Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 2: “The Cosmic Manifestation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Ten
SB2.10.42
TEXT 42
sa evedam jagad-dhata
bhagavan dharma-rupa-dhrk
pusnati sthapayan visvam
tiryan-nara-suradibhih
SYNONYMS
sah—He; eva—certainly; idam—this; jagat-dhata—the maintainer of the entire universe; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; dharma-rupa-dhrk—assuming the form of religious principles; pusnati—maintains; sthapayan—after establishing; visvam—the universes; tiryak—living entities lower than the human beings; nara—the human beings; sura-adibhih—by the demigodly incarnations.
TRANSLATION
He, the Personality of Godhead, as the maintainer of all in the universe, appears in different incarnations after establishing the creation, and thus He reclaims all kinds of conditioned souls amongst the humans, the nonhumans and the demigods.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu incarnates Himself in different societies of living entities to reclaim them from the clutches of illusion, and such activities of the Lord are not limited only to human society. He incarnates Himself even as a fish, hog, tree and many other forms, but less intelligent persons who have no knowledge of Him deride Him even if He is in human society as a human being. The Lord therefore says in the Bhagavad-gita (9.11):
avajananti mam mudha
manusim tanum asritam
param bhavam ajananto
mama bhuta-mahesvaram
As we have already discussed in the previous verses, it is concluded that the Lord is never a product of the material creation. His transcendental position is always unchanged. He is the eternal form of knowledge and bliss, and He executes His almighty will by His different energies. As such, He is never the subject of reactions for any of His acts. He is transcendental to all such conceptions of actions and reactions. Even if He is visible in the material world, the exhibition is only of His internal energy, for He is above the good and bad conceptions of this material world. In the material world the fish or the hog may be considered lower than the man, but when the Lord appears as a fish or hog, He is neither of them in the material conception. It is His causeless mercy that He appears in every society or species of life, but He is never to be considered one of them. Conceptions of the material world such as good and bad, lower and upper, important and insignificant, are estimations of the material energy, and the Supreme Lord is transcendental to all such conceptions. The words param bhavam, or transcendental nature, can never be compared to the material conception. We should not forget that the potencies of the Almighty Lord are always the same and do not decrease because the Lord assumes the form of a lower animal. There is no difference between Lord Sri Rama, Lord Sri Krsna and His incarnations as a fish and hog. He is all-pervading and simultaneously localized at any and every place. But the foolish person with a poor fund of knowledge, for want of that param bhavam of the Lord, cannot understand how the Supreme Lord can take the form of a man or a fish. One compares everything to one’s own standard of knowledge, as the frog in the well considers the sea to be like the well. The frog in the well cannot even think of the sea, and when such a frog is informed of the greatness of the sea, it takes the conception of the sea as being a little greater than the well. As such, one who is foolish about the transcendental science of the Lord will find it difficult to understand how Lord Visnu can equally manifest Himself in every society of living entities. SB2.10.43 TEXT 43 tatah kalagni-rudratma yat srstam idam atmanah sanniyacchati tat kale ghananikam ivanilah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter, at the end; kala—destruction; agni—fire; rudra-atma—in the form of Rudra; yat—whatever; srstam—created; idam—all these; atmanah—of His own; sam—completely; niyacchati—annihilates; tat kale—at the end of the millennium; ghana-anikam—bunches of clouds; iva—like that of; anilah—air. TRANSLATION Thereafter, at the end of the millennium, the Lord Himself in the form of Rudra, the destroyer, will annihilate the complete creation as the wind displaces the clouds. PURPORT This creation is very appropriately compared to clouds. Clouds are created or situated in the sky, and when they are displaced they remain in the same sky without manifestation. Similarly, the whole creation is made by the Supreme Personality of God in His form of Brahma, it is maintained by Him in the form of Visnu, and it is destroyed by Him in the form of Rudra, or Siva, all in due course. This creation, maintenance and destruction are nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gita (8.19–20) as follows: bhuta-gramah sa evayam paras tasmat tu bhavo ’nyo The nature of the material world is that it is first created very nicely, then it develops very nicely and stays for a great number of years (even beyond the calculation of the greatest mathematician), but after that it is again destroyed during the night of Brahma, without any resistance, and at the end of the night of Brahma it is again manifested as a creation to follow the same principles of maintenance and destruction. The foolish conditioned soul who has taken this temporary world as a permanent settlement has to learn intelligently why such creation and destruction take place. The fruitive actors in the material world are very enthusiastic in the creation of big enterprises, big houses, big empires, big industries and so many big, big things out of the energy and ingredients supplied by the material agent of the Supreme Lord. With such resources, and at the cost of valuable energy, the conditioned soul creates, satisfies his whims, but unwillingly has to depart from all his creations and enter into another phase of life to create again and again. To give hope to such foolish conditioned souls who waste their energy in this temporary material world, the Lord gives information that there is another nature, which is eternally existent without being occasionally created or destroyed, and that the conditioned soul can understand what he should do and how his valuable energy may be utilized. Instead of wasting his energy in matter, which is sure to be destroyed in due course by the supreme will, the conditioned soul should utilize his energy in the devotional service of the Lord so that he can be transferred to the other, eternal nature, where there is no birth, no death, no creation, no destruction, but permanent life instead, full of knowledge and unlimited bliss. The temporary creation is thus exhibited and destroyed just to give information to the conditioned soul who is attached to temporary things. It is also meant to give him a chance for self-realization, and not for sense gratification, which is the prime aim of all fruitive actors. SB2.10.44 TEXT 44 ittham-bhavena kathito bhagavan bhagavattamah nettham-bhavena hi param drastum arhanti surayah SYNONYMS ittham—in these features; bhavena—the matter of creation and destruction; kathitah—described; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; bhagavat-tamah—by the great transcendentalists; na—not; ittham—in this; bhavena—features; hi—only; param—most glorious; drastum—to see; arhanti—deserve; surayah—great devotees. TRANSLATION The great transcendentalists thus describe the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the pure devotees deserve to see more glorious things in transcendence, beyond these features. PURPORT The Lord is not only the creator and destroyer of the material manifestations of His different energies. He is more than a simple creator and destroyer, for there is His feature of ananda, or His pleasure feature. This pleasure feature of the Lord is understood by the pure devotees only, and not by others. The impersonalist is satisfied simply by understanding the all-pervasive influence of the Lord. This is called Brahman realization. Greater than the impersonalist is the mystic who sees the Lord situated in his heart as Paramatma, the partial representation of the Lord. But there are pure devotees who take part in the direct pleasure (ananda) potency of the Lord by factual reciprocation of loving service. The Lord in His abode called the Vaikuntha planets, which are eternal manifestations, always remains with His associates and enjoys transcendental loving services by His pure devotees in different transcendental humors. The pure devotees of the Lord thus undergo a practice of that devotional service to the Lord during the manifestation of the creation and take full advantage of the manifestation by qualifying themselves to enter into the kingdom of God. The Bhagavad-gita (18.55) confirms this: bhaktya mam abhijanati By development of pure devotional service one can factually know the Lord as He is and thus be trained in the bona fide service of the Lord and be allowed to enter into the direct association of the Lord in so many capacities. The highest glorious association with the Lord is made possible in the planet of Goloka Vrndavana, where Lord Krsna enjoys Himself with the gopis and His favorite animals, the surabhi cows. A description of this transcendental land of Krsna is given in the Brahma-samhita, which is considered by Lord Sri Caitanya to be the most authentic literature in this connection. SB2.10.45 TEXT 45 nasya karmani janmadau parasyanuvidhiyate kartrtva-pratisedhartham mayayaropitam hi tat SYNONYMS na—never; asya—of the creation; karmani—in the matter of; janma-adau—creation and destruction; parasya—of the Supreme; anuvidhiyate—it is so described; kartrtva—engineering; pratisedha-artham—counteract; mayaya—by the external energy; aropitam—is manifested; hi—for; tat—the creator. TRANSLATION There is no direct engineering by the Lord for the creation and destruction of the material world. What is described in the Vedas about His direct interference is simply to counteract the idea that material nature is the creator. PURPORT The Vedic direction for the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world is this: yato va imani bhutani jayante. yena jatani jivanti. yat prayanty abhisamvisanti, i.e., everything is created by Brahman, after creation everything is maintained by Brahman, and after annihilation everything is conserved in Brahman. Gross materialists without any knowledge of Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan conclude material nature to be the ultimate cause of the material manifestation, and the modern scientist also shares this view that the material nature is the ultimate cause of all the manifestations of the material world. This view is refuted by all Vedic literature. The Vedanta philosophy mentions that Brahman is the fountainhead of all creation, maintenance and destruction, and Srimad-Bhagavatam, the natural commentation on the Vedanta philosophy, says, janmady asya yato ’nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat [Bhag. 1.1.1], etc. Inert matter is undoubtedly energy with potential to interact, but it has no initiative of its own. Srimad-Bhagavatam therefore comments on the aphorism janmady asya by saying abhijnah and svarat, i.e., the Supreme Brahman is not inert matter, but He is supreme consciousness and is independent. Therefore inert matter cannot be the ultimate cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world. Superficially material nature appears to be the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction, but material nature is set into motion for creation by the supreme conscious being, the Personality of Godhead. He is the background of all creation, maintenance and destruction, and this is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (9.10): mayadhyaksena prakrtih The material nature is one of the energies of the Lord, and she can work under the direction of the Lord (adhyaksena). When the Lord throws His transcendental glance over the material nature, then only can the material nature act, as a father contacts the mother, who is then able to conceive a child. Although it appears to the layman that the mother gives birth to the child, the experienced man knows that the father gives birth to the child. The material nature therefore produces the moving and standing manifestations of the material world after being contacted by the supreme father, and not independently. Considering material nature to be the cause of creation, maintenance, etc., is called “the logic of nipples on the neck of a goat.” The Caitanya-caritamrta by Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes this logic of aja-gala-stana-nyaya as follows (as explained by His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja): “The material nature, as the material cause, is known as pradhana, and as efficient cause is known as maya. But since it is inert matter, it is not the remote cause of creation.” Kaviraja Gosvami states as follows: ataeva krsna mula-jagat-karana Because Karanarnavasayi Visnu is a plenary expansion of Krsna, it is He who electrifies the matter to put it in motion. The example of electrification is quite appropriate. A piece of iron is certainly not fire, but when the iron is made red-hot, certainly it has the quality of fire through its burning capacity. Matter is compared to the piece of iron, and it is electrified or made red-hot by the glance or manipulation of the supreme consciousness of Visnu. Only by such electrification is the energy of matter displayed in various actions and reactions. Therefore the inert matter is neither efficient nor the material cause of the cosmic manifestation. Sri Kapiladeva has said: yatholmukad visphulingad The original fire, its flame, its sparks and its smoke are all one, for fire is still fire yet is different from the flame, flame is different from sparks, and sparks are different from the smoke. In every one of them, namely in the flames, in the sparks and in the smoke, the integrity of fire is present, yet all of them are differently situated with different positions. The cosmic manifestation is compared to the smoke because when smoke passes over the sky so many forms appear, resembling many known and unknown manifestations. The sparks are compared to living entities, and the flames are compared to material nature (pradhana). One must know that each and every one of them is effective simply because of being empowered by the quality of the original fire. Therefore all of them, namely the material nature, the cosmic manifestation and the living entities, are but different energies of the Lord (fire). Therefore those who accept the material nature as the cosmic manifestation’s original cause (prakrti, the cause of creation according to Sankhya philosophy) are not correct in their conclusion. The material nature has no separate existence without the Lord. Therefore, setting aside the Supreme Lord as the cause of all causes is the logic of aja-gala-stana-nyaya, or trying to milk the nipples on the neck of a goat. The nipples on the neck of a goat may seem like sources of milk, but to try to get milk from such nipples will be foolish. SB2.10.46 TEXT 46 ayam tu brahmanah kalpah savikalpa udahrtah vidhih sadharano yatra sargah prakrta-vaikrtah SYNONYMS ayam—this process of creation and annihilation; tu—but; brahmanah—of Brahma; kalpah—his one day; sa-vikalpah—along with the duration of the universes; udahrtah—exemplified; vidhih—regulative principles; sadharanah—in summary; yatra—wherein; sargah—creation; prakrta—in the matter of material nature; vaikrtah—disbursement. TRANSLATION This process of creation and annihilation described in summary herein is the regulative principle during the duration of Brahma’s one day. It is also the regulative principle in the creation of mahat, in which the material nature is dispersed. PURPORT There are three different types of creation, called maha-kalpa, vikalpa and kalpa. In the maha-kalpa the Lord assumes the first purusa incarnation as Karanodakasayi Visnu with all the potencies of the mahat-tattva and the sixteen principles of creative matter and instruments. The creative instruments are eleven, the ingredients are five, and all of them are products of mahat, or materialistic ego. These creations by the Lord in His feature of Karanodakasayi Visnu are called maha-kalpa. The creation of Brahma and dispersion of the material ingredients are called vikalpa, and the creation by Brahma in each day of his life is called kalpa. Therefore each day of Brahma is called a kalpa, and there are thirty kalpas in terms of Brahma’s days. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (8.17) as follows: sahasra-yuga-paryantam In the upper planetary system the duration of one complete day and night is equal to one complete year of this earth. This is accepted even by the modern scientist and attested by the astronauts. Similarly, in the region of still higher planetary systems the duration of day and night is still greater than in the heavenly planets. The four yugas are calculated in terms of the heavenly calendars and accordingly are twelve thousand years in terms of the heavenly planets. This is called a divya-yuga, and one thousand divya-yugas make one day of Brahma. The creation during the day of Brahma is called kalpa, and the creation of Brahma is called vikalpa. When vikalpas are made possible by the breathing of Maha-Visnu, this is called a maha-kalpa. There are regular and systematic cycles of these maha-kalpas, vikalpas and kalpas. In answer to Maharaja Pariksit’s question about them, Sukadeva Gosvami answered in the Prabhasa-khanda of the Skanda Purana. They are as follows: prathamah sveta-kalpas ca rauravah pancamah proktah sadyotha navamah kalpa trayodasa udanas tu sodaso narasimhas tu dvavimso bhavanah proktah saptavimso ’tha vairajo Therefore the thirty kalpas of Brahma are: (1) Sveta-kalpa, (2) Nilalohita, (3) Vamadeva, (4) Gathantara, (5) Raurava, (6) Prana, (7) Brhat-kalpa, (8) Kandarpa, (9) Sadyotha, (10) Isana, (11) Dhyana, (12) Sarasvata, (13) Udana, (14) Garuda, (15) Kaurma, (16) Narasimha, (17) Samadhi, (18) Agneya, (19) Visnuja, (20) Saura, (21) Soma-kalpa, (22) Bhavana, (23) Supuma, (24) Vaikuntha, (25) Arcisa, (26) Vali-kalpa, (27) Vairaja, (28) Gauri-kalpa, (29) Mahesvara, (30) Paitr-kalpa. These are Brahma’s days only, and he has to live months and years up to one hundred, so we can just imagine how many creations there are in kalpas only. Then again there are vikalpas, which are generated by the breathing of Maha-Visnu, as stated in the Brahma-samhita (yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagadanda-nathah [Bs. 5.48]). The Brahmas live only during the breathing period of Maha-Visnu. So the exhaling and inhaling of Visnu are maha-kalpas, and all these are due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for no one else is the master of all creations. SB2.10.47 TEXT 47 parimanam ca kalasya kalpa-laksana-vigraham yatha purastad vyakhyasye padmam kalpam atho srnu SYNONYMS parimanam—measurement; ca—also; kalasya—of time; kalpa—a day of Brahma; laksana—symptoms; vigraham—form; yatha—as much as; purastat—hereafter; vyakhyasye—shall be explained; padmam—by the name Padma; kalpam—the duration of a day; atho—thus; srnu—just hear. TRANSLATION O King, I shall in due course explain the measurement of time in its gross and subtle features with the specific symptoms of each, but for the present let me explain unto you the Padma-kalpa. PURPORT The present duration of a kalpa of Brahma is called the Varaha-kalpa or Svetavaraha-kalpa because the incarnation of the Lord as Varaha took place during the creation of Brahma, who was born on the lotus coming out of the abdomen of Visnu. Therefore this Varaha-kalpa is also called Padma-kalpa, and this is testified by acaryas like Jiva Gosvami as well as Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in pursuance of the first commentator, Svami Sridhara. So there is no contradiction between the Varaha and the Padma-kalpa of Brahma. SB2.10.48 TEXT 48 saunaka uvaca yad aha no bhavan suta ksatta bhagavatottamah cacara tirthani bhuvas tyaktva bandhun sudustyajan SYNONYMS saunakah uvaca—Sri Saunaka Muni said; yat—as; aha—you said; nah—unto us; bhavan—your good self; suta—O Suta; ksatta—Vidura; bhagavata-uttamah—one of the topmost devotees of the Lord; cacara—practiced; tirthani—places of pilgrimage; bhuvah—on the earth; tyaktva—leaving aside; bandhun—all relatives; su-dustyajan—very difficult to give up. TRANSLATION Saunaka Rsi, after hearing all about the creation, inquired from Suta Gosvami about Vidura, for Suta Gosvami had previously informed him how Vidura left home, leaving aside all his relatives, who were very difficult to leave. PURPORT The rsis headed by Saunaka were more anxious to know about Vidura, who met Maitreya Rsi while traveling to the pilgrimage sites of the world. SB2.10.49-50 TEXTS 49–50 ksattuh kausaraves tasya samvado ’dhyatma-samsritah yad va sa bhagavams tasmai prstas tattvam uvaca ha bruhi nas tad idam saumya vidurasya vicestitam bandhu-tyaga-nimittam ca yathaivagatavan punah SYNONYMS ksattuh—of Vidura; kausaraveh—as that of Maitreya; tasya—their; samvadah—news; adhyatma—in the matter of transcendental knowledge; samsritah—full of; yat—which; va—anything else; sah—he; bhagavan—His Grace; tasmai—unto him; prstah—inquired; tattvam—the truth; uvaca—answered; ha—in the past; bruhi—please tell; nah—unto us; tat—those matters; idam—here; saumya—O gentle one; vidurasya—of Vidura; vicestitam—activities; bandhu-tyaga—renouncing the friends; nimittam—the cause of; ca—also; yatha—as; eva—also; agatavan—came back; punah—again (at home). TRANSLATION Saunaka Rsi said: Let us know, please, what topics were discussed between Vidura and Maitreya, who talked on transcendental subjects, and what was inquired by Vidura and replied by Maitreya. Also please let us know the reason for Vidura’s giving up the connection of his family members, and why he again came home. Please also let us know the activities of Vidura while he was in the places of pilgrimage. PURPORT Sri Suta Gosvami was narrating the topics of the creation and destruction of the material world, but it appears that the rsis headed by Saunaka were more inclined to hear of transcendental subjects, which are on a higher level than the physical. There are two classes of men, namely those too addicted to the gross body and the material world, and others, on the higher level, who are interested more in transcendental knowledge. Srimad-Bhagavatam gives facility to everyone, both to the materialist and to the transcendentalist. By hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam in the matter of the Lord’s glorious activities both in the material world and in the transcendental world, men can derive equal benefit. The materialists are more interested in the physical laws and how they are acting, and they see wonders in those physical glamors. Sometimes, due to physical glamors, they forget the glories of the Lord. They should know definitely that physical activities and their wonders are all initiated by the Lord. The rose in the garden gradually takes its shape and color to become beautiful and sweet not by a blind physical law, although it appears like that. Behind that physical law is the direction of the complete consciousness of the Supreme Lord, otherwise things cannot take shape so systematically. The artist draws a picture of a rose very nicely with all attention and artistic sense, and yet it does not become as perfect as the real rose. If that is the real fact, how can we say that the real rose has taken its shape without intelligence behind the beauty? This sort of conclusion is due to a poor fund of knowledge. One must know from the above description of creation and annihilation that the supreme consciousness, being omnipresent, can take care of everything with perfect attention. That is the fact of the omnipresence of the Supreme Lord. Persons, still more foolish than the gross materialists, however, claim to be transcendentalists and claim to have such supreme all-pervading consciousness, but offer no proof. Such foolish persons cannot know what is going on behind the next wall, yet they are falsely proud of possessing the cosmic, all-pervading consciousness of the Supreme Person. For them also, hearing of Srimad-Bhagavatam is a great help. It will open their eyes to see that simply by claiming supreme consciousness one does not become supremely conscious. One has to prove in the physical world that he has such supreme consciousness. The rsis of Naimisaranya, however, were above the gross materialists and the false transcendentalists, and thus they were always anxious to know the real truth in transcendental matters, as discussed by authorities. SB2.10.51 TEXT 51 suta uvaca rajna pariksita prsto yad avocan maha-munih tad vo ’bhidhasye srnuta rajnah prasnanusaratah SYNONYMS sutah uvaca—Sri Suta Gosvami replied; rajna—by the King; pariksita—by Pariksit; prstah—as asked; yat—what; avocat—spoke; maha-munih—the great sage; tat—that very thing; vah—unto you; abhidhasye—I shall explain; srnuta—please hear; rajnah—by the King; prasna—question; anusaratah—in accordance with. TRANSLATION Sri Suta Gosvami explained: I shall now explain to you the very subjects explained by the great sage in answer to King Pariksit’s inquiries. Please hear them attentively. PURPORT Any question that is put forward may be answered by quoting the authority, and that satisfies the saner section. That is the system even in the law court. The best lawyer gives evidence from the past judgment of the court without taking much trouble to establish his case. This is called the parampara system, and learned authorities follow it without manufacturing rubbish interpretations. isvarah paramah krsnah Let us all obey the Supreme Lord, whose hand is in everything, without exception. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Second Canto, Tenth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Bhagavatam Is the Answer to All Questions.” END OF THE SECOND CANTO
bhutva bhutva praliyate
ratry-agame ’vasah partha
prabhavaty ahar-agame
’vyakto ’vyaktat sanatanah
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu
nasyatsu na vinasyati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram
suyate sa-caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
prakrti——karana yaiche aja-gala-stana
dhumad vapi sva-sambhavat
apy atmatvenabhimatad
yathagnih prthag ulmukat
ahar yad brahmano viduh
ratim yuga-sahasrantam
te ’ho-ratra-vido janah
dvitiyo nila-lohitah
vamadevas trtiyas tu
tato gathantaro ’parah
sasthah prana iti smrtah
saptamo ’tha brhat-kalpah
kandarpo ’stama ucyate
isano dasamah smrtah
dhyana ekadasah proktas
tatha sarasvato ’parah
garudo ’tha caturdasah
kaurmah pancadaso jneyah
paurnamasi prajapateh
samadhis tu tato ’parah
agneyo visnujah saurah
soma-kalpas tato ’parah
supuman iti caparah
vaikunthas carstisas tadvad
vali-kalpas tato ’parah
gauri-kalpas tathaparah
mahesvaras tatha proktas
tripuro yatra ghatitah
pitr-kalpas tatha cante
yah kuhur brahmanah smrta
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam