SB 2.6.16 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अहं भवान् भवश्चैव त इमे मुनयोऽग्रजा: । सुरासुरनरा नागा: खगा मृगसरीसृपा: ॥ १३ ॥ गन्धर्वाप्सरसो यक्षा रक्षोभूतगणोरगा: । पशव: पितर: सिद्धा विद्याध्राश्चारणा द्रुमा: ॥ १४ ॥ अन्ये च विविधा जीवा जलस्थलनभौकस: । ग्रहर्क्षकेतवस्तारास्तडित: स्तनयित्नव: ॥ १५ ॥ सर्वं पुरुष एवेदं भूतं भव्यं भवच्च यत् । तेनेदमावृतं विश्वं वितस्तिमधितिष्ठति ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

ahaṁ bhavān bhavaś caiva ta ime munayo ’grajāḥ surāsura-narā nāgāḥ khagā mṛga-sarīsṛpāḥ gandharvāpsaraso yakṣā rakṣo-bhūta-gaṇoragāḥ paśavaḥ pitaraḥ siddhā vidyādhrāś cāraṇā drumāḥ anye ca vividhā jīvā jala-sthala-nabhaukasaḥ graharkṣa-ketavas tārās taḍitaḥ stanayitnavaḥ sarvaṁ puruṣa evedaṁ bhūtaṁ bhavyaṁ bhavac ca yat tenedam āvṛtaṁ viśvaṁ vitastim adhitiṣṭhati

Synonyms

aham — myself ; bhavān — yourself ; bhavaḥ — Lord Śiva ; ca — also ; eva — certainly ; te — they ; ime — all ; munayaḥ — the great sages ; agra — jāḥ — born before you ; sura — the demigods ; asura — the demons ; narāḥ — the human beings ; nāgāḥ — the inhabitants of the Nāga planet ; khagāḥ — birds ; mṛga — beasts ; sarīsṛpāḥ — reptiles ; gandharva — apsarasaḥ, yakṣāḥ, rakṣaḥ — bhūta — gaṇa — uragāḥ, paśavaḥ, pitaraḥ, siddhāḥ, vidyādhrāḥ, cāraṇāḥ — all inhabitants of different planets ; drumāḥ — the vegetable kingdom ; anye — many others ; ca — also ; vividhāḥ — of different varieties ; jīvāḥ — living entities ; jala — water ; sthala — land ; nabha — okasaḥ — the inhabitants of the sky, or the birds ; graha — the asteroids ; ṛkṣa — the influential stars ; ketavaḥ — the comets ; tārāḥ — the luminaries ; taḍitaḥ — the lightning ; stanayitnavaḥ — the sound of the clouds ; sarvam — everything ; puruṣaḥ — the Personality of Godhead ; eva idam — certainly all these ; bhūtam — whatever is created ; bhavyam — whatever will be created ; bhavat — and whatever was created in the past ; ca — also ; yat — whatever ; tena idam — it is all by Him ; āvṛtam — covered ; viśvam — universally comprehending ; vitastim — half a cubit ; adhitiṣṭhati — situated .

Translation

Beginning from me [Brahmā] down to you and Bhava [Śiva], all the great sages who were born before you, the demigods, the demons, the Nāgas, the human beings, the birds, the beasts, as well as the reptiles, etc., and all phenomenal manifestations of the universes, namely the planets, stars, asteroids, luminaries, lightning, thunder, and the inhabitants of the different planetary systems, namely the Gandharvas, Apsarās, Yakṣas, Rakṣas, Bhūtagaṇas, Uragas, Paśus, Pitās, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and all other different varieties of living entities, including the birds, beasts, trees and everything that be, are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future, although He is transcendental to all of them, eternally existing in a form not exceeding nine inches.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I, you, Śiva, the sages, the Kumāras, the devatās, asuras, humans, Nāgas, birds, beasts, reptiles, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Yakṣas, Rakṣas, Bhūtas, Uragas, cows, Pitṛs, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, trees, planets, constellations, comets, stars, lightning, clouds--all these are only the Lord. Whatever existed in the past, whatever exists in the present and whatever will exist in the future, is covered by the Lord. He extends beyond the universe by ten fingers.

Purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His partial representation, measuring not more than nine inches as Supersoul, expands by His potency in the shape of the universal form, which includes everything manifested in different varieties of organic and inorganic materials. The manifested varieties of the universe are therefore not different from the Lord, just as golden ornaments of different shapes and forms are nondifferent from the original stock reserve of gold. In other words, the Lord is the Supreme Person who controls everything within the creation, and still He remains the supreme separate identity, distinct from all manifested material creation. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4-5) He is therefore said to be Yogeśvara. Everything rests on the potency of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and still the Lord is different from and transcendental to all such identities. In the Vedic Puruṣa-sūkta of the Ṛg mantra, this is also confirmed. This philosophical truth of simultaneous oneness and difference was propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is known as acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Brahmā, Nārada and all others are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from the Supreme Lord. We are all one with Him, just as the gold ornaments are one in quality with the stock gold, but the individual gold ornament is never equal in quantity with the stock gold. The stock gold is never exhausted even if there are innumerable ornaments emanating from the stock because the stock is pūrṇam, complete; even if pūrṇam is deducted from the pūrṇam, still the supreme pūrṇam remains the same pūrṇam. This fact is inconceivable to our present imperfect senses. Lord Caitanya therefore defined His theory of philosophy as acintya (inconceivable), and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā as well as in the Bhāgavatam, Lord Caitanya’s theory of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva is the perfect philosophy of the Absolute Truth.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Because the Supreme Lord is the possessor of the māyā-śakti, everything in this world is non-different from him. This confirms the meaning of the Puruṣa-sūkta. The line starting sahasra-śīrṣā and three verses starting with brāhmaṇo ’sya mukham āsīt in the Puruṣa-sūkta were described in the previous chapter. (SB 2.5.37) Now puruṣa evedaṁ sarvam (the Lord is everything in the universe) from the Puruṣa-sūkta is illustrated in three and half verses. After showing that the Supreme Lord is the cause of the material world, Brahmā states that the Lord is beyond the material world, and limits the whole world: this world is covered by the Supreme Lord, because he exists (tiṣṭhati) greater than (adhi) this world. He remains, exceeding it by ten fingers (vitastim). This is stated to express his superiority to the universe, not to express his dimension, since he cannot be measured, being unlimited. This illustrates the Puruṣa-sūkta line sa bhūmiṁ sarvataḥ spṛṣṭvā atyatiṣṭhad daśāṅgulam: touching the earth (universe), he extended himself beyond it by ten fingers. Bhūmin means viśvam in the context, and daśāṅgulam means vitastim. Atyatiṣṭhad means adhitiṣṭhati.