SB 5.19.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

गायति चेदम्— कर्तास्य सर्गादिषु यो न बध्यते न हन्यते देहगतोऽपि दैहिकै: । द्रष्टुर्न द‍ृग्यस्य गुणैर्विदूष्यते तस्मै नमोऽसक्तविविक्तसाक्षिणे ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

gāyati cedam — kartāsya sargādiṣu yo na badhyate na hanyate deha-gato ’pi daihikaiḥ draṣṭur na dṛg yasya guṇair vidūṣyate tasmai namo ’sakta-vivikta-sākṣiṇe

Synonyms

gāyati — he sings ; ca — and ; idam — this ; kartā — the executor ; asya — of this cosmic manifestation ; sarga — ādiṣu — of the creation, maintenance and destruction ; yaḥ — one who ; na badhyate — is not attached as the creator, master or proprietor ; na — not ; hanyate — is victimized ; deha — gataḥ api — although appearing as a human being ; daihikaiḥ — by bodily tribulations such as hunger, thirst and fatigue ; draṣṭuḥ — of Him who is the seer of everything ; na — not ; dṛk — the power of vision ; yasya — of whom ; guṇaiḥ — by the material qualities ; vidūṣyate — is polluted ; tasmai — unto Him ; namaḥ — my respectful obeisances ; asakta — unto the Supreme Person, who is unattached ; vivikta — without affection ; sākṣiṇe — the witness of everything .

Translation

Nārada, the most powerful saintly sage, also worships Nara-Nārāyaṇa by chanting the following mantra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this visible cosmic manifestation, yet He is completely free from false prestige. Although to the foolish He appears to have accepted a material body like us, He is unaffected by bodily tribulations like hunger, thirst and fatigue. Although He is the witness who sees everything, His senses are unpolluted by the objects He sees. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto that unattached, pure witness of the world, the Supreme Soul, the Personality of Godhead.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Nārada sings: I offer respects to the witness who is unattached and separate from the body, who is not attached to the creation of this universe, who is not overcome by bodily needs though appearing in a body, and whose sight is not polluted by māyā though he sees everything. This verse explains that the Lord is the crest jewel of ātmārāmas. Since he is not attached to the creation he is called asakta. Since he is not overcome by hunger and thirst (daihikaiḥ) he is called vivkta, separate from the body. Though he is the witness, his sight is not contaminated by seeing māyā. Thus he is an unattached (asakta) witness and a pure (vivikta) witness, an uncontaminated witness.

Purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is described as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, the body of eternity, transcendental bliss and full knowledge. Now in this verse He is more fully described. Kṛṣṇa is the creator of the entire cosmic manifestation, yet He is unattached to it. If we were to construct a very tall skyscraper, we would be very attached to it, but Kṛṣṇa is so renounced that although He has created everything, He is not attached to anything ( na badhyate ). Furthermore, although Kṛṣṇa has His transcendental form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, He is not disturbed by the bodily necessities of life, which are called daihika; for example, He is never hungry, thirsty or fatigued ( na hanyate deha-gato ’pi daihikaiḥ ). Then again, since everything is Kṛṣṇa’s property, He sees everything and is present everywhere, but because His body is transcendental, He is above vision, the objects of vision and the process of vision. When we see someone beautiful, we are attracted. The sight of a beautiful woman immediately attracts a man, and the sight of a man naturally attracts a woman. Kṛṣṇa, however, is transcendental to all these faults. Although He is the seer of everything, He is not afflicted with faulty vision ( na dṛg yasya guṇair vidūṣyate ). Therefore, although He is the witness and seer, He is aloof from all affection for the activities He sees. He is always unattached and separate; He is only a witness.