Devanagari
त्वत्त: पुमान् समधिगम्य ययास्य वीर्यं
धत्ते महान्तमिव गर्भममोघवीर्य: ।
सोऽयं तयानुगत आत्मन आण्डकोशं
हैमं ससर्ज बहिरावरणैरुपेतम् ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
tvattaḥ pumān samadhigamya yayāsya vīryaṁ
dhatte mahāntam iva garbham amogha-vīryaḥ
so ’yaṁ tayānugata ātmana āṇḍa-kośaṁ
haimaṁ sasarja bahir āvaraṇair upetam
Synonyms
tvattaḥ
—
from You
;
pumān
—
the puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu
;
samadhigamya
—
obtaining
;
yayā
—
along with which (material nature)
;
asya
—
of this creation
;
vīryam
—
the potential seed
;
dhatte
—
He impregnates
;
mahāntam
—
the mahat-tattva, the raw amalgamation of matter
;
iva garbham
—
like an ordinary fetus
;
amogha
—
vīryaḥ — He whose semen is never wasted
;
saḥ ayam
—
that same ( mahat-tattva )
;
tayā
—
with the material nature
;
anugataḥ
—
joined
;
ātmanaḥ
—
from itself
;
āṇḍa
—
kośam — the primeval egg of the universe
;
haimam
—
golden
;
sasarja
—
produced
;
bahiḥ
—
on its outside
;
āvaraṇaiḥ
—
with several coverings
;
upetam
—
endowed .
Translation
My dear Lord, the original puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu, acquires His creative potency from You. Thus with infallible energy He impregnates material nature, producing the mahat-tattva. Then the mahat-tattva, the amalgamated material energy, endowed with the potency of the Lord, produces from itself the primeval golden egg of the universe, which is covered by various layers of material elements.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The original puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu, obtains his powers from you and establishes mahat-tattva, the womb of the universe, through māyā. Then the mahat-tattva, obedient to māyā, produces from itself the golden shell of the universe with its coverings.
The Lord is superior to the jīva. He is also superior to Mahāviṣṇu who glances over prakṛti. Mahāviṣṇu obtains his power from you. By māyā he supports mahaṭ-tattva (vīryam), which is like the womb of the universe. Mahat-tattva, obedient to māyā, creates the universe from itself.
Purport
In the previous verses the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead has been established in relation to the living entity and material nature. In this verse it is clearly stated that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of the greatest Viṣṇu incarnation, Mahā-Viṣṇu, and that Mahā-Viṣṇu acquires His creative potency from Lord Kṛṣṇa. It would therefore be foolish to surmise that Lord Kṛṣṇa is an expansion of Viṣṇu. In this regard the opinion of the demigods, headed by Brahmā, can be taken as final.