Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.19

ajānatām tvat-padavīm anātmany

ātmātmanā bhāsi vitatya māyām

srishtāv ivāham jagato vidhāna

iva tvam esho 'nta iva trinetrah

SYNONYMS

ajānatām — to persons who are in ignorance; tvat-padavīm — of Your transcendental position; anātmani — in the material energy; ātmā — Yourself; ātmanā — by Yourself; bhāsi — appear; vitatya — expanding; māyām — Your inconceivable energy; srishtau — in the matter of creation; iva — as if; aham — I, Brahmā; jagatah — of the universe; vidhāne — in the maintenance; iva — as if; tvam eshah — Yourself; ante — in the annihilation; iva — as if; tri-netrah — Lord Śiva.

TRANSLATION

To persons ignorant of Your actual transcendental position, You appear as part of the material world, manifesting Yourself by the expansion of Your inconceivable energy. Thus for the creation of the universe You appear as me [Brahmā], for its maintenance You appear as Yourself [Vishnu], and for its annihilation You appear as Lord Trinetra [Śiva].

PURPORT

Although the impersonal Māyāvādī philosophers think that the demigods are illusory, Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Vishnu are stated here to be expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are thus real. Indeed, they are the extraordinarily powerful controllers of the universe. The ultimate truth is a supreme and beautiful person, and thus throughout the creation of God we will always find the personal touch.

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