

apam—of water; viryasya—of the semen; sargasya—of the generative; parjanyasya—of rains; prajapateh—of the creator; pumsah—of the Lord; sisnah—the genitals; upasthah tu—the place where the genitals are situated; prajati—due to begetting; ananda—pleasure; nirvrteh—cause.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

The genitals and the pleasure of begetting counteract the distresses of family encumbrances. One would cease to generate altogether if there were not, by the grace of the Lord, a coating, a pleasure-giving substance, on the surface of the generative organs. This substance gives a pleasure so intense that it counteracts fully the distress of family encumbrances. A person is so captivated by this pleasure-giving substance that he is not satisfied by begetting a single child, but increases the number of children, with great risk in regard to maintaining them, simply for this pleasure-giving substance. This pleasure-giving substance is not false, however, because it originates from the transcendental body of the Lord. In other words, the pleasure-giving substance is a reality, but it has taken on an aspect of pervertedness on account of material contamination. In the material world, sex life is the cause of many distresses on account of material contact. Therefore, the sex life in the material world should not be encouraged beyond the necessity. There is a necessity for generating progeny even in the material world, but such generation of children must be carried out with full responsibility for spiritual values. The spiritual values of life can be realized in the human form of material existence, and the human being must adopt family planning with reference to the context of spiritual values, and not otherwise. The degraded form of family restriction by use of contraceptives, etc., is the grossest type of material contamination. Materialists who use these devices want to fully utilize the pleasure potency of the coating on the genitals by artificial means, without knowing the spiritual importance. And without knowledge of spiritual values, the less intelligent man tries to utilize only the material sense pleasure of the genitals.

SB2.6.9

TEXT 9

payur yamasya mitrasya

parimoksasya narada

himsaya nirrter mrtyor

nirayasya gudam smrtah

SYNONYMS

payuh—the evacuating outlet; yamasya—the controlling deity of death; mitrasya—of Mitra; parimoksasya—of the evacuating hole; narada—O Narada; himsayah—of envy; nirrteh—of misfortune; mrtyoh—of death; nirayasya—of hell; gudam—the rectum; smrtah—is understood.

TRANSLATION

O Narada, 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.

SB2.6.10

TEXT 10

parabhuter adharmasya

tamasas capi pascimah

nadyo nada-nadinam ca

gotranam asthi-samhatih

SYNONYMS

parabhuteh—of frustration; adharmasya—of immorality; tamasah—of ignorance; ca—and; api—as also; pascimah—the back; nadyah—of the intestines; nada—of the great rivers; nadinam—of the rivulets; ca—also; gotranam—of the mountains; asthi—bones; samhatih—accumulation.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

In order to defy the impersonal conception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a systematic analysis of the physiological and anatomical constitution of His transcendental body is given here. It is clear from the available description of the body of the Lord (His universal form) that the form of the Lord is distinct from the forms of ordinary mundane conception. In any case, He is never a formless void. Ignorance is the back of the Lord, and therefore the ignorance of the less intelligent class of men is also not separate from His bodily conception. Since His body is the complete whole of everything that be, one cannot assert that He is impersonal only. On the contrary, the perfect description of the Lord holds that He is both impersonal and personal simultaneously. The Personality of Godhead is the original feature of the Lord, and His impersonal emanation is but the reflection of His transcendental body. Those who are fortunate enough to have a view of the Lord from the front can realize His personal feature, whereas those who are frustrated and are thus kept on the ignorance side of the Lord, or, in other words, those who have the view of the Lord from the back, realize Him in His impersonal feature.

SB2.6.11

TEXT 11

avyakta-rasa-sindhunam

bhutanam nidhanasya ca

udaram viditam pumso

hrdayam manasah padam

SYNONYMS

avyakta—the impersonal feature; rasa-sindhunam—of the seas and oceans of water; bhutanam—of those who take birth in the material world; nidhanasya—of the annihilation; ca—also; udaram—His belly; viditam—is known by the intelligent class of men; pumsah—of the great personality; hrdayam—the heart; manasah—of the subtle body; padam—the place.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

In the Bhagavad-gita (8.17–18) it is stated that according to human calculations one day of Brahma is equal to one thousand ages of four millenniums (4,300,000 years) each, and the same period is calculated to be his night also. A Brahma lives for one hundred such years and then dies. A Brahma, who is generally a great devotee of the Lord, attains liberation after such a downfall. The universe (called the brahmanda, or the round football-like domain controlled by a Brahma) is thus annihilated, and thus the inhabitants of a particular planet, or of the whole universe, are also annihilated. Avyakta, mentioned here in this verse, means the night of Brahma, when partial annihilation takes place and the living entities of that particular brahmanda, up to the planets of Brahmaloka, along with the big oceans, etc., all repose in the belly of the virat-purusa. At the end of a Brahma’s night, the creation again takes place, and the living entities, reserved within the belly of the Lord, are let loose to play their respective parts as if being awakened from a deep slumber. Since the living entities are never destroyed, the annihilation of the material world does not annihilate the existence of the living entities, but until liberation is attained one has to accept one material body after another, again and again. The human life is meant for making a solution to this repeated change of bodies and thereby attaining a place in the spiritual sky, where everything is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. In other words, the subtle forms of the living entities take place in the heart of the Supreme Being, and such forms take tangible shape at the time of creation.

SB2.6.12

TEXT 12

dharmasya mama tubhyam ca

kumaranam bhavasya ca

vijnanasya ca sattvasya

parasyatma parayanam

SYNONYMS

dharmasya—of religious principles, or of Yamaraja; mama—mine; tubhyam—of yours; ca—and; kumaranam—of the four Kumaras; bhavasya—Lord Siva; ca—and also; vijnanasya—of transcendental knowledge; ca—also; sattvasya—of truth; parasya—of the great personality; atma—consciousness; parayanam—dependent.

TRANSLATION

Also, the consciousness of that great personality is the abode of religious principles—mine, yours, and those of the four bachelors Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanat-kumara and Sanandana. That consciousness is also the abode of truth and transcendental knowledge.

SB2.6.13-16

TEXTS 13–16

aham bhavan bhavas caiva

ta ime munayo ’grajah

surasura-nara nagah

khaga mrga-sarisrpah

gandharvapsaraso yaksa

rakso-bhuta-ganoragah

pasavah pitarah siddha

vidyadhras carana drumah

anye ca vividha jiva

jala-sthala-nabhaukasah

graharksa-ketavas taras

taditah stanayitnavah

sarvam purusa evedam

bhutam bhavyam bhavac ca yat

tenedam avrtam visvam

vitastim adhitisthati

SYNONYMS

aham—myself; bhavan—yourself; bhavah—Lord Siva; ca—also; eva—certainly; te—they; ime—all; munayah—the great sages; agra-jah—born before you; sura—the demigods; asura—the demons; narah—the human beings; nagah—the inhabitants of the Naga planet; khagah—birds; mrga—beasts; sarisrpah—reptiles; gandharva-apsarasah, yaksah, raksah-bhuta-gana-uragah, pasavah, pitarah, siddhah, vidyadhrah, caranah—all inhabitants of different planets; drumah—the vegetable kingdom; anye—many others; ca—also; vividhah—of different varieties; jivah—living entities; jala—water; sthala—land; nabha-okasah—the inhabitants of the sky, or the birds; graha—the asteroids; rksa—the influential stars; ketavah—the comets; tarah—the luminaries; taditah—the lightning; stanayitnavah—the sound of the clouds; sarvam—everything; purusah—the Personality of Godhead; eva idam—certainly all these; bhutam—whatever is created; bhavyam—whatever will be created; bhavat—and whatever was created in the past; ca—also; yat—whatever; tena idam—it is all by Him; avrtam—covered; visvam—universally comprehending; vitastim—half a cubit; adhitisthati—situated.

TRANSLATION

Beginning from me [Brahma] down to you and Bhava [Siva], all the great sages who were born before you, the demigods, the demons, the Nagas, the human beings, the birds, the beasts, as well as the reptiles, etc., and all phenomenal manifestations of the universes, namely the planets, stars, asteroids, luminaries, lightning, thunder, and the inhabitants of the different planetary systems, namely the Gandharvas, Apsaras, Yaksas, Raksas, Bhutaganas, Uragas, Pasus, Pitas, Siddhas, Vidyadharas, Caranas, and all other different varieties of living entities, including the birds, beasts, trees and everything that be, are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future, although He is transcendental to all of them, eternally existing in a form not exceeding nine inches.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His partial representation, measuring not more than nine inches as Supersoul, expands by His potential energy in the shape of the universal form, which includes everything manifested in different varieties of organic and inorganic materials. The manifested varieties of the universe are therefore not different from the Lord, just as golden ornaments of different shapes and forms are nondifferent from the original stock reserve of gold. In other words, the Lord is the Supreme Person who controls everything within the creation, and still He remains the supreme separate identity, distinct from all manifested material creation. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.4–5) He is therefore said to be Yogesvara. Everything rests on the potency of Lord Sri Krsna, and still the Lord is different from and transcendental to all such identities. In the Vedic Purusa-sukta of the Rg mantra, this is also confirmed. This philosophical truth of simultaneous oneness and difference was propounded by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and it is known as acintya-bhedabheda-tattva. Brahma, Narada and all others are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from the Supreme Lord. We are all one with Him, just as the gold ornaments are one in quality with the stock gold, but the individual gold ornament is never equal in quantity with the stock gold. The stock gold is never exhausted even if there are innumerable ornaments emanating from the stock because the stock is purnam, complete; even if purnam is deducted from the purnam, still the supreme purnam remains the same purnam. This fact is inconceivable to our present imperfect senses. Lord Caitanya therefore defined His theory of philosophy as acintya (inconceivable), and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita as well as in the Bhagavatam, Lord Caitanya’s theory of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva is the perfect philosophy of the Absolute Truth.

SB2.6.17

TEXT 17

sva-dhisnyam pratapan prano

bahis ca pratapaty asau

evam virajam pratapams

tapaty antar bahih puman

SYNONYMS

sva-dhisnyam—radiation; pratapan—by expansion; pranah—living energy; bahih—external; ca—also; pratapati—illuminated; asau—the sun; evam—in the same way; virajam—the universal form; pratapan—by expansion of; tapati—enlivens; antah—internally; bahih—externally; puman—the Supreme Personality.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

The universal form of the Lord, or the impersonal feature of the Lord known as the brahmajyoti, is clearly explained here and compared to the radiation of the sun. The sunshine may expand all over the universe, but the source of the sunshine, namely the sun planet or the deity known as Surya-narayana, is the basis of such radiation. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krsna is the basis of the impersonal brahmajyoti radiation, or the impersonal feature of the Lord. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (14.27). So the universal form of the Lord is the secondary imagination of the impersonal form of the Lord, but the primary form of the Lord is Syamasundara, with two hands, playing on His eternal flute. Seventy-five percent of the expansive radiation of the Lord is manifested in the spiritual sky (tripad-vibhuti), and twenty-five percent of His personal radiation comprehends the entire expansion of the material universes. This is also explained and stated in the Bhagavad-gita (10.42). Thus the seventy-five percent expansion of His radiation is called His internal energy, whereas the twenty-five percent expansion is called the external energy of the Lord. The living entities, who are residents of the spiritual as well as the material expansions, are His marginal energy (tatastha-sakti), and they are at liberty to live in either of the energies, external or internal. Those who live within the spiritual expansion of the Lord are called liberated souls, whereas the residents of the external expansion are called the conditioned souls. We can just make an estimate of the number of the residents of the internal expansions in comparison with the number of residents in the external energy and may easily conclude that the liberated souls are far more numerous than the conditioned souls.

Next verse (SB2.6.18)