Devanagari
एवं सहस्रवदनाङ्घ्रिशिर:करोरु-
नासाद्यकर्णनयनाभरणायुधाढ्यम् ।
मायामयं सदुपलक्षितसन्निवेशं
दृष्ट्वा महापुरुषमाप मुदं विरिञ्च: ॥ ३६ ॥
Verse text
evaṁ sahasra-vadanāṅghri-śiraḥ-karoru-
nāsādya-karṇa-nayanābharaṇāyudhāḍhyam
māyāmayaṁ sad-upalakṣita-sanniveśaṁ
dṛṣṭvā mahā-puruṣam āpa mudaṁ viriṣcaḥ
Synonyms
evam
—
in this way
;
sahasra
—
thousands and thousands
;
vadana
—
faces
;
aṅghri
—
feet
;
śiraḥ
—
heads
;
kara
—
hands
;
uru
—
thighs
;
nāsa
—
ādya — noses, etc.
;
karṇa
—
ears
;
nayana
—
eyes
;
ābharaṇa
—
varieties of ornaments
;
āyudha
—
varieties of weapons
;
āḍhyam
—
endowed with
;
māyā
—
mayam — all demonstrated by unlimited potency
;
sat
—
upalakṣita — appearing in different symptoms
;
sanniveśam
—
combined together
;
dṛṣṭvā
—
seeing
;
mahā
—
puruṣam — the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
āpa
—
achieved
;
mudam
—
transcendental bliss
;
viriṣcaḥ
—
Lord Brahmā .
Translation
Lord Brahmā could then see You possessing thousands and thousands of faces, feet, heads, hands, thighs, noses, ears and eyes. You were very nicely dressed, being decorated and bedecked with varieties of ornaments and weapons. Seeing You in the form of Lord Viṣṇu, Your symptoms and form being transcendental, Your legs extending from the lower planets, Lord Brahmā achieved transcendental bliss.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
By that method, on seeing the Lord with thousands of faces, feet, heads, hands, thighs, noses, ears, eyes, ornaments, weapons, endowed with spiritual śakti, with perfect arrangement of limbs with auspicious signs, Brahmā derived great bliss.
By that method Brahmā saw the maha-puruṣa, a form of knowledge and bliss, since it was made of eternal energy arising from his svarūpa (māyā-mayam), endowed with unlimited faces, etc. Śruti says ato māyāmayaṁ viṣṇuṁ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ: the wise say that Viṣṇu is called māyāmayam. Or māyāmayam can mean “one who destroys the disease of avidyā in the jīva.” The arrangement of the Lord’s limbs (sanniveśam) was marked by auspicious signs (sat-upalakṣita). Or his limbs such as feet were represented by Pātāla and other planets (sat), since the cause and effect are one. Seeing that vairāja form which was spiritual, he became blissful.
Purport
Lord Brahmā, being completely pure, could see the original form of the Lord as Viṣṇu, having many thousands of faces and forms. This process is called self-realization. Genuine self-realization consists not of perceiving the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but seeing face to face the transcendental form of the Lord. As distinctly mentioned here, Lord Brahmā saw the Supreme Lord as
mahā-puruṣa,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Arjuna also saw Kṛṣṇa in this same way. Therefore he told the Lord,
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam:
“You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person.” The Lord is
parama-puruṣa,
the supreme form.
Puruṣaṁ śāśvatam:
He is everlastingly the supreme enjoyer. It is not that the impersonal Brahman assumes a form; on the contrary, the impersonal Brahman effulgence is an emanation from the supreme form of the Lord. Upon being purified, Brahmā could see the supreme form of the Lord. The impersonal Brahman cannot have heads, noses, ears, hands and legs. This is not possible, for these are attributes of the Lord’s form.
The word
māyāmayam
means “spiritual knowledge.” This is explained by Madhvācārya.
Māyāmayaṁ jṣāna-svarūpam.
The word
māyāmayam,
describing the Lord’s form, should not be taken to mean illusion. Rather, the Lord’s form is factual, and seeing this form is the result of perfect knowledge. This is confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā:
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate.
The word
jṣānavān
refers to one who is perfectly in knowledge. Such a person can see the Personality of Godhead, and therefore he surrenders unto the Lord. The Lord’s being symptomized by a face, nose, ears and so on is eternal. Without such a form, no one can be blissful. The Lord, however, is
sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha,
as stated in the
śāstra
(
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
). When one is in perfect transcendental bliss, he can see the Lord’s supreme form (
vigraha
). In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya says:
gandhākhyā devatā yadvat
pṛthivīṁ vyāpya tiṣṭhati
evaṁ vyāptaṁ jagad viṣṇuṁ
brahmātma-sthaṁ dadarśa ha
Lord Brahmā saw that as aromas and colors spread throughout the earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead pervades the cosmic manifestation in a subtle form.