rūpaṁ yad etad avabodha-rasodayena
rūpaṁ yad etad avabodha-rasodayena
śaśvan-nivṛtta-tamasaḥ sad-anugrahāya
ādau gṛhītam avatāra-śataika-bījaṁ
yan-nābhi-padma-bhavanād aham āvirāsam
By your mercy to the devotees, by your cit-śakti, you have shown at the beginning this form which is eternally devoid of māyā, which is the seed of countless avatāras, and from whose navel appeared the lotus from which I have appeared.
“But this form that you have described is current, something you see today. If it is recent it is not eternal. You words show that.” Worrying that the Lord will joke in this way, Brahmā speaks. Because it is caused by the appearance of the cit-śakti arising from your svarūpa, your form is eternally devoid of māyā (tamasaḥ). Because the form is eternal, the word gṛhītam cannot mean that the Lord accepted this form at some time. It simply means that the form appeared. This is the opinion of Śrīdhara Svāmī. The Sandarbha says that grḥītam means that the form is brought before the devotees’ vision. Some persons with material minds will say that this means that the Lord accepts material qualities. Other say that it means the form is accepted by the influence of the cit-śakti (avabodha-rasodayena).
|| 3.9.3 ||
nātaḥ paraṁ parama yad bhavataḥ svarūpam
ānanda-mātram avikalpam aviddha-varcaḥ
paśyāmi viśva-sṛjam ekam aviśvam ātman
bhūtendriyātmaka-madas ta upāśrito ’smi
O Supreme Lord! I do not see that you are different from your form as the Brahman which is without qualities and only bliss. O form of unrestricted light! I, full of pride in thinking I can get pleasure by body, sense and mind, take shelter of your one form which is spiritual, but which creates this universe.
“But some say that the original form is Brahman without qualities, not the Lord with qualities.” O Supreme Lord (parama)! I do not see this form as different from your form of Brahman which is without qualities (avikalpam) and only bliss (ānanda-mātram). But this form includes the Brahman. The Brahman does not include this form. O Lord whose effulgence is not restricted by time or space!. Your effulgence is all pervading. That effulgence is the Brahman. In Hari-vaṁśa the Lord tells Arjuna yat paraṁ paramaṁ brahma sarvaṁ vibhajate jaga. mamaiva tadghanaṁ tejo jñātumarhasi bhārata: O Bhārata, this supreme Brahman lights up the whole universe; you should know that it is my condensed light. “Though Brahman and the personal form are one, where do you reside, with the Brahman or the personal form?” I take shelter of the one form (ekam) of you (te) who create the universe (viśva-sṛjam). “But you, Brahmā, create this universe.” You are also different from the universe. You are spiritual (aviśvam), whereas I am material, because I have pride (madaḥ) that I can gain pleasure by body, senses and mind. He criticizes himself as material.
|| 3.9.4 ||
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