Devanagari
श्रीदेवक्युवाच
रूपं यत् तत् प्राहुरव्यक्तमाद्यं
ब्रह्म ज्योतिर्निर्गुणं निर्विकारम् ।
सत्तामात्रं निर्विशेषं निरीहं
स त्वं साक्षाद् विष्णुरध्यात्मदीप: ॥ २४ ॥
Verse text
śrī-devaky uvāca
rūpaṁ yat tat prāhur avyaktam ādyaṁ
brahma jyotir nirguṇaṁ nirvikāram
sattā-mātraṁ nirviśeṣaṁ nirīhaṁ
sa tvaṁ sākṣād viṣṇur adhyātma-dīpaḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
devakī uvāca — Śrī Devakī said
;
rūpam
—
form or substance
;
yat tat
—
because You are the same substance
;
prāhuḥ
—
You are sometimes called
;
avyaktam
—
not perceivable by the material senses ( ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ )
;
ādyam
—
You are the original cause
;
brahma
—
You are known as Brahman
;
jyotiḥ
—
light
;
nirguṇam
—
without material qualities
;
nirvikāram
—
without change, the same form of Viṣṇu perpetually
;
sattā
—
mātram — the original substance, the cause of everything
;
nirviśeṣam
—
You are present everywhere as the Supersoul (within the heart of a human being and within the heart of an animal, the same substance is present)
;
nirīham
—
without material desires
;
saḥ
—
that Supreme Person
;
tvam
—
Your Lordship
;
sākṣāt
—
directly
;
viṣṇuḥ
—
Lord Viṣṇu
;
adhyātma
—
dīpaḥ — the light for all transcendental knowledge (knowing You, one knows everything: yasmin vijṣāte sarvam evaṁ vijṣātaṁ bhavati ) .
Translation
Śrī Devakī said: My dear Lord, there are different Vedas, some of which describe You as unperceivable through words and the mind. Yet You are the origin of the entire cosmic manifestation. You are Brahman, the greatest of everything, full of effulgence like the sun. You have no material cause, You are free from change and deviation, and You have no material desires. Thus the Vedas say that You are the substance. Therefore, my Lord, You are directly the origin of all Vedic statements, and by understanding You, one gradually understands everything. You are different from the light of Brahman and Paramātmā, yet You are not different from them. Everything emanates from You. Indeed, You are the cause of all causes, Lord Viṣṇu, the light of all transcendental knowledge.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śrī Devakī said: My dear Lord, there are different Vedas, some of which describe You as unperceivable through words and the mind. Yet You are the origin of the entire cosmic manifestation. You are Brahman, the greatest of everything, full of effulgence like the sun. You have no material cause, You are free from change and deviation, and You have no material desires. Thus the Vedas say that You are the substance. Therefore, my Lord, You are directly the origin of all Vedic statements, and by understanding You, one gradually understands everything. You are different from the light of Brahman and Paramātmā, yet You are not different from them. Everything emanates from You. Indeed, You are the cause of all causes, Lord Viṣṇu, the light of all transcendental knowledge.
KB 10.3.24
Devakī said, “My dear Lord, Your eternal forms, like Nārāyaṇa, Lord Rāma, Hayaśīrṣa, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, Baladeva and millions of similar incarnations emanating from Viṣṇu, are described in the Vedic literature as original. You are original because all Your forms as incarnations are outside of this material creation. Your form was existing before this cosmic manifestation was created. Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are ever cognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only. All such transcendental, eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu.
Purport
Viṣṇu is the origin of everything, and there is no difference between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Kṛṣṇa because both of Them are
viṣṇu-tattva.
From the
Ṛg Veda
we understand,
oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam:
the original substance is the all-pervading Lord Viṣṇu, who is also Paramātmā and the effulgent Brahman. The living entities are also part and parcel of Viṣṇu, who has various energies (
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jṣāna-bala-kriyā ca
). Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, is therefore everything. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the
Bhagavad-gītā
(10.8)
,
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate:
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me.” Kṛṣṇa, therefore, is the original cause of everything (
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
). When Viṣṇu expands in His all-pervading aspect, we should understand Him to be the
nirākāra-nirviśeṣa-brahmajyoti.
Although everything emanates from Kṛṣṇa, He is ultimately a person.
Aham ādir hi devānām:
He is the origin of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara, and from them many other demigods are manifested. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in
Bhagavad-gītā
(14.27)
,
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham;
“Brahman rests upon Me.” The Lord also says:
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
“Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kuntī, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.” (
Bg. 9.23
) There are many persons who worship different demigods, considering all of them to be separate gods, which in fact they are not. The fact is that every demigod, and every living entity, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa (
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ
). The demigods are also in the category of living entities; they are not separate gods. But men whose knowledge is immature and contaminated by the modes of material nature worship various demigods, according to their intelligence. Therefore they are rebuked in
Bhagavad-gītā
(
kāmais tais tair hṛta-jṣānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ
). Because they are unintelligent and not very advanced and have not properly considered the truth, they take to the worship of various demigods or speculate according to various philosophies, such as the Māyāvāda philosophy.
Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, is the actual origin of everything. As stated in the
Vedas, yasya bhāṣā sarvam idaṁ vibhāti.
The Absolute Truth is described later in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(10.28.15)
as
satyaṁ jṣānam anantam yad brahma-jyotiḥ sanātanam.
The
brahmajyoti
is
sanātana,
eternal, yet it is dependent on Kṛṣṇa (
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham
). The
Brahma-saṁhitā
states that the Lord is all-pervading.
Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham:
He is within this universe, and He is within the atom as Paramātmā.
Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhu-ti-bhinnam:
Brahman is also not independent of Him. Therefore whatever a philosopher may describe is ultimately Kṛṣṇa, or Lord Viṣṇu (
sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
). According to different phases of understanding, Lord Viṣṇu is differently described, but in fact He is the origin of everything.
Because Devakī was an unalloyed devotee, she could understand that the same Lord Viṣṇu had appeared as her son. Therefore, after the prayers of Vasudeva, Devakī offered her prayers. She was very frightened because of her brother’s atrocities. Devakī said, “My dear Lord, Your eternal forms, like Nārāyaṇa, Lord Rāma, Śeṣa, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, Baladeva, and millions of similar incarnations emanating from Viṣṇu, are described in the Vedic literature as original. You are original because all Your forms as incarnations are outside of this material creation. Your form was existing before this cosmic manifestation was created. Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are ever-cognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only; all such transcendental, eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu.” We may conclude, therefore, that Lord Viṣṇu is everything, although He is also different from everything. This is the
acintya-bhedābheda-tattva
philosophy.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"As it is well known that the devotees control the Lord by praising him, I will make this child submissive by my prayers and then express my desires." Thinking in this way, she speaks. "O Lord, we are afflicted by fear at every second, but you are not fearful at all." She expresses this in four verses. "The Vedas describe your famous form as avyaka or beyond the material senses, adyam without birth, whose bodily effulgence is without material qualities and unchanging." This statement about Brahman is supported in the scriptures in many places. The sruti says:
yasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati
(whose light supports the whole universe...)
satyam jnanam anantam yad brahma jyotih santananam
Bhagavatam. 10.28.14
Tat param paramam brahma sarvam vibhajate jagat
mamaiva tad bhanam tejo jnatum arhasi bharata .
I am the supreme Brahman, and the whole universe serves me. You should know that Brahman is my effulgence.
Harivamsa (the Lord speaks to Arjuna)
Yasya prabha prabhavato jagadanda koti kotisvasesa vasudadhi vibhuti binnam ...
Brahma Samhita.
Brahmano hi pritisthaham. Gita
I am the source of Brahman
In relation to the Lord’s vibhuti or powers, Sridha Swami in his commentary on Gita mentions that the impersonal feature of the Lord is called Brahman, indicated by the use of the word param.
In Bhagavatam 8.24.38 Matsya speaks:
madiyam mahimanam ca param brahmeti sabditam.
paratparam brahma ca te vibhutayah
The supreme Brahman is your vibhuti.
Yamunacarya’s stotra
tad brahma krsnayor aikyam mam kiranarkopamayujor
The Brahman and Krsna are one as in the example of the rays and the sun.
Bhakti rasamrta sindhu.
"The associates, devotees, dhama and your forms all arise from the suddha sattva (satta matram). means that you are beyond the particulars of the material world (nirvisesa) You are niriham, without material thirst because you are full and perfect." Or it can mean "You are the person who takes away material desire from the devotee’s heart, and gives that devotee the desire to attain the Lord." Iha means desire, endeavour, thirst in the Amara kosa dictionary. "You are Visnu, adyatma dipah, because You reveal all truths. Though I am ignorant, I have spoken as you have revealed yourself to me."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Śrīdhara Svāmī explains this verse. Avayktam means not visible to anyone. “But it is not possible that an object is invisible to everyone.” You are the cause of everything (ādyam). This means that you are visible in the effects. The small flame does not reveal or burn fire in general. “But all the atoms are invisible and causes. Your definition is not exclusive.” This idea is rejected. No, you are Brahman (the greatest) whereas the collection of atoms of air is not great. “But pradhāna has the qualities of being invisible. It is the cause and spreads everywhere.” No, you are self-manifesting (jyotiḥ). The word jyotiḥ means a conscious entity whereas pradhāna is devoid of consciousness and is revealed by consciousness. Jyotiś caraṇābhidhānāt: light refers to Brahman since he is described as having four feet (three in the spiritual realm and one in matter). (Brahma-sūtra 1.1.25) “Consciousness arises from contact with knowledge. For the Vaiśeṣikas, the soul is essentially unconscious. By arousal of knowledge (part of sattva-guṇa) it becomes conscious. Is Brahman like that?” No, Brahman is nirguṇa. “Is Brahman a transformation of the guṇas, as in Mīmāṁsaka philosophy?” No, it is nirvikāram, without change. “Does Brahman transform, caused by discharge of śakti in the form of knowledge and action, according to Bhāskara?” No, Brahman is existence alone (sattā-mātram). The word sat means that substance is its essence. Brahman is that manifestation of substance alone. It is without transformation. In a joking mood Śrīdhara Svāmī then asks “Is it a combination of all general characteristics (sāmānya). Since it cannot be described by the previous terms it must a combination of all of them, like combining words together--for example hasti-snāna (washing an elephant).” No, it is without particular qualities (nirviśeṣam). Sāmānya depends on qualities. Because of qualities, the sāmānya form does not exist at all times in the past, present or future. Therefore that which is conscious, which can be described in words with true meaning is called sattā, since it reveals all the qualities mentioned. It is called conscious because it is self- revealing. Then again a doubt arises. “Is it full of disturbance because it is the cause?” No, it is without action (nirīham). This means the Lord is the cause by proximity, by his inconceivable śakti arising from his svarūpa.
The special meaning is this. “If we analyze things in detail, finally the whole universe is nothing but Brahman. Why are there any qualities at all?” You are directly Viṣṇu. You are not covered by māyā. Therefore you are manifested with six special qualities, transformations of mercy, possessing limbs and other bodily features with graceful movements of hands and feet, a wealth of good qualities. One should consult the Bhagavat-sandarbha for establishment of the Lord’s qualities in his form according to the philosophy of Rāmānuja.
Sattā means “having absolute qualities.” Jyotiḥ means self-revealing consciousness. Brahman means the greatest. Ādyam means without birth. That form revealed as a reflection to the jñānīs by negating faulty qualities which are seen in the material realm, is actually the form of Viṣṇu. You are that form, and do not have the qualities of matter, since faults cannot be seen in you. Because the false concepts are refuted by scriptures which are realized by the learned, the Lord also personally refutes these false conceptions. By appearing directly in Devakī’s womb he refutes the idea that the Lord is unborn.
He refutes the idea that qualities limit God, by appearing with his form decorated with ornaments. As well, Viṣṇu in the verse means “all-pervading.” Yaśodā and others make many statements like na cāntar na bahir yasya: he has no inside or outside. (SB 10.9.13) They realized that the Lord contains everything. Then the idea that the Lord manifests or is illuminated by others is refuted with the words adhyātmā-dīpaḥ. Rather you illuminate our intelligence. Like Brahman, you reveal yourself. No one can deceive you. Adhyātma means “depending on the self.” Thus the word can mean ātma-rāma. You also illuminate even the ātmā-rāmas. You give them joy by having them experience the highest bliss. The verse shows that the Lord’s form is superior to Brahman. The word sākṣāt indicates clear difference.
Another meaning of the verse is “that form of Viṣṇu is called avyaktam, nirguṇam, free of material guṇas and is also called Parabrahman. That is you, the Supreme Lord (viṣṇuḥ), who pervades by your own powers.” Viṣṇuḥ means the Supreme Lord. Adhyātma-dīpaḥ means the supreme ātmā. Other words have the same meaning.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Another meaning of the verse is “that form of Viṣṇu is called avyaktam, nirguṇam, free of material guṇas and is also called Parabrahman. That is you, the Supreme Lord (viṣṇuḥ), who pervades by your own powers.” Viṣṇuḥ means the Supreme Lord. Adhyātma-dīpaḥ means the supreme ātmā. Other words have the same meaning.