Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 1: The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Introduction |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.1.20
tatra gatvā jagannāthaḿ
deva-devaḿ vṛṣākapim
puruṣaḿ puruṣa-sūktena
upatasthe samāhitaḥ
SYNONYMS
tatra — there (on the shore of the ocean of milk); gatvā — after going; jagannātham — unto the master of the entire universe, the Supreme Being; deva-devam — the Supreme God of all gods; vṛṣākapim — the Supreme Person, Viṣṇu, who provides for everyone and diminishes everyone's suffering; puruṣam — the Supreme Person; puruṣa-sūktena — with the Vedic mantra known as puruṣa-sūkta; upatasthe — worshiped; samāhitaḥ — with full attention.
TRANSLATION
After reaching the shore of the ocean of milk, the demigods worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, the master of the whole universe, the supreme God of all gods, who provides for everyone and diminishes everyone's suffering. With great attention, they worshiped Lord Viṣṇu, who lies on the ocean of milk, by reciting the Vedic mantras known as the Puruṣa-sūkta.
PURPORT
The demigods, such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, King Indra, Candra and Sūrya, are all subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Aside from the demigods, even in human society there are many influential personalities supervising various businesses or establishments. Lord Viṣṇu, however, is the God of gods (parameśvara). He is parama-puruṣa, the Supreme Being, Paramātmā. As confirmed in the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.1), īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ: "Kṛṣṇa, known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body." No one is equal to or greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore He is described here by many words: jagannātha, deva-deva, vṛṣākapi and puruṣa. The supremacy of Lord Viṣṇu is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.12) in this statement by Arjuna:
paraḿ brahma paraḿ dhāma
pavitraḿ paramaḿ bhavān
puruṣaḿ śāśvataḿ divyam
ādi-devam ajaḿ vibhum
"You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty." Kṛṣṇa is ādi-puruṣa, the original Personality of Godhead (govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi **). Viṣṇu is a plenary expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and all the viṣṇu-tattvas are parameśvara, deva-deva.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari