SB 10.84.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अनीह एतद् बहुधैक आत्मना सृजत्यवत्यत्ति न बध्यते यथा । भौमैर्हि भूमिर्बहुनामरूपिणी अहो विभूम्नश्चरितं विडम्बनम् ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

anīha etad bahudhaika ātmanā sṛjaty avaty atti na badhyate yathā bhaumair hi bhūmir bahu-nāma-rūpiṇī aho vibhūmnaś caritaṁ viḍambanam

Synonyms

anīhaḥ — exerting no endeavor ; etat — this (universe) ; bahudhā — manifold ; ekaḥ — alone ; ātmanā — by Himself ; sṛjati — He creates ; avati — maintains ; atti — annihilates ; na badhyate — is not bound up ; yathā — as ; bhaumaiḥ — by the transformations of earth ; hi — indeed ; bhūmiḥ — earth ; bahu — many ; nāma — rūpiṇī — having names and forms ; aho — ah ; vibhūmnaḥ — of the almighty Lord ; caritam — the activities ; viḍambanam — a pretense .

Translation

Indeed, the humanlike pastimes of the Almighty are simply a pretense! Effortlessly, He alone sends forth from His Self this variegated creation, maintains it and then swallows it up again, all without becoming entangled, just as the element earth takes on many names and forms in its various transformations.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Indeed, the humanlike pastimes of the Almighty are simply a pretense! Effortlessly, He alone sends forth from His Self this variegated creation, maintains it and then swallows it up again, all without becoming entangled, just as the element earth takes on many names and forms in its various transformations. KB 10.84.17 “Our dear Lord, by Your own energy You create, maintain and annihilate the whole cosmic manifestation of different names and forms, in the same way that the earth creates many forms of stone, trees and other varieties of names and forms and yet remains the same. Although You create varieties of manifestations through Your energy, You are unaffected by all those actions. Our dear Lord, we are simply stunned to see Your wonderful acts.

Purport

The one Supreme expands Himself as many without diminishing His completeness. He does this effortlessly, without depending on anyone or anything else. This mystic process of the Lord’s self-expansion is incomprehensible to all but Himself, but the example of the substance earth and its manifold products bears enough resemblance to provide some idea. The same example is also presented in an often-cited passage of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1), vācārambhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttikety eva satyam: “Earth’s transformations are merely verbal creations of the process of naming; the substance earth itself is alone real.” Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī suggests that this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam answers a possible objection on the part of Lord Kṛṣṇa: “How can I create, maintain and destroy the universe if I am Vasudeva’s son?” The answer is given by the words aho vibhūmnaś caritaṁ viḍambanam: “You are the perfectly complete whole, and Your birth and pastimes are only an imitation of ordinary persons’ activities in the material world. You simply pretend to be under higher control.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Both show of power and hiding your powers are beyond comprehension. The Lord creates this universe (etat) by himself (atmana) with many forms, but is not bound. Though the lord is one (ekah) he becomes the universe with many names and forms, just as earth is one, but becomes many as a pot or cloth. Amazing (aho) are the actions of the completely perfect lord (vibhumnah), appearing to be a controlled jiva by worshipping the sages. But it is only a pretense of being a controlled jiva (vidambanam).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

This happens all the time, not just now. You are one, without assistance. By yourself, without the assistance of another cause, by your svarūpa, you create and destroy even the whole universe, but you are without change (anīhaḥ) by action or by transformation. There is great variety (bahudhā) by manifestation of many different universes and various times. You are complete in yourself (vibhumnaḥ). Therefore your actions mock our intelligence (viḍambanam), since you possess acintya-śakti. Śrutes tu śabda-mūlatvāt: contradictions in the Lord are explained by scripture alone. (Brahma-sūtra 2.1.27)

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

The Lord is without action (anīhaḥ), unlike the potter in making the pot. Just by his desire things are accomplished. Or he has not purpose in creating the variegated universe (anīhaḥ). Alone you create by yourself (ātmanā). You are not dependent on anyone else. But you are not bound up by karma. It is just like (yathā) earth manifesting many names and forms with transformations. Aho indicates joy. The actions of the complete Lord (vibhūmnaḥ) are a pretense. “If he is complete why does he flee from Jarāsandha?” That is the pretense. By such activities he deceives the demons. Or the Lord is not at all bound up (yathā) because (hi) even earth with its names and forms is not bound by its products (bhaumaiḥ). It is not transformed. “What is the purpose in my creating the universe?” It is for the benefit of the jīvas. The activities of creation and destruction (caritam) are for supporting (vilambanam) all the jīvas. The letter L can be substituted for Ḍ.