Chapter 5: Hymn to the Absolute Truth

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Brahma-saḿhitā 5.15

vāmāńgād asṛjad viṣṇuḿ

dakṣiṇāńgāt prajāpatim

jyotir-lińga-mayaḿ śambhuḿ

kūrca-deśād avāsṛjat

SYNONYMS

vāma-ańgāt — from His left limb; asṛjatHe created; viṣṇum — Lord Viṣṇu; dakṣiṇa-ańgāt — from His right limb; prajāpatimHiraṇyagarbha Brahmā; jyotiḥ-lińga — the divine masculine manifested halo; mayam — comprising; śambhum — Śambhu; kūrca-deśāt — from the space between His two eyebrows; avāsṛjatHe created.

TRANSLATION

The same Mahā-Viṣṇu created Viṣṇu from His left limb, Brahmā, the first progenitor of beings, from His right limb and, from the space between His two eyebrows, Śambhu, the divine masculine manifested halo.

PURPORT

The divine puruṣa, lying in the ocean of milk, the same who is the regulator of all individual souls, is Śrī Viṣṇu; and Hiraṇyagarbha, the seminal principle, the portion of the Supreme Lord, is the prime progenitor who is different from the four-faced Brahmā. This same Hiraṇyagarbha is the principle of seminal creating energy of every Brahmā belonging to each of the infinity of universes. The divine masculine manifested halo, Śambhu, is the plenary manifestation of his prototype Śambhu, the same as the primary divine masculine generative symbol Śambhu whose nature has already been described. Viṣṇu is the integral subjective portion of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Hence He is the great Lord of all the other lords. The progenitor (Brahmā) and Śambhu are the dislocated portions of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Hence they are gods with delegated functions. His own potency being on the left side of Godhead, Viṣṇu appears in the left limb of Mahā-Viṣṇu from the unalloyed essence of His spiritual (cit) potency. Viṣṇu, who is Godhead Himself, is the inner guiding oversoul of every individual soul. He is the Personality of Godhead described in the Vedas as being of the measure of a thumb. He is the nourisher. The karmīs (elevationists) worship Him as Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of sacrifices, and the yogīs desire to merge their identities in Him as Paramātmā, by the process of their meditative trance.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness