Devanagari
ब्रह्मोवाच
जाने त्वामीशं विश्वस्य जगतो योनिबीजयो: ।
शक्ते: शिवस्य च परं यत्तद्ब्रह्म निरन्तरम् ॥ ४२ ॥
Verse text
brahmovāca
jāne tvām īśaṁ viśvasya
jagato yoni-bījayoḥ
śakteḥ śivasya ca paraṁ
yat tad brahma nirantaram
Synonyms
brahmā uvāca
—
Lord Brahmā said
;
jāne
—
I know
;
tvām
—
you (Lord Śiva)
;
īśam
—
the controller
;
viśvasya
—
of the entire material manifestation
;
jagataḥ
—
of the cosmic manifestation
;
yoni
—
bījayoḥ — of both the mother and father
;
śakteḥ
—
of potency
;
śivasya
—
of Śiva
;
ca
—
and
;
param
—
the Supreme
;
yat
—
which
;
tat
—
that
;
brahma
—
without change
;
nirantaram
—
with no material qualities .
Translation
Lord Brahmā said: My dear Lord Śiva, I know that you are the controller of the entire material manifestation, the combination father and mother of the cosmic manifestation, and the Supreme Brahman beyond the cosmic manifestation as well. I know you in that way.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Brahmā said: I know you are the Lord of the universe, prakṛti and puruṣa, that you are superior to Śakti and Śiva, and that you are also the Brahman without qualities.
Though you offer respects to me, you are more powerful since you are one with the Supreme Lord. He speaks taking the mentality of a Śaivite. The Śaivites think of the Lord, prakṛti and puruṣa as the form of Sadāśiva. That is the explanation of this verse. I know you are the form of Sadāśiva. The Lord of the whole universe composed of prakṛti and puruṣa, because I know that you are superior to the prakṛti and puruṣa (yoni-bījayoh) of the material world. These items are explained. They are Śakti and Śiva. But I know that you are the famous Brahman without differences (nirantaram)
Purport
Although Lord Brahmā had received very respectful obeisances from Lord Śiva, he knew that Lord Śiva was in a more exalted position than himself. Lord Śiva’s position is described in
Brahma-saṁhitā:
there is no difference between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva in their original positions, but still Lord Śiva is different from Lord Viṣṇu. The example is given that the milk in yogurt is not different from the original milk from which it was made.