Devanagari
पुरुष: प्रकृतिर्व्यक्तमात्मा भूतेन्द्रियाशया: ।
शक्नुवन्त्यस्य सर्गादौ न विना यदनुग्रहात् ॥ ११ ॥
Verse text
puruṣaḥ prakṛtir vyaktam
ātmā bhūtendriyāśayāḥ
śaknuvanty asya sargādau
na vinā yad-anugrahāt
Synonyms
puruṣaḥ
—
the generator of the total material energy
;
prakṛtiḥ
—
the material energy or material nature
;
vyaktam
—
the principles of manifestation ( mahat-tattva )
;
ātmā
—
the false ego
;
bhūta
—
the five material elements
;
indriya
—
the ten senses
;
āśayāḥ
—
the mind, intelligence and consciousness
;
śaknuvanti
—
are able
;
asya
—
of this universe
;
sarga
—
ādau — in the creation, etc.
;
na
—
not
;
vinā
—
without
;
yat
—
of whom
;
anugrahāt
—
the mercy .
Translation
The three puruṣas — Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu — the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Without the mercy for the Lord, the puruṣa (Māhāviṣṇu), prakṛti, mahat-tattva, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and citta cannot create the material manifestation.
Māhāviṣṇu, the creator of mahat-tattva, or his expansions, cannot carry out the creation alone, what to speak of prakṛti and the elements. Vyaktam means mahat-tattva. Ātmā means ahaṅkāra. Without the Lord’s mercy, they cannot create, maintain and destroy the universe. One should not say “Why does the puruṣa also depend on your mercy?” Even parabrahman is dependent on his mercy.
madīyaṁ mahimānaṣca parabrahmeti śabditam.
vetsyasyanugṛhītaṁ me saṁpraśnairvivṛtaṁ hṛdi
By my mercy, you will realize my power known as the impersonal Brahman, which will be disclosed in your heart through questions and answers. SB 8.24.38
Purport
As confirmed in the
Viṣṇu Purāṇa, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat:
whatever manifestations we experience are nothing but various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These energies cannot create anything independently. This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in
Bhagavad-gītā
(9.10)
:
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram.
“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving living beings.” Only under the direction of the Lord, the Supreme Person, can
prakṛti,
which is manifested in twenty-four elements, create different situations for the living entity. In the
Vedas
the Lord says:
madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca
parabrahmeti śabditam
vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me
sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi
“Since everything is a manifestation of My energy, I am known as Parabrahman. Therefore everyone should hear from Me about My glorious activities.” The Lord also says in
Bhagavad-gītā
(10.2)
,
aham ādir hi devānām:
“I am the origin of all the demigods.” Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of everything, and no one is independent of Him. Śrīla Madhvācārya also says,
anīśa jīva-rūpeṇa:
the living entity is
anīśa,
never the controller, but is always controlled. Therefore when a living entity becomes proud of being an independent
īśvara,
or god, that is his foolishness. Such foolishness is described in the following verse.