SB 10.40.1 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीअक्रूर उवाच नतोऽस्म्यहं त्वाखिलहेतुहेतुं नारायणं पूरुषमाद्यमव्ययम् । यन्नाभिजातादरविन्दकोषाद् ब्रह्माविरासीद् यत एष लोक: ॥ १ ॥

Verse text

śrī-akrūra uvāca nato ’smy ahaṁ tvākhila-hetu-hetuṁ nārāyaṇaṁ pūruṣam ādyam avyayam yan-nābhi-jātād aravinda-koṣād brahmāvirāsīd yata eṣa lokaḥ

Synonyms

śrī — akrūraḥ uvāca — Śrī Akrūra said ; nataḥ — bowed down ; asmi — am ; aham — I ; tvā — to You ; akhila — of all ; hetu — causes ; hetum — the cause ; nārāyaṇam — Lord Nārāyaṇa ; pūruṣam — the Supreme Person ; ādyam — original ; avyayam — inexhaustible ; yat — from whose ; nābhi — navel ; jātāt — which was generated ; aravinda — of a lotus plant ; koṣāt — from the whorl ; brahmā — Brahmā ; avirāsīt — appeared ; yataḥ — from whom ; eṣaḥ — this ; lokaḥ — world .

Translation

Śrī Akrūra said: I bow down to You, the cause of all causes, the original and inexhaustible Supreme Person, Nārāyaṇa. From the whorl of the lotus born from Your navel, Brahmā appeared, and by his agency this universe has come into being.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śrī Akrūra said: I bow down to You, the cause of all causes, the original and inexhaustible Supreme Person, Nārāyaṇa. From the whorl of the lotus born from Your navel, Brahmā appeared, and by his agency this universe has come into being. KB 10.40.1 Akrūra offered his prayers as follows: “My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because You are the supreme cause of all causes and the original inexhaustible personality, Nārāyaṇa. From Your navel a lotus flower grows, and from that lotus Brahmā, the creator of this universe, is born. Since Brahmā is the cause of this universe, You are the cause of all causes.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the fortieth chapter, Akrura pays respects to Krsna and praises him by glorifying his object of worship and the process of worship. The cause of everything is Brahma and the cause of Brahma is Narayana. That cause of all causes has the form of a person, who is without beginning or end (adyam avyayam), eternal. From him springs Brahma.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

He praises Kṛṣṇa as the puruṣa avatāra. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, Akrūra recites this verse in response to Kṛṣṇa saying in a joking manner, in spite of having appeared with four arms, “Why as my paternal uncle are you offering respects to me, a small child?” Akrūra answers by saying Kṛṣṇa is the inexhaustible Lord, the beginningless basis. “Why do you say that? “You are cause of all causes. “Nārāyaṇa is the cause not me. Why do you insist that I am Nārāyaṇa?” This is not praise. It is true. Brahmā has appeared from your navel. Saying this he points with his forefingers at the lotus bud.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Having seen the Lord as Nārāyaṇa seated on Ananta, Akrūra first offers respect to him by praising him with a description of his form. I offer respects to you, the supreme Lord (puruṣam). Brahmā appeared from the lotus of the worlds, which was first in bud form, in his navel. Since Brahmā is a guṇa avatāra of the Lord it is suggested that he is eternal. The eternal nature of avatāras is explained in Bhāgavatāmṛta. Or Brahmā is the form of all jīvas. Thus he is all the planets. Śrīdhara Svāmī explains it as follows. O Kṛṣṇa! Akrūra recognizes this form as Kṛṣṇa. “You are my uncle. Why do you bow to me?” Thus Akrūra describes him in terms of the supreme Lord, with four arms. You are the Lord. There cannot be praise just by mentioning his svarūpa. The highest praise results from describing his great excellence, distinguishing him from others. You are the cause of all causes of the world. You are the shelter of all jīvas (nārāyaṇam). You are first (ādyam), since you exist in the beginning, or since you are the best. You are the lord (puruṣam). As a pot arises from clay, everything arises from you. You have no decrease (avyayam). You are the one cause of all causes. From your navel springs a lotus, which is the fourteen worlds, or which produces the moving and nonmoving beings. Since the lotus comes from you, the lake from which it springs does not decrease.