CC Madhya 21.58
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 58
- ananta brahmāṇḍera yata brahmā-rudra-gaṇa
- cira-loka-pāla-śabde tāhāra gaṇana
SYNONYMS
ananta—unlimited; brahmāṇḍera—of the universes; yata—all; brahmā—Lord Brahmās; rudra-gaṇa—and Lord Śivas; cira-loka-pāla—permanent governors of the worlds; śabde—by the word; tāhāra—of them; gaṇana—counting.
TRANSLATION
“Actually it is very difficult to ascertain the number of universes. Every universe has its separate Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who are known as permanent governors. Therefore there is also no counting them.
PURPORT
Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are called cira-loka-pāla, permanent governors. This means that they govern the affairs of the universe from the beginning of the creation to the end. In the next creation, the same living entities may not be present, but because Brahmā and Śiva are existing from the beginning to the end, they are called cira-loka-pāla, permanent governors. Loka-pāla means “predominating deities.” There are eight predominating deities of the prominent heavenly planets, and they are Indra, Agni, Yama, Varuṇa, Nirṛti, Vāyu, Kuvera and Śiva.