SB 10.63.34 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीरुद्र उवाच त्वं हि ब्रह्म परं ज्योतिर्गूढं ब्रह्मणि वाङ्‍मये । यं पश्यन्त्यमलात्मान आकाशमिव केवलम् ॥ ३४ ॥

Verse text

śrī-rudra uvāca tvaṁ hi brahma paraṁ jyotir gūḍhaṁ brahmaṇi vāṅ-maye yaṁ paśyanty amalātmāna ākāśam iva kevalam

Synonyms

śrī — rudraḥ uvāca — Lord Śiva said ; tvam — You ; hi — alone ; brahma — the Absolute Truth ; param — supreme ; jyotiḥ — light ; gūḍham — hidden ; brahmaṇi — in the Absolute ; vāk — maye — in its form of language (the Vedas ) ; yam — whom ; paśyanti — they see ; amala — spotless ; ātmānaḥ — whose hearts ; ākāśam — the sky ; iva — like ; kevalam — pure .

Translation

Śrī Rudra said: You alone are the Absolute Truth, the supreme light, the mystery hidden within the verbal manifestation of the Absolute. Those whose hearts are spotless can see You, for You are uncontaminated, like the sky.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śrī Rudra said: You alone are the Absolute Truth, the supreme light, the mystery hidden within the verbal manifestation of the Absolute. Those whose hearts are spotless can see You, for You are uncontaminated, like the sky. KB 10.63.34 Lord Śiva said, “My dear Lord, You are the worshipable object of the Vedic hymns. One who does not know You considers the impersonal brahma-jyoti to be the ultimate Supreme Absolute Truth, without knowledge that You exist behind Your spiritual effulgence in Your eternal abode. My dear Lord, You are therefore called Para-brahman. Indeed, the words paraṁ brahman have been used in the Bhagavad-gītā to identify You. Saintly persons who have completely cleansed their hearts of all material contamination can realize Your transcendental form, although You are all-pervading like the sky, unaffected by any material thing. Only the devotees can realize You, and no one else.

Purport

The Absolute Truth is the source of all light and is therefore the supreme light, self-luminous. This Absolute Truth is explained confidentially in the Vedas and is therefore difficult for an ordinary reader to understand. The following statements quoted by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī from the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad show how the Vedic sounds occasionally reveal the Absolute: Te hocur upāsanam etasya parātmano govindasyākhilādhāriṇo brūhi ( Pūrva-khaṇḍa 17): “They [the four Kumāras] said [to Brahmā], ‘Please tell us how to worship Govinda, the Supreme Soul and the foundation of all that exists.’” Cetanaś cetanānām ( Pūrva-khaṇḍa 21): “He is the chief of all living beings.” And taṁ ha devam ātma-vṛtti-prakāśam ( Pūrva-khaṇḍa 23): “One realizes that Supreme Godhead by first realizing one’s own self.” The great ācārya Jīva Gosvāmī also quotes a verse from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.10.48) — gūḍhaṁ paraṁ brahma manuṣya-liṅgam — which refers to “the Supreme Truth concealed in a humanlike form.” Since the Lord is pure, why do some people perceive Kṛṣṇa’s form and activities as impure? Ācārya Jīva explains that those whose own hearts are impure cannot understand the pure Lord. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī further quotes the Lord’s own instruction to Arjuna in Śrī Hari-vaṁśa: tat-paraṁ paramaṁ brahma sarvaṁ vibhajate jagat mamaiva tad ghanaṁ tejo jṣātum arhasi bhārata “Superior to that [total material nature] is the Supreme Brahman, from which this entire creation expands. O descendant of Bharata, you should know that the Supreme Brahman consists of My concentrated effulgence.” Thus, to save his devotee, Śiva now glorifies the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, his eternal worshipable master. The Lord’s bewildering potency induced Śiva to fight with Lord Kṛṣṇa, but now the fight is over, and to save his devotee Lord Śiva offers these beautiful prayers.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"You are the para brahman, the very form of spiritual light. The lord says to Arjuna in Harivamsa, "Superior to that is the para brahma which spreads itself over the whole universe. You should know that that concentrated light is mine." "If you know that I am supreme brahman then why did you fight with me?" Anticipating that question, Siva says, "Since you are secret even in the Vedas (vanmaye brahmani) then how can you be known?" "Then can no one know me?" "Those who are pure souls, without the contamination of maya can see you, but how can I, filled with tamas, see you, who, like ether, are the shelter of maya but not touched it?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

You alone (hi) are the supreme principle (param). “How is that supreme tattva divided up and visible as my form?” There is nothing greater than you (brahma) and you reveal everything and are self-revealing (jyotiḥ). “What is the proof of this?” You are sometimes revealed (gūḍham) in the Vedas (brahmaṇi). Gopāla-tāpanī says: te hocur etasya govindasyākhilādhāriṇo brūhī: tell us about Govinda, the support of everything. cetanaś cetanānām : Govinda is the consciousness supporting all conscious entities. tam ha devam ātma-vṛtitt-prakāśam: Govinda reveals the functions of the ātmā. It is also said gūḍhaṁ paraṁ brahma manuṣya-liṅgam: Kṛṣṇa is the secret Brahman in human form. SB 7.10.48 “Why do I appear to be impure?” Those who are pure realize you as only pure (kevalam), engaging only with your svarūpa-śakti, just as ether is not contaminated by other qualities.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Those who are purified by bhakti (amalātmānaḥ) can see you or those whose hearts are fixed in you, who destroy all faults, can see you, who are spread everywhere like the ether, though actually only one (kevalam). Or you are the supreme L:ord and I am a portion of your portion. Thus I am not ashamed to be defeated by you. It take this as mercy. Thus first he describes Kṛṣṇa as the supreme Lord. You alone (eva) are the supreme Brahman. You are not like me, having false conceptions. The reason for this is that you reveal even Brahman (param jyotiḥ). Athāgneḥ kṣudrā visphliṅgā vyuccaranty evāsmād ātmanaḥ sarva evātmāno vyuccaranti: just as small sparks emanate from the fire, all the jīvas emanate from the supreme ātmā. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad) Jīvas are manifested from the supreme Lord. Thus your best devotees see you in truth, but not me. You are hidden (gūḍham). They see your beauty form of dark complexion, like the spotless sky. I see you as the supreme Lord, not as the form of beauty, since I do not dedicate myself to completely, lacking special bhakti.