SB 6.16.36 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

परमाणुपरममहतो- स्त्वमाद्यन्तान्तरवर्ती त्रयविधुर: । आदावन्तेऽपि च सत्त्वानां यद् ध्रुवं तदेवान्तरालेऽपि ॥ ३६ ॥

Verse text

paramāṇu-parama-mahatos tvam ādy-antāntara-vartī traya-vidhuraḥ ādāv ante ’pi ca sattvānāṁ yad dhruvaṁ tad evāntarāle ’pi

Synonyms

parama — aṇu — of the atomic particle ; parama — mahatoḥ — and of the biggest (the result of the combination of atoms) ; tvam — You ; ādi — anta — in both the beginning and the end ; antara — and in the middle ; vartī — existing ; traya — vidhuraḥ — although without beginning, end or middle ; ādau — in the beginning ; ante — at the end ; api — also ; ca — and ; sattvānām — of all existences ; yat — which ; dhruvam — permanent ; tat — that ; eva — certainly ; antarāle — in the middle ; api — also .

Translation

You exist in the beginning, middle and end of everything, from the most minute particle of the cosmic manifestation — the atom — to the gigantic universes and total material energy. Nonetheless, You are eternal, having no beginning, end or middle. You are perceived to exist in these three phases, and thus You are permanent. When the cosmic manifestation does not exist, You exist as the original potency.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The subtle cause and the gross effect of this universe belong to you. You exist in the beginning, in the middle and in the end, but you are without beginning, middle and end, since you are fixed amidst the beginning middle and end of all products. You are the creator, the real, permanent form. You are the first cause, most subtle (paramāṇu) and the final great effect (parama-mahatoḥ). You exist in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. But you are devoid of beginning, middle and end because you are eternal. You are steady as the cause of all effects (sattvānām) in the beginning, end and middle, like gold in relation to gold ornaments. Therefore you are the cause of all things, the permanent object, whereas everything else is a product, and therefore a temporary object.

Purport

The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) says: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kṛṣṇa], who is the original person — absolute, infallible, without beginning, although expanded into unlimited forms, still the same original, the oldest, and the person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord cannot be understood even by the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no cause, for He is the cause of everything. The Lord is beyond the workings of cause and effect. He is eternally existing. In another verse the Brahma-saṁhitā says, aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham: the Lord exists within the gigantic universe and within the atom. The descent of the Lord into the atom and the universe indicates that without His presence, nothing could factually exist. Scientists say that water is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, but when they see a vast ocean they are puzzled about where such a quantity of hydrogen and oxygen could have come from. They think that everything evolved from chemicals, but where did the chemicals come from? That they do not know. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, He can produce immense quantities of chemicals to create a situation for chemical evolution. We actually see that chemicals are produced from living entities. For example, a lemon tree produces many tons of citric acid. The citric acid is not the cause of the tree; rather, the tree is the cause of the acid. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of everything. He is the cause of the tree that produces the citric acid ( bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām ). Devotees can see that the original potencies causing the cosmic manifestation are not in chemicals but in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for He is the cause of the chemicals. Everything is caused or manifested by the energy of the Supreme Lord, and when everything is annihilated or dissolved, the original potency enters the body of the Supreme Lord. Therefore this verse says, ādāv ante ’pi ca sattvānāṁ yad dhruvaṁ tad evāntarāle ’pi. The word dhruvam means “permanent.” The permanent reality is Kṛṣṇa, not this cosmic manifestation. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, aham ādir hi devānām and mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of everything. Arjuna recognized Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the original person ( puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum ), and the Brahma-saṁhitā describes Him as the original person ( govindam ādi-puruṣam ). He is the cause of all causes, whether at the beginning, at the end or in the middle.