SB 6.4.23 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीप्रजापतिरुवाच नम: परायावितथानुभूतये गुणत्रयाभासनिमित्तबन्धवे । अद‍ृष्टधाम्ने गुणतत्त्वबुद्धिभि- र्निवृत्तमानाय दधे स्वयम्भुवे ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

śrī-prajāpatir uvāca namaḥ parāyāvitathānubhūtaye guṇa-trayābhāsa-nimitta-bandhave adṛṣṭa-dhāmne guṇa-tattva-buddhibhir nivṛtta-mānāya dadhe svayambhuve

Synonyms

śrī — prajāpatiḥ uvāca — the prajāpati Dakṣa said ; namaḥ — all respectful obeisances ; parāya — unto the Transcendence ; avitatha — correct ; anubhūtaye — unto Him whose spiritual potency brings about realization of Him ; guṇa — traya — of the three material modes of nature ; ābhāsa — of the living entities who have the appearance ; nimitta — and of the material energy ; bandhave — unto the controller ; adṛṣṭa — dhāmne — who is not perceived in His abode ; guṇa — tattva — buddhibhiḥ — by the conditioned souls whose poor intelligence dictates that real truth is found in the manifestations of the three modes of material nature ; nivṛtta — mānāya — who has surpassed all material measurements and calculations ; dadhe — I offer ; svayambhuve — unto the Supreme Lord, who is manifest with no cause .

Translation

Prajāpati Dakṣa said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the illusory energy and the physical categories it produces. He possesses the potency for unfailing knowledge and supreme willpower, and He is the controller of the living entities and the illusory energy. The conditioned souls who have accepted this material manifestation as everything cannot see Him, for He is above the evidence of experimental knowledge. Self-evident and self-sufficient, He is not caused by any superior cause. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Dakṣa said: I offer respects to the self-born Lord, superior to the jīva and to māyā and its products, who is real knowledge, who inspires the jīva and matter to act, who has a form unseen by the jīva whose intelligence is absorbed in material objects, and who cannot be known. Parāya means “unto the Lord who is superior to the jīva, māyā and the products of māyā.” How is that? He has true perception (avitathānubhūtaye). He is the instigator of the jīva (guṇa-trayābhāsa) and māyā (nimitta). He has a form which is unseen (adṛṣta-dhamne) by the jīvas who think that sense objects are real (guṇa-tattva-buddhibhiḥ). That form is not understood by others. It cannot be measured (nivṛtta-mānāya). No one can say the extent of his qualities or powers. Brahmā has said: guṇātmanas te 'pi guṇān vimātuṁ hitāvatīṛnasya ka īśire 'sya kālena yair vā vimitāḥ su-kalpair bhū-pāṁśavaḥ khe mihikā dyu-bhāsaḥ In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to count all the atoms of the earth, the particles of snow, or perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the stars and other luminaries. But among these learned men, who could possibly count the unlimited transcendental qualities possessed by you, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have descended onto the surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities? SB 10.14.7 If the version with nivrṭta-maṇāya dadhe is taken (instead of nivṛtta-mānāvadhaye) then namaḥ dadhe means “offer respects.” Nivṛtta-mānāya means “to the Lord whom no one can know.”

Purport

The transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is explained herewith. He is not perceivable by the conditioned souls, who are accustomed to material vision and cannot understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists in His abode, which is beyond that vision. Even if a materialistic person could count all the atoms in the universe, he would still be unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.34) : panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-saṁpragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām so ’py asti yat-prapada-sīmny avicintya-tattve govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi The conditioned souls may try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead for many billions of years through their mental speculative processes, traveling at the speed of the mind or the wind, but still the Absolute Truth will remain inconceivable to them because a materialistic person cannot measure the length and breadth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s unlimited existence. If the Absolute Truth is beyond measurement, one may ask, how can one realize Him? The answer is given here by the word svayambhuve: one may understand Him or not, but nevertheless He is existing in His own spiritual potency.