Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 5: The Creative Impetus | Chapter 20: Studying the Structure of the Universe |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.20.3-4
śivam yavasam subhadram śāntam kshemam amritam abhayam iti varshāni teshu girayo nadyaś ca saptaivābhijñātāh; manikūto vajrakūta indraseno jyotishmān suparno hiranyashthīvo meghamāla iti setu-śailāh arunā nrimnāńgirasī sāvitrī suptabhātā ritambharā satyambharā iti mahā-nadyah; yāsām jalopasparśana-vidhūta-rajas-tamaso hamsa-patańgordhvāyana-satyāńga-samjñāś catvāro varnāh sahasrāyusho vibudhopama-sandarśana-prajananāh svarga-dvāram trayyā vidyayā bhagavantam trayīmayam sūryam ātmānam yajante
SYNONYMS
śivam — Śiva; yavasam — Yavasa; subhadram — Subhadra; śāntam — Śānta; kshemam — Kshema; amritam — Amrita; abhayam — Abhaya; iti — thus; varshāni — the tracts of land according to the names of the seven sons; teshu — in them; girayah — mountains; nadyah ca — and rivers; sapta — seven; eva — indeed; abhijñātāh — are known; mani-kūtah — Manikūta; vajra-kūtah — Vajrakūta; indra-senah — Indrasena; jyotishmān — Jyotishmān; suparnah — Suparna; hiranya-shthīvah — Hiranyashthīva; megha-mālah — Meghamāla; iti — thus; setu-śailāh — the ranges of mountains marking the borders of the varshas; arunā — Arunā; nrimnā — Nrimnā; āńgirasī — Āńgirasī; sāvitrī — Sāvitrī; supta-bhātā — Suptabhātā; ritambharā — Ritambharā; satyambharā — Satyambharā; iti — thus; mahā-nadyah — very large rivers; yāsām — of which; jala-upasparśana — simply by touching the water; vidhūta — washed off; rajah-tamasah — whose modes of passion and ignorance; hamsa — Hamsa; patańga — Patańga; ūrdhvāyana — Ūrdhvāyana; satyāńga — Satyāńga; samjñāh — named; catvārah — four; varnāh — castes or divisions of men; sahasra-āyushah — living for one thousand years; vibudha-upama — similar to the demigods; sandarśana — in having very beautiful forms; prajananāh — and in producing children; svarga-dvāram — the gateway to the heavenly planets; trayyā vidyayā — by performing ritualistic ceremonies according to Vedic principles; bhagavantam — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; trayī-mayam — established in the Vedas; sūryam ātmānam — the Supersoul, represented by the sun-god; yajante — they worship.
TRANSLATION
The seven islands [varshas] are named according to the names of those seven sons — Śiva, Yavasa, Subhadra, Śānta, Kshema, Amrita and Abhaya. In those seven tracts of land, there are seven mountains and seven rivers. The mountains are named Manikūta, Vajrakūta, Indrasena, Jyotishmān, Suparna, Hiranyashthīva and Meghamāla, and the rivers are named Arunā, Nrimnā, Āńgirasī, Sāvitrī, Suptabhātā, Ritambharā and Satyambharā. One can immediately be free from material contamination by touching or bathing in those rivers, and the four castes of people who live in Plakshadvīpa — the Hamsas, Patańgas, Ūrdhvāyanas and Satyāńgas — purify themselves in that way. The inhabitants of Plakshadvīpa live for one thousand years. They are beautiful like the demigods, and they also beget children like the demigods. By completely performing the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas and by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead as represented by the sun-god, they attain the sun, which is a heavenly planet.
PURPORT
According to general understanding, there are originally three deities — Lord Brahmā, Lord Vishnu and Lord Śiva — and people with a poor fund of knowledge consider Lord Vishnu no better than Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva. This conclusion, however, is invalid. As stated in the Vedas, ishtāpūrtam bahudhā jāyamānam viśvam bibharti bhuvanasya nābhih tad evāgnis tad vāyus tat sūryas tad u candramāh agnih sarvadaivatah. This means that the Supreme Lord, who accepts and enjoys the results of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies (technically called ishtāpūrta), who maintains the entire creation, who supplies the necessities of all living entities (eko bahūnām yo vidadhāti kāmān) and who is the central point of all creation, is Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu expands as the demigods known as Agni, Vāyu, Sūrya and Candra, who are simply parts and parcels of His body. Lord Krishna says in Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā (9.23):
yajante śraddhayānvitāh
"Devotees who worship the demigods with firm faith worship Me also, but not according to regulative principles." In other words, if one worships the demigods but does not understand the relationship between the demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his worship is irregular. Krishna also says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.24), aham hi sarva-yajñānām bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca: "I am the only enjoyer of ritualistic ceremonies."
It may be argued that the demigods are as important as Lord Vishnu because the names of the demigods are different names of Vishnu. This, however, is not a sound conclusion, for it is contradicted in the Vedic literatures. The Vedas declare:
candramā manaso jātaś cakshoh sūryo ajāyata; śrotrādayaś ca prānaś ca mukhād agnir ajāyata; nārāyanād brahmā, nārāyanād rudro jāyate, nārāyanāt prajāpatih jāyate, nārāyanād indro jāyate, nārāyanād ashtau vasavo jāyante, nārāyanād ekādaśa rudrā jāyante.
"The demigod of the moon, Candra, came from the mind of Nārāyana, and the sun-god came from His eyes. The controlling deities of hearing and the life air came from Nārāyana, and the controlling deity of fire was generated from His mouth. Prajāpati, Lord Brahmā, came from Nārāyana, Indra came from Nārāyana, and the eight Vasus, the eleven expansions of Lord Śiva and the twelve Ādityas also came from Nārāyana." In the smriti Vedic literature it is also said:
brahmā śambhus tathaivārkaś
candramāś ca śatakratuh
evam ādyās tathaivānye
"Brahmā, Śambhu, Sūrya and Indra are all merely products of the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also true of the many other demigods whose names are not mentioned here. When the cosmic manifestation is annihilated, these different expansions of Nārāyana's potencies will merge into Nārāyana. In other words, all these demigods will die. Their living force will be withdrawn, and they will merge into Nārāyana."
Therefore it should be concluded that Lord Vishnu, not Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As a government officer is sometimes accepted as the entire government although he is actually but a departmental manager, so the demigods, having achieved power of attorney from Vishnu, act on His behalf, although they are not as powerful as He. All the demigods must work under the orders of Vishnu. Therefore it is said, ekale īśvara krishna, āra saba bhritya. The only master is Lord Krishna, or Lord Vishnu, and all others are His obedient servants, who act exactly according to His orders. The distinction between Lord Vishnu and the demigods is also expressed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25). Yānti deva-vratā devān. .. yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām: those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, whereas the worshipers of Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu go to the planets in Vaikuntha. These are the statements of the smriti. Therefore the idea that Lord Vishnu is on the same level as the demigods is in contradiction to the śāstras. The demigods are not supreme. The supremacy of the demigods is dependent on the mercy of Lord Nārāyana (Vishnu, or Krishna).
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness