SB 5.17.22 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्याद्य आसीद् गुणविग्रहो महान्विज्ञानधिष्ण्यो भगवानज: किल यत्सम्भवोऽहं त्रिवृता स्वतेजसावैकारिकं तामसमैन्द्रियं सृजे ॥ २२ ॥ एते वयं यस्य वशे महात्मन:स्थिता: शकुन्ता इव सूत्रयन्त्रिता: महानहं वैकृततामसेन्द्रिया:सृजाम सर्वे यदनुग्रहादिदम् ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

yasyādya āsīd guṇa-vigraho mahān vijṣāna-dhiṣṇyo bhagavān ajaḥ kila yat-sambhavo ’haṁ tri-vṛtā sva-tejasā vaikārikaṁ tāmasam aindriyaṁ sṛje ete vayaṁ yasya vaśe mahātmanaḥ sthitāḥ śakuntā iva sūtra-yantritāḥ mahān ahaṁ vaikṛta-tāmasendriyāḥ sṛjāma sarve yad-anugrahād idam

Synonyms

yasya — from whom ; ādyaḥ — the beginning ; āsīt — there was ; guṇa — vigrahaḥ — the incarnation of the material qualities ; mahān — the total material energy ; vijṣāna — of full knowledge ; dhiṣṇyaḥ — the reservoir ; bhagavān — the most powerful ; ajaḥ — Lord Brahmā ; kila — certainly ; yat — from whom ; sambhavaḥ — born ; aham — I ; tri — vṛtā — having three varieties according to the three modes of nature ; sva — tejasā — by my material strength ; vaikārikam — all the demigods ; tāmasam — material elements ; aindriyam — the senses ; sṛje — I create ; ete — all of these ; vayam — we ; yasya — of whom ; vaśe — under the control ; mahā — ātmanaḥ — great personalities ; sthitāḥ — situated ; śakuntāḥ — vultures ; iva — like ; sūtra — yantritāḥ — bound by rope ; mahān — the mahat-tattva ; aham — I ; vaikṛta — the demigods ; tāmasa — the five material elements ; indriyāḥ — senses ; sṛjāmaḥ — we create ; sarve — all of us ; yat — of whom ; anugrahāt — by the mercy ; idam — this material world .

Translation

From that Supreme Personality of Godhead appears Lord Brahmā, whose body is made from the total material energy, the reservoir of intelligence predominated by the passionate mode of material nature. From Lord Brahmā, I myself am born as a representation of false ego known as Rudra. By my own power I create all the other demigods, the five elements and the senses. Therefore, I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than any of us and under whose control are situated all the demigods, material elements and senses, and even Lord Brahmā and I myself, like birds bound by a rope. Only by the Lord’s grace can we create, maintain and annihilate the material world. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Being.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

First there was the form of māyā called mahat-tattva. Lord Brahmā is the shelter of sattva-guṇa. From Brahmā I appear. By the Lord’s power and the power of the guṇas, I create the devatās, the elements and the senses. All of us—mahat-tattva, the devatās, the elements and senses---are like birds tied by a thread. Under his control, by his mercy, we create this universe. These verses explain how the Lord is the cause of the universe by explaining the appearance of the different elements. First, there is the form māyā, (guṇa-vigrahaḥ), called mahat-tattva. It should be understood from this that Saṅkarṣaṇa is beyond the guṇas. The shelter of sattva (vijṣāna-dhiṣṇyaḥ) is Brahmā. From Brahmā I arise. I am the personification of ahaṅkāra, another form of Rudra. By his śakti and by the three guṇas, I create the devatās (vaikārikam), the elements (tāmasam) and the senses. The next verse describes the Lord’s control of everything. Sūtra-yantrtāḥ means bound by a rope. Śakuntāḥ means birds. They are dependent on their master. Who are we? We are part of the devatās mentioned as vaikārikam.

Purport

A summary of creation is given in this verse. From Saṅkarṣaṇa, Mahā-Viṣṇu expands, and from Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu expands. Lord Brahmā, who was born of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, fathers Lord Śiva, from whom all the other demigods gradually evolve. Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu are incarnations of the different material qualities. Lord Viṣṇu is actually above all material qualities, but He accepts control of sattva-guṇa (the mode of goodness) to maintain the universe. Lord Brahmā is born from the mahat-tattva. Brahmā creates the entire universe, Lord Viṣṇu maintains it, and Lord Śiva annihilates it. The Supreme Personality of Godhead controls all the most important demigods — especially Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva — exactly as the owner of a bird controls it by binding it with a rope. Sometimes vultures are controlled in this way.