SB 11.9.28 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

सृष्ट्वा पुराणि विविधान्यजयात्मशक्त्या वृक्षान् सरीसृपपशून् खगदन्दशूकान् । तैस्तैरतुष्टहृदय: पुरुषं विधाय ब्रह्मावलोकधिषणं मुदमाप देव: ॥ २८ ॥

Verse text

sṛṣṭvā purāṇi vividhāny ajayātma-śaktyā vṛkṣān sarīsṛpa-paśūn khaga-dandaśūkān tais tair atuṣṭa-hṛdayaḥ puruṣaṁ vidhāya brahmāvaloka-dhiṣaṇaṁ mudam āpa devaḥ

Synonyms

sṛṣṭvā — having created ; purāṇi — material bodies that house the conditioned souls ; vividhāni — many varieties ; ajayā — through the agency of māyā ; ātma — śaktyā — the Lord’s own potency ; vṛkṣān — trees ; sarīsṛpa — reptiles ; paśūn — animals ; khaga — birds ; danda — śūkān — snakes ; taiḥ taiḥ — by all these different varieties of bodies ; atuṣṭa — unsatisfied ; hṛdayaḥ — His heart ; puruṣam — the human form of life ; vidhāya — creating ; brahma — the Absolute Truth ; avaloka — vision of ; dhiṣaṇam — intelligence suitable for ; mudam — happiness ; āpā — achieved ; devaḥ — the Lord .

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, expanding His own potency, māyā-śakti, created innumerable species of life to house the conditioned souls. Yet by creating the forms of trees, reptiles, animals, birds, snakes and so on, the Lord was not satisfied within His heart. Then He created human life, which offers the conditioned soul sufficient intelligence to perceive the Absolute Truth, and became pleased.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Supreme Lord, by his māyā-śakti, created innumerable species of life to house the conditioned souls, such as trees, reptiles, animals, birds, snakes and so on, but he was not satisfied within his heart. Then he created human life, which offers the conditioned soul sufficient intelligence to perceive the Lord. He then became pleased. Since the Lord created the human body for attaining liberation, one should not use it to go to hell. The Lord created many bodies (purāṇi). He then created the human body in which intelligence gives one direct vision of the Supreme Lord. Śruti says puruṣatve cāvistarām ātmā: the soul manifested as the human being. Aitareya-āraṇyaka 2.3.2.5 tathā tābhyo gām ānayan tā abruvan na vai no’yam alam iti tābhyo’śvam ānayan tā abruvan na vai no’yam alam iti | tābhyaḥ puruṣam ānayattā abruvan sukṛtaṁ bata He brought the devatās a cow but they were not satisfied. He brought them a horse but they were not satisfied. He brought them the human being, and they accepted the human. Aitareya Upanisad

Purport

God has specifically created the human form of life to facilitate the liberation of the conditioned soul. Therefore one who abuses human life prepares his path to hell. As stated in the Vedas, puruṣatve cāvistarām ātmā: “In the human form of life there is good possibility of understanding the eternal soul.” The Vedas also state: tābhyo gām ānayat tā abruvan na vai no ’yam alam iti tābhyo ’śvam ānayat tā abruvan na vai no ’yam alam iti tābhyaḥ puruṣam ānayat tā abruvan su-kṛtaṁ bata The purport of this śruti-mantra is that lower forms of life, such as the cow and horse, are not actually suitable to fulfill the purpose of creation. But human life awards the opportunity to understand one’s eternal relationship with God. Thus, one must control the material senses and fulfill the real purpose of human life. If one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the Supreme Lord personally feels happiness and gradually reveals Himself to His devotee. The Lord’s material creation consists of the living entities and dead matter, which the less intelligent try to enjoy. The Lord, however, is not satisfied by those species that blindly strive for sense gratification without understanding spiritual nature. We are suffering due to our forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa and the blissful situation of His abode. If we accept the Lord as protector and shelter and execute His order, we can easily revive our eternal, blissful nature as parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead. It is for this purpose that the Lord has created human life.