SB 4.1.56

Srimad-Bhagavatam - Fourth Canto - Chapter 1: Genealogical Table of the Daughters of Manu

SB 4.1.54-55 - SB 4.1.57

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 56

devā ūcuḥ

yo māyayā viracitaṁ nijayātmanīdaṁ

khe rūpa-bhedam iva tat-praticakṣaṇāya

etena dharma-sadane ṛṣi-mūrtinādya

prāduścakāra puruṣāya namaḥ parasmai

SYNONYMS

devāḥ — the demigods; ūcuḥ — said; yaḥ — who; māyayā — by the external energy; viracitam — was created; nijayā — by His own; ātmani — being situated in Him; idam — this; khe — in the sky; rūpa-bhedam — bunches of clouds; iva — as if; tat — of Himself; praticakṣaṇāya — for manifesting; etena — with this; dharma-sadane — in the house of Dharma; ṛṣi-mūrtinā — with the form of a sage; adya — today; prāduścakāra — appeared; puruṣāya — unto the Personality of Godhead; namaḥ — respectful obeisances; parasmai — the Supreme.

TRANSLATION

The demigods said: Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the transcendental Personality of Godhead, who created as His external energy this cosmic manifestation, which is situated in Him as the air and clouds are situated in space, and who has now appeared in the form of Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi in the house of Dharma.

PURPORT

The universal form of the Lord is the cosmic manifestation, which is an exhibition of the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In space there are innumerable varieties of planets and also the air, and in the air there are variously colored clouds, and sometimes we see airplanes running from one place to another. Thus the entire cosmic manifestation is full of variety, but actually that variety is a manifestation of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and that energy is situated in Him. Now the Lord Himself, after manifesting His energy, appeared within the creation of His energy, which is simultaneously one with and different from Himself, and therefore the demigods offered their respects to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who manifests Himself in such varieties. There are some philosophers, called nondualists, who because of their impersonal conception think that varieties are false. In this verse it is specifically stated, yo māyayā viracitam. This indicates that the varieties are a manifestation of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus because the energy is nondifferent from the Godhead, the varieties are also factual. The material varieties may be temporary, but they are not false. They are a reflection of the spiritual varieties. Here the word praticakṣaṇāya, "there are varieties," announces the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appeared as Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and who is the origin of all varieties of material nature.

SB 4.1.54-55 - SB 4.1.57