SB 12.11.24 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

द्विजऋषभ स एष ब्रह्मयोनि: स्वयंद‍ृक् स्वमहिमपरिपूर्णो मायया च स्वयैतत् । सृजति हरति पातीत्याख्ययानावृताक्षो विवृत इव निरुक्तस्तत्परैरात्मलभ्य: ॥ २४ ॥

Verse text

dvija-ṛṣabha sa eṣa brahma-yoniḥ svayaṁ-dṛk sva-mahima-paripūrṇo māyayā ca svayaitat sṛjati harati pātīty ākhyayānāvṛtākṣo vivṛta iva niruktas tat-parair ātma-labhyaḥ

Synonyms

dvija — ṛṣabha — O best of the brāhmaṇas ; saḥ eṣaḥ — He alone ; brahma — yoniḥ — the source of the Vedas ; svayam — dṛk — who is self-illuminating ; sva — mahima — in His own glory ; paripūrṇaḥ — perfectly complete ; māyayā — by the material energy ; ca — and ; svayā — His own ; etat — this universe ; sṛjati — He creates ; harati — He withdraws ; pāti — He maintains ; iti ākhyayā — conceived of as such ; anāvṛta — uncovered ; akṣaḥ — His transcendental awareness ; vivṛtaḥ — materially divided ; iva — as if ; niruktaḥ — described ; tat — paraiḥ — by those who are devoted to Him ; ātma — as their very Soul ; labhyaḥ — realizable .

Translation

O best of brāhmaṇas, He alone is the self-luminous, original source of the Vedas, perfect and complete in His own glory. By His material energy He creates, destroys and maintains this entire universe. Because He is the performer of various material functions, He is sometimes described as materially divided, yet He always remains transcendentally situated in pure knowledge. Those who are dedicated to Him in devotion can realize Him to be their true Soul.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord is the revealer of the Vedas, and he reveals himself. He is full in his own powers but by his māyā he creates, maintains and destroys through Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva. Though his knowledge is never covered, it appears he can be described by māyā. But this is not so. He is attained only by his devotees. Four forms were explained. Now three forms are explained. O best of the brāhmaṇas! (1) This Lord reveals the Vedas (brahma-yoniḥ). No one else is a revealer. (2) He is self-revealed (svayaṁ-dṛk). He is not like a king who is dependent on his subjects. (3) And he is complete in his own power (sva-mahima-paripurṇaḥ). But for his play, he creates, maintains and destroys by his śakti called māyā, represented by Brahmā and others. Though his knowledge is never covered, it appears he is described (vivṛtaḥ) or explained by māyā. But actually even Brahmā cannot describe the Lord properly. For what purpose has he made so much effort? His devotees attain him by meditating on him in this form. How do the devotees meditate upon him? By seeing and remembering the vibhūtis of his feet such as earth etc, one can easily remember the Lord’s feet. I should always remember my Lord, and I always see this vibḥūti of my Lord’s feet, the earth. All the animals and plants which take shelter of the earth also have taken shelter of my Lord’s lotus feet. Therefore I must respect them all and not hate them. The vibhūti of the Kaustubha hanging on the chest of my Lord are all the jīvas. Therefore I should not criticize or harm even one of them. This is the result of contemplating the universal form.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura recommends that we become humble by practicing the following meditation: “The earth, which is always visible to me, is the expansion of the lotus feet of my Lord, who is always to be meditated upon. All moving and nonmoving living beings have taken shelter of the earth and are thus sheltered at the lotus feet of my Lord. For this reason I should respect every living being and not envy anyone. In fact, all living entities constitute the Kaustubha gem on My Lord’s chest. Therefore I should never envy or deride any living entity.” By practicing this meditation one can achieve success in life.