SB 3.6.8 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एष ह्यशेषसत्त्वानामात्मांश: परमात्मन: । आद्योऽवतारो यत्रासौ भूतग्रामो विभाव्यते ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

eṣa hy aśeṣa-sattvānām ātmāṁśaḥ paramātmanaḥ ādyo ’vatāro yatrāsau bhūta-grāmo vibhāvyate

Synonyms

eṣaḥ — this ; hi — certainly ; aśeṣa — unlimited ; sattvānām — living entities ; ātmā — Self ; aṁśaḥ — part ; parama — ātmanaḥ — of the Supersoul ; ādyaḥ — the first ; avatāraḥ — incarnation ; yatra — whereupon ; asau — all those ; bhūta — grāmaḥ — the aggregate creations ; vibhāvyate — flourish .

Translation

The gigantic universal form of the Supreme Lord is the first incarnation and plenary portion of the Supersoul. He is the Self of an unlimited number of living entities, and in Him rests the aggregate creation, which thus flourishes.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This form is the soul of unlimited beings. It is the jīva in relation to Paramātmā. It is seen as the original avatāra. Within this form all living beings appear. For purifying the heart of the worshippers of Paramātmā, this form should first be worshipped. This form is the ātmā of unlimited beings, since the individual ātmās are parts of this form. This form is a jīva (aṁśa) belonging to Paramātmā (since paramātmā enters into it.) This form is the original avatāra, because the yogīs meditate on this form being one with its antaryāmī, Paramātmā. All creatures such as devatās and men (bhūta-gramaḥ) manifest within this form.

Purport

The Supreme Lord expands Himself in two ways, by personal plenary expansions and separated minute expansions. The personal plenary expansions are viṣṇu-tattvas, and the separated expansions are living entities. Since the living entities are very small, they are sometimes described as the marginal energy of the Lord. But the mystic yogīs consider the living entities and the Supersoul, Paramātmā, to be one and the same. It is, however, a minor point of controversy; after all, everything created rests on the gigantic virāṭ or universal form of the Lord.