Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.3.17

mādrik prapanna-paśu-pāśa-vimokshanāya

muktāya bhūri-karunāya namo 'layāya

svāmśena sarva-tanu-bhrin-manasi pratīta-

pratyag-driśe bhagavate brihate namas te

SYNONYMS

mādrik — like me; prapanna — surrendered; paśu — an animal; pāśa — from entanglement; vimokshanāya — unto He who releases; muktāya — unto the Supreme, who is untouched by the contamination of material nature; bhūri-karunāya — who are unlimitedly merciful; namah — I offer my respectful obeisances; alayāya — who are never inattentive or idle (for the purpose of my deliverance); sva-amśena — by Your partial feature as Paramātmā; sarva — of all; tanu-bhrit — the living entities embodied in material nature; manasi — in the mind; pratīta — who are acknowledged; pratyak-driśe — as the direct observer (of all activities); bhagavate — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; brihate — who are unlimited; namah — I offer my respectful obeisances; te — unto You.

TRANSLATION

Since an animal such as I has surrendered unto You, who are supremely liberated, certainly You will release me from this dangerous position. Indeed, being extremely merciful, You incessantly try to deliver me. By your partial feature as Paramātmā, You are situated in the hearts of all embodied beings. You are celebrated as direct transcendental knowledge, and You are unlimited. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

The words brihate namas te have been explained by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura: brihate śrī-krishnāya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krishna. There are many tattvas, such as vishnu-tattva, jīva-tattva and śakti-tattva, but above everything is the vishnu-tattva, which is all-pervading. This all-pervading feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (10.42), wherein the Lord says:

athavā bahunaitena

kim jñātena tavārjuna

vishtabhyāham idam kritsnam

ekāmśena sthito jagat

"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." Thus Krishna says that the entire material world is maintained by His partial representation as Paramātmā. The Lord enters every universe as Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu and then expands Himself as Kshīrodakaśāyī Vishnu to enter the hearts of all living entities and even enter the atoms. Andāntara-stha-paramānu-cayāntara-stham. Every universe is full of atoms, and the Lord is not only within the universe but also within the atoms. Thus within every atom the Supreme Lord exists in His Vishnu feature as Paramātmā, but all the vishnu-tattvas emanate from Krishna. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.2), aham ādir hi devānām: Krishna is the ādi, or beginning, of the devas of this material world — Brahmā, Vishnu and Maheśvara. Therefore He is described here as bhagavate brihate. Everyone is bhagavān — everyone possesses opulence — but Krishna is brihān bhagavān, the possessor of unlimited opulence. Īśvarah paramah krishnah [Bs. 5.1]. Krishna is the origin of everyone. Aham sarvasya prabhavah. Even Brahmā, Vishnu and Maheśvara come from Krishna. Mattah parataram nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: [Bg. 7.7] there is no personality superior to Krishna. Therefore Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura says that bhagavate brihate means "unto Śrī Krishna."

In this material world, everyone is a paśu, an animal, because of the bodily conception of life.

yasyātma-buddhih kunape tri-dhātuke

sva-dhīh kalatrādishu bhauma ijya-dhīh

yat tīrtha-buddhih salile na karhicij

janeshv abhijñeshu sa eva go-kharah

"A human being who identifies the body made of three elements as the self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of his birth to be worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to bathe rather than to meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like a cow or an ass." (Bhāg. 10.84.13) Practically everyone, therefore, is a paśu, an animal, and everyone is attacked by the crocodile of material existence. Not only the King of the elephants but every one of us is being attacked by the crocodile and is suffering the consequences.

Only Krishna can deliver us from this material existence. Indeed, He is always trying to deliver us. Īśvarah sarva-bhūtānām hrid-deśe 'rjuna tishthati [Bg. 18.61]. He is within our hearts and is not at all inattentive. His only aim is to deliver us from material life. It is not that He becomes attentive to us only when we offer prayers to Him. Even before we offer our prayers, He incessantly tries to deliver us. He is never lazy in regard to our deliverance. Therefore this verse says, bhūri-karunāya namo 'layāya. It is the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord that He always tries to bring us back home, back to Godhead. God is liberated, and He tries to make us liberated, but although He is constantly trying, we refuse to accept His instructions (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]). Nonetheless, He has not become angry. Therefore He is described here as bhūri-karunāya, unlimitedly merciful in delivering us from this miserable material condition of life and taking us back home, back to Godhead.

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