SB 1.2.30 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स एवेदं ससर्जाग्रे भगवानात्ममायया । सदसद्रूपया चासौ गुणमयागुणो विभु: ॥ ३० ॥

Verse text

sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre bhagavān ātma-māyayā sad-asad-rūpayā cāsau guṇamayāguṇo vibhuḥ

Synonyms

saḥ — that ; eva — certainly ; idam — this ; sasarja — created ; agre — before ; bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead ; ātma — māyayā — by His personal potency ; sat — the cause ; asat — the effect ; rūpayā — by forms ; ca — and ; asau — the same Lord ; guṇa — maya — in the modes of material nature ; aguṇaḥ — transcendental ; vibhuḥ — the Absolute .

Translation

In the beginning of the material creation, that Absolute Personality of Godhead [Vāsudeva], in His transcendental position, created the energies of cause and effect by His own internal energy.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The powerful Lord alone, devoid of material guṇas, previously created this universe by his material energy composed of material guṇas and endowed with cause and effect.

Purport

The position of the Lord is always transcendental because the causal and effectual energies required for the creation of the material world were also created by Him. He is unaffected, therefore, by the qualities of the material modes. His existence, form, activities and paraphernalia all existed before the material creation.* He is all-spiritual and has nothing to do with the qualities of the material world, which are qualitatively distinct from the spiritual qualities of the Lord.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The creator of all those who are recommended for worship such as Pitṛs, Śiva and Brahmā is Vāsudeva alone. Thus he is worthy of worship. The Lord is without guṇas, but he creates the universe using matter composed of guṇas and material cause and effect (sad-asad-rūpayā).