SB 1.18.21 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 21
Atha api yat pada nakha avamstam Jagat virincha uphritarhanam bhah Sa isham puaati anyatamo mukundat Ko nama loke bhagwat pado arthah.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Atha—therefore, Api—certainly, Yat—whose, Padanakha—nails of the feet, Avasristam—emanating, Jagat—the whole universe, Virincha—Brahmaji, Upahrita—collected, Arhanam—worship, Ambha—water, Sa—along with, Isham—Lord Shiva, Punati—purifies, Anyatamo—who else, Mukundat—besides the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, Ko—who, Nama—name, Loke—within the world, Bhagwat—Supreme Lord, Pada—position, Artha—worth.
TRANSLATION
Who can else be worth the name of the Supreme Lord except the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna because Brahmaji collected the water emanating from the nails of His feet to award to Lord Shiva as worshipful welcome. The same water (the Ganges) is purifying the whole universe including the Lord Shiva.
PURPORT
Conception of many gods in the Vedic literatures by the ignorant mass is completely wrong. The Lord is one without a second but He expands Himself in many and this is confirmed in the Vedas. Such expansions of the Lord is limitless but some of them are the Supreme Lord Himself in full and some of them are the living entities. The living entities are not as powerful as the Lord's plenary expansions and therefore there are two different types of expansions. Lord Brahma is generally one of the living entities and Lord Shiva is via media between the Lord and the living entities. In other words even demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva who are the chief amongst all other demigods, are never equal or greater than Lord Vishnu the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Goddess of Fortune Lakshmi, the all powerful demigods like Brahma and Shiva all are engaged in the worship of Vishnu or Lord Krishna and as such who else can be more powerful than Mukunda (Lord Krishna) to be factually called as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? The Goddess of fortune Lakshmiji, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva all of them are not independently powerful but they are powerful as expansions of the Supreme Lord and all of them are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord and so also the living entities are. There are four sects of worshipful devotees of the Lord and the chief amongst them are the Brahma Sampradaya, Rudra Sampradaya and Shri Sampradaya descending directly from Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and the Goddess of fortune Lakshmi respectively. Besides the above mentioned three Sampradayas there is the Kumar Sampradaya descending from Sanat Kumars and all the four original Sampradayas are still scrupulously engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord up to date declaring thereof that Lord Krishna, Mukunda is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no other personality is either equal with Him or greater than Him.