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

Chapter Nine

SB2.9.37

TEXT 37

etan matam samatistha

paramena samadhina

bhavan kalpa-vikalpesu

na vimuhyati karhicit

SYNONYMS

etat—this; matam—the conclusion; samatistha—remain fixed; paramena—by the supreme; samadhina—concentration of the mind; bhavan—yourself; kalpa—intermediate devastation; vikalpesu—in the final devastation; na vimuhyati—will never bewilder; karhicit—anything like complacence.

TRANSLATION

O Brahma, just follow this conclusion by fixed concentration of mind, and no pride will disturb you, neither in the partial nor in the final devastation.

PURPORT

As in the Bhagavad-gita, Tenth Chapter, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, has summarized the whole text in four verses, namely, aham sarvasya prabhavah, etc., so the complete Srimad-Bhagavatam has also been summarized in four verses, as aham evasam evagre, etc. Thus the secret purpose of the most important Bhagavatite conclusion has been explained by the original speaker of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, who was also the original speaker of the Bhagavad-gita, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna. There are many grammarians and nondevotee material wranglers who have tried to present false interpretations of these four verses of the Srimad-Bhagavatam but the Lord Himself advised Brahmaji not to be deviated from the fixed conclusion the Lord had taught him. The Lord was the teacher of the nucleus of Srimad-Bhagavatam in four verses, and Brahma was the receiver of the knowledge. Misinterpretation of the word aham by the word jugglery of the impersonalist should not disturb the mind of the strict followers of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the text of the Personality of Godhead and His unalloyed devotees, who are also known as the bhagavatas, and any outsider should have no access to this confidential literature of devotional service. But unfortunately the impersonalist, who has no relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sometimes tries to interpret Srimad-Bhagavatam by his poor fund of knowledge in grammar and dry speculation. Therefore, the Lord warns Brahma (and, through Brahma, all future devotees of the Lord in the disciplic succession of Brahma) that one should never be misled by the conclusion of the so-called grammarians or by other men with a poor fund of knowledge, but must always fix the mind properly, via the parampara system. No one should try to give a new interpretation by dint of mundane knowledge. And the first step, therefore, in pursuance of the system of knowledge received by Brahma, is to approach a bona fide guru who is the representative of the Lord following the parampara system. No one should try to squeeze out his own meaning b imperfect mundane knowledge. The guru, or the bona fide spiritual master, is competent to teach the disciple in the right path with reference to the context of all authentic Vedic literature. He does not attempt to juggle words to bewilder the student. The bona fide spiritual master, by his personal activities, teaches the disciple the principles of devotional service. Without personal service, one would go on speculating like the impersonalists and dry speculators life after life and would be unable to reach the final conclusion. By following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master in conjunction with the principles of revealed scriptures, the student will rise to the plane of complete knowledge, which will be exhibited by development of detachment from the world of sense gratification. The mundane wranglers are surprised that one can detach himself from the world of sense gratification, and thus any attempt to be fixed in God realization appears to them to be mysticism. This detachment from the sensory world is called the brahma-bhuta stage of realization, the preliminary stage of transcendental devotional life (para bhaktih). The brahma-bhuta stage of life is also known as the atmarama stage, in which one is fully self-satisfied and does not hanker for the world of sense enjoyment. This stage of full satisfaction is the proper situation for understanding the transcendental knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. The Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.20) affirms this:

evam prasanna-manaso
bhagavad-bhakti-yogatah
bhagavat-tattva-vijnanam
mukta-sangasya jayate

Thus in the completely satisfied stage of life, exhibited by full detachment from the world of sense enjoyment as a result of performing devotional service, one can understand the science of God in the liberated stage.

In this stage of full satisfaction and detachment from the sensory world, one can know the mystery of the science of God with all its confidential intricacies, and not by grammar or academic speculation. Because Brahma qualified himself for such reception, the Lord was pleased to disclose the purpose of Srimad-Bhagavatam. This direct instruction by the Lord to any devotee who is detached from the world of sense gratification is possible, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (10.10):

tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

Unto the devotees who are constantly engaged in the Lord’s transcendental loving service (priti-purvakam), the Lord, out of His causeless mercy upon the devotee, gives direct instructions so that the devotee may make accurate progress on the path returning home, back to Godhead. One should not, therefore, try to understand these four verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam by mental speculation. Rather, by direct perception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is able to know all about His abode, Vaikuntha, as was seen and experienced by Brahmaji. Such Vaikuntha realization is possible by any devotee of the Lord situated in the transcendental position as a result of devotional service.

In the Gopala-tapani Upanisad (sruti) it is said, gopa-veso me purusah purastad avirbabhuva: the Lord appeared before Brahma as a cowboy, that is, as the original Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, Govinda, who is later described by Brahmaji in his Brahma-samhita (5.29):

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

Brahmaji desires to worship the original personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, who resides in the topmost Vaikuntha planet, known as Goloka Vrndavana, where He is in the habit of keeping surabhi cows as a cowboy and where He is served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune (the gopis) with love and respect.

Therefore Lord Sri Krsna is the original form of the Supreme Lord (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). This is also clear from this instruction. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Lord Krsna, and not directly Narayana or the purusa-avataras, which are subsequent manifestations. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam means consciousness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krsna, and Srimad-Bhagavatam is the sound representation of the Lord as much as the Bhagavad-gita is. Thus the conclusion is that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the science of the Lord in which the Lord and His abode are perfectly realized.

SB2.9.38

TEXT 38

sri-suka uvaca

sampradisyaivam ajano

jananam paramesthinam

pasyatas tasya tad rupam

atmano nyarunad dharih

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; sampradisya—fully instructing Brahmaji; evam—thus; ajanah—the Supreme Lord; jananam—of the living entities; paramesthinam—unto the supreme leader, Brahma; pasyatah—while he was seeing; tasya—His; tat rupam—that transcendental form; atmanah—of the Absolute; nyarunat—disappeared; harih—the Lord, the Personality of Godhead.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami said to Maharaja Pariksit: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, after being seen in His transcendental form, instructing Brahmaji, the leader of the living entities, disappeared.

PURPORT

In this verse it is clearly mentioned that the Lord is ajanah, or the Supreme Person, and that He was showing His transcendental form (atmano rupam) to Brahmaji while instructing him in the summarization of Srimad-Bhagavatam in four verses. He is ajanah, or the Supreme Person, amongst jananam, or all persons. All living entities are individual persons, and amongst all such persons Lord Hari is supreme, as confirmed in the sruti-mantra, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. So there is no place for impersonal features in the transcendental world as there are impersonal features in the material world. Whenever there is cetana, or knowledge, the personal feature comes in. In the spiritual world everything is full of knowledge, and therefore everything in the transcendental world, the land, the water, the tree, the mountain, the river, the man, the animal, the bird—everything—is of the same quality, namely cetana, and therefore everything there is individual and personal. Srimad-Bhagavatam gives us this information as the supreme Vedic literature, and it was personally instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to Brahmaji so that the leader of the living entities might broadcast the message to all in the universe in order to teach the supreme knowledge of bhakti-yoga. Brahmaji in his turn instructed Narada, his beloved son, the same message of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Narada, in his turn, taught the same to Vyasadeva, who again taught it to Sukadeva Gosvami. Through Sukadeva Gosvami’s grace and by the mercy of Maharaja Pariksit we are all given Srimad-Bhagavatam perpetually to learn the science of the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna.

SB2.9.39

TEXT 39

antarhitendriyarthaya

haraye vihitanjalih

sarva-bhutamayo visvam

sasarjedam sa purvavat

SYNONYMS

antarhita—on the disappearance; indriya-arthaya—unto the Personality of Godhead, the objective of all senses; haraye—unto the Lord; vihita-anjalih—in folded hands; sarva-bhuta—all living entities; mayah—full of; visvam—the universe; sasarja—created; idam—this; sah—he (Brahmaji); purva-vat—exactly like before.

TRANSLATION

On the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who is the object of transcendental enjoyment for the senses of devotees, Brahma, with folded hands, began to re-create the universe, full with living entities, as it was previously.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is the object for fulfilling the senses of all living entities. Illusioned by the glaring reflection of the external energy, the living entities worship the senses instead of engaging them properly in fulfilling the desires of the Supreme.

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (13.2) there is the following verse:

aksnoh phalam tvadrsa-darsanam hi
tanoh phalam tvadrsa-gatra-sangah
jihva-phalam tvadrsa-kirtanam hi
sudurlabha bhagavata hi loke

“O devotee of the Lord, the purpose of the visual sense is fulfilled simply by seeing you, and to touch your body is the fulfillment of bodily touch. The tongue is meant for glorifying your qualities because in this world a pure devotee of the Lord is very difficult to find.”

Originally the senses of the living entity were awarded for this purpose, namely to engage them in the transcendental loving service of the Lord or that of His devotees, but the conditioned souls, illusioned by the material energy, became captivated by sense enjoyment. Therefore the whole process of God consciousness is meant to rectify the conditional activities of the senses and to re-engage them in the direct service of the Lord. Lord Brahma thus engaged his senses in the Lord by re-creating the conditioned living entities to act in the re-created universe. This material universe is thus created and annihilated by the will of the Lord. It is created to give the conditioned soul a chance to act to return home, back to Godhead, and servants like Brahmaji, Naradaji, Vyasaji and their company become busy with the same purpose of the Lord: to reclaim the conditioned souls from the field of sense gratification and return them to the normal stage of engaging the senses in service of the Lord. Instead of doing so, i.e. converting the actions of the senses, the impersonalists began to make the conditioned souls sense-less, and the Lord also senseless. That is improper treatment for the conditioned souls. The diseased condition of the senses may be treated by curing the defect, but not uprooting the senses altogether. When there is some disease in the eyes, the eyes may be cured to see properly. Plucking out the eyes is no treatment. Similarly, the whole material disease is based on the process of sense gratification, and liberation from the diseased condition is re-engagement of the senses to see the beauty of the Lord, hear His glories, and act on His account. Thus Brahmaji created the universal activities again.

SB2.9.40

TEXT 40

prajapatir dharma-patir

ekada niyaman yaman

bhadram prajanam anvicchann

atisthat svartha-kamyaya

SYNONYMS

praja-patih—the forefather of all living entities; dharma-patih—the father of religious life; ekada—once upon a time; niyaman—rules and regulations; yaman—principles of control; bhadram—welfare; prajanam—of the living beings; anvicchan—desiring; atisthat—situated; sva-artha—own interest; kamyaya—so desiring.

TRANSLATION

Thus once upon a time the forefather of living entities and the father of religiousness, Lord Brahma, situated himself in acts of regulative principles, desiring self-interest for the welfare of all living entities.

PURPORT

One cannot be situated in an exalted position without having undertaken a regulative life of rules and regulations. An unrestricted life of sense gratification is animal life, and Lord Brahma, in order to teach all concerned within the jurisdiction of his generations, taught the same principles of sense control for executing higher duties. He desired the welfare of all as servants of God, and anyone desiring the welfare of the members of his family and generations must conduct a moral, religious life. The highest life of moral principles is to become a devotee of the Lord because a pure devotee of the Lord has all the good qualities of the Lord. On the other hand, one who is not a devotee of the Lord, however qualified he may be in the mundane sense of the term, cannot be qualified with any good quality worthy of the name. The pure devotees of the Lord, like Brahma and persons in the chain of disciplic succession, do not do anything to instruct their subordinates without acting accordingly themselves.

SB2.9.41

TEXT 41

tam naradah priyatamo

rikthadanam anuvratah

susrusamanah silena

prasrayena damena ca

SYNONYMS

tam—unto him; naradah—the great sage Narada; priyatamah—very dear; riktha-adanam—of the inheritor sons; anuvratah—very obedient; susrusamanah—always ready to serve; silena—by good behavior; prasrayena—by meekness; damena—by sense control; ca—also.

TRANSLATION

Narada, the most dear of the inheritor sons of Brahma, always ready to serve his father, strictly follows the instructions of his father by his mannerly behavior, meekness and sense control.

SB2.9.42

TEXT 42

mayam vividisan visnor

mayesasya maha-munih

maha-bhagavato rajan

pitaram paryatosayat

SYNONYMS

mayam—energies; vividisan—desiring to know; visnoh—of the Personality of Godhead; maya-isasya—of the master of all energies; maha-munih—the great sage; maha-bhagavatah—the first-class devotee of the Lord; rajan—O King; pitaram—unto his father; paryatosayat—very much pleased.

TRANSLATION

Narada very much pleased his father and desired to know all about the energies of Visnu, the master of all energies, for Narada was the greatest of all sages and greatest of all devotees, O King.

PURPORT

Lord Brahma, being the creator of all living beings in the universe, is originally the father of several well-known sons, like Daksa, the catuh-sanas, and Narada. In three departments of human knowledge disseminated by the Vedas, namely fruitive work (karma-kanda), transcendental knowledge (jnana-kanda), and devotional service (upasana-kanda), Devarsi Narada inherited from his father Brahma devotional service, whereas Daksa inherited from his father fruitive work, and Sanaka, Sanatana, etc., inherited from their father information about jnana-kanda, or transcendental knowledge. But out of them all, Narada is described here as the most beloved son of Brahma because of good behavior, obedience, meekness and readiness to render service unto the father. And Narada is famous as the greatest of all sages because of his being the greatest of all devotees. Narada is the spiritual master of many famous devotees of the Lord. He is the spiritual master of Prahlada, Dhruva and Vyasa, down to the forest animal hunter Kirata. His only business is to turn everyone to the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Therefore all these features of Narada make him the dearmost son of his father, and all this is due to Narada’s being a first-class devotee of the Lord. The devotees are always anxious to know more and more about the Supreme Lord, the master of all energies. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (10.9):

mac-citta mad-gata-prana
bodhayantah parasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityam
tusyanti ca ramanti ca

The Supreme Lord is unlimited, and His energies are also unlimited. No one can know them completely. Brahmaji, being the greatest living entity within this universe and being directly instructed by the Lord, must know more than anyone within this universe, although such knowledge may not be complete. Thus it is the duty of everyone to ask about the unlimited Lord from the spiritual master in the disciplic succession of Brahma, which descends from Narada to Vyasa, from Vyasa to Sukadeva and so on.

SB2.9.43

TEXT 43

tustam nisamya pitaram

lokanam prapitamaham

devarsih paripapraccha

bhavan yan manuprcchati

SYNONYMS

tustam—satisfied; nisamya—after seeing; pitaram—the father; lokanam—of the whole universe; prapitamaham—the great-grandfather; devarsih—the great sage Narada; paripapraccha—inquired; bhavan—yourself; yat—as it is; ma—from me; anuprcchati—inquiring.

TRANSLATION

The great sage Narada also inquired in detail from his father, Brahma, the great-grandfather of all the universe, after seeing him well satisfied.

PURPORT

The process of understanding spiritual or transcendental knowledge from the realized person is not exactly like asking an ordinary question from the schoolmaster. The schoolmasters in the modern days are paid agents for giving some information, but the spiritual master is not a paid agent. Nor can he impart instruction without being authorized. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.34), the process of understanding transcendental knowledge is directed as follows:

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah

Arjuna was advised to receive transcendental knowledge from the realized person by surrender, questions and service. Receiving transcendental knowledge is not like exchanging dollars; such knowledge has to be received by service to the spiritual master. As Brahmaji received the knowledge directly from the Lord by satisfying Him fully, similarly one has to receive the transcendental knowledge from the spiritual master by satisfying him. The spiritual master’s satisfaction is the means of assimilating transcendental knowledge. One cannot understand transcendental knowledge simply by becoming a grammarian. The Vedas declare (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23):

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

[SU 6.23]

“Only unto one who has unflinching devotion to the Lord and to the spiritual master does transcendental knowledge become automatically revealed.” Such relationship between the disciple and the spiritual master is eternal. One who is now the disciple is the next spiritual master. And one cannot be a bona fide and authorized spiritual master unless one has been strictly obedient to his spiritual master. Brahmaji, as a disciple of the Supreme Lord, received the real knowledge and imparted it to his dear disciple Narada, and similarly Narada, as spiritual master, handed over this knowledge to Vyasa and so on. Therefore the so-called formal spiritual master and disciple are not facsimiles of Brahma and Narada or Narada and Vyasa. The relationship between Brahma and Narada is reality, while the so-called formality is the relation between the cheater and cheated. It is clearly mentioned herewith that Narada is not only well behaved, meek and obedient, but also self-controlled. One who is not self-controlled, specifically in sex life, can become neither a disciple nor a spiritual master. One must have disciplinary training in controlling speaking, anger, the tongue, the mind, the belly and the genitals. One who has controlled the particular senses mentioned above is called a gosvami. Without becoming a gosvami one can become neither a disciple nor a spiritual master. The so-called spiritual master without sense control is certainly the cheater, and the disciple of such a so-called spiritual master is the cheated.

One should not think of Brahmaji as a dead great-grandfather, as we have experience on this planet. He is the oldest great-grandfather, and he is still living, and Narada is also living. The age of the inhabitants of the Brahmaloka planet is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita. The inhabitants of this small planet earth can hardly calculate even the duration of one day of Brahma.

SB2.9.44

TEXT 44

tasma idam bhagavatam

puranam dasa-laksanam

proktam bhagavata praha

pritah putraya bhuta-krt

SYNONYMS

tasmai—thereupon; idam—this; bhagavatam—the glories of the Lord or the science of the Lord; puranam—Vedic supplement; dasa-laksanam—ten characteristics; proktam—described; bhagavata—by the Personality of Godhead; praha—said; pritah—in satisfaction; putraya—unto the son; bhuta-krt—the creator of the universe.

TRANSLATION

Thereupon the supplementary Vedic literature, Srimad-Bhagavatam, which was described by the Personality of Godhead and which contains ten characteristics, was told with satisfaction by the father [Brahma] to his son Narada.

PURPORT

Although the Srimad-Bhagavatam was spoken in four verses, it had ten characteristics, which will be explained in the next chapter. In the four verses it is first said that the Lord existed before the creation, and thus the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam includes the Vedanta aphorism janmady asya [Bhag. 1.1.1]. Janmady asya is the beginning, yet the four verses in which it is said that the Lord is the root of everything that be, beginning from the creation up to the supreme abode of the Lord, naturally explain the ten characteristics. One should not misunderstand by wrong interpretations that the Lord spoke only four verses and that therefore all the rest of the 17,994 verses are useless. The ten characteristics, as will be explained in the next chapter, require so many verses just to explain them properly. Brahmaji had also advised Narada previously that he should expand the idea he had heard from Brahmaji. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed this to Srila Rupa Gosvami in a nutshell, but the disciple Rupa Gosvami expanded this very elaborately, and the same subject was further expanded by Jiva Gosvami and even further by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. We are just trying to follow in the footsteps of all these authorities. So Srimad-Bhagavatam is not like ordinary fiction or mundane literature. It is unlimited in strength, and however one may expand it according to one’s own ability, Bhagavatam still cannot be finished by such expansion. Srimad-Bhagavatam, being the sound representation of the Lord, is simultaneously explained in four verses and in four billion verses all the same, inasmuch as the Lord is smaller than the atom and bigger than the unlimited sky. Such is the potency of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

SB2.9.45

TEXT 45

naradah praha munaye

sarasvatyas tate nrpa

dhyayate brahma paramam

vyasayamita-tejase

SYNONYMS

naradah—the great sage Narada; praha—instructed; munaye—unto the great sage; sarasvatyah—of the River Sarasvati; tate—on the bank; nrpa—O King; dhyayate—unto the meditative; brahma—Absolute Truth; paramam—the Supreme; vyasaya—unto Srila Vyasadeva; amita—unlimited; tejase—unto the powerful.

TRANSLATION

In succession, O King, the great sage Narada instructed Srimad-Bhagavatam unto the unlimitedly powerful Vyasadeva, who meditated in devotional service upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, on the bank of the River Sarasvati.

PURPORT

In the Fifth Chapter of the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Narada instructed the great sage Vyasadeva as follows:

atho maha-bhaga bhavan amogha-drk
suci-sravah satya-rato dhrta-vratah
urukramasyakhila-bandha-muktaye
samadhinanusmara tad vicestitam

“O greatly fortunate, pious philosopher, your name and fame are universal, and you are fixed in the Absolute Truth with spotless character and infallible vision. I ask you to meditate upon the activities of the Personality of Godhead, whose activities are unparalleled.”

So in the disciplic succession of the Brahma-sampradaya, the practice of yoga meditation is not neglected. But because the devotees are bhakti-yogis, they do not undertake the trouble to meditate upon the impersonal Brahman; as indicated here, they meditate on brahma paramam, or the Supreme Brahman. Brahman realization begins from the impersonal effulgence, but by further progress of such meditation, manifestation of the Supreme Soul, Paramatma realization, takes place. And progressing further, realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is fixed. Sri Narada Muni, as the spiritual master of Vyasadeva, knew very well the position of Vyasadeva, and thus he certified the qualities of Srila Vyasadeva as fixed in the Absolute Truth with great vow, etc. Narada advised meditation upon the transcendental activities of the Lord. Impersonal Brahman has no activities, but the Personality of Godhead has many activities, and all such activities are transcendental, without any tinge of material quality. If the activities of the Supreme Brahman were material activities, then Narada would not have advised Vyasadeva to meditate upon them. And the param brahma is Lord Sri Krsna, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita. In the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, when Arjuna realized the factual position of Lord Krsna, he addressed Lord Krsna in the following words:

param brahma param dhama
pavitram paramam bhavan
purusam sasvatam divyam
adi-devam ajam vibhum

[Bg. 10.12]

ahus tvam rsayah sarve
devarsir naradas tatha
asito devalo vyasah
svayam caiva bravisi me

Arjuna summarized the purpose of the Bhagavad-gita by his realization of Lord Sri Krsna and thus said, “My dear Personality of Godhead, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Original Person in the eternal form of bliss and knowledge, and this is confirmed by Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasadeva, and, above all, Your personal self has also confirmed it.” (Bg. 10.12–13)

When Vyasadeva fixed his mind in meditation, he did it in bhakti-yoga trance and actually saw the Supreme Person with maya, the illusory energy, in contraposition. As we have discussed before, the Lord’s maya, or illusion, is also a representation because maya has no existence without the Lord. Darkness is not independent of light. Without light, no one can experience the contraposition of darkness. However, this maya, or illusion, cannot overcome the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but stands apart from Him (apasrayam).

Therefore, perfection of meditation is realization of the Personality of Godhead along with His transcendental activities. Meditation on the impersonal Brahman is a troublesome business for the meditator, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (12.5): kleso ’dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam.

SB2.9.46

TEXT 46

yad utaham tvaya prsto

vairajat purusad idam

yathasit tad upakhyaste

prasnan anyams ca krtsnasah

SYNONYMS

yat—what; uta—is, however; aham—I; tvaya—by you; prstah—I am asked; vairajat—from the universal form; purusat—from the Personality of Godhead; idam—this world; yatha—as it; asit—was; tat—that; upakhyaste—I shall explain; prasnan—all the questions; anyan—others; ca—as well as; krtsnasah—in great detail.

TRANSLATION

O King, your questions as to how the universe became manifested from the gigantic form of the Personality of Godhead, as well as other questions, I shall answer in detail by explanation of the four verses already mentioned.

PURPORT

As stated in the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, this great transcendental literature is the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge, and therefore all questions that can be humanly possible regarding the universal affairs, beginning from its creation, are all answered in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The answers depend only on the qualification of the person who explains them. The ten divisions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, as explained by the great speaker Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, are the limitation of all questions, and intelligent persons will derive all intellectual benefits from them by proper utilization.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Second Canto, Ninth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Answers by Citing the Lord’s Version.”

Next chapter (SB 2.10)