Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Madhya 20.289

'vishnu'-rūpa hañā kare jagat pālane

gunātīta vishnu — sparśa nāhi māyā-sane

SYNONYMS

vishnu-rūpa — Lord Krishna in His form as Vishnu; hañā — becoming; kare — does; jagat pālane — maintenance of the material world; guna-atīta — beyond the material qualities, transcendental; vishnu — Lord Vishnu; sparśa — touching; nāhi — there is not; māyā-sane — with māyā, the material energy.

TRANSLATION

"In this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of Vishnu maintains the entire material world. Since He is always beyond the material qualities, the material nature cannot touch Him.

PURPORT

The influence of the material energy cannot touch Lord Vishnu as she touches Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. Therefore it is said that Lord Vishnu is transcendental to the material qualities. The incarnations of the material qualities — Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā — are under the jurisdiction of the external energy. Lord Vishnu, however, is different. In the mantras of the Rig Veda it is said, om tad vishnoh paramam padam (Rig Veda-samhitā 1.22.20). The words paramam padam indicate that He is transcendental to the material qualities. Because Lord Vishnu is not within the jurisdiction of the material qualities, He is always superior to the living entities who are controlled by the material energy. This is one of the differences between the Supreme Lord and the living entities. Lord Brahmā is a very powerful living entity, and Lord Śiva is even more powerful. Therefore Lord Śiva is not accepted as a living entity, but at the same time he is not considered to be on the level of Lord Vishnu.

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