Canto 10: The Summum BonumChapter 63: Lord Kṛṣṇa Fights with Bāṇāsura

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.63.25

jvara uvāca

namāmi tvānanta-śaktiḿ pareśam

sarvātmānaḿ kevalaḿ jñapti-mātram

viśvotpatti-sthāna-saḿrodha-hetuḿ

yat tad brahma brahma-lińgam praśāntam

SYNONYMS

jvaraḥ uvāca — the fever weapon (of Lord Śiva) said; namāmiI bow down; tvāto You; ananta — unlimited; śaktim — whose potencies; para — Supreme; īśam — the Lord; sarva — of all; ātmānam — the Soul; kevalampure; jñapti — of consciousness; mātram — the totality; viśva — of the universe; utpatti — of the creation; sthāna — maintenance; saḿrodha — and dissolution; hetum — the cause; yat — which; tat — that; brahma — Absolute Truth; brahma — by the Vedas; lingam — indirect reference to whom; praśāntam — perfectly peaceful.

TRANSLATION

The Śiva-jvara said: I bow down to You of unlimited potencies, the Supreme Lord, the Supersoul of all beings. You possess pure and complete consciousness and are the cause of cosmic creation, maintenance and dissolution. Perfectly peaceful, You are the Absolute Truth to whom the Vedas indirectly refer.

PURPORT

Previously the Śiva-jvara felt himself to be unlimitedly powerful and thus attempted to burn Śrī Kṛṣṇa. But now he himself has been burned, and understanding that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, he humbly approaches to bow down and offer praise to the Absolute Truth.

According to the ācāryas, the word sarvātmānam indicates that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul, the giver of consciousness to all living beings. Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): mataḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca. "From Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.''

In his commentary Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī emphasizes that the Śiva-jvara has realized in many ways Lord Kṛṣṇa's supremacy over his own master, Lord Śiva. Thus the Śiva-jvara addresses Kṛṣṇa as ananta-śakti, "possessor of unlimited potency"; pareśa, "the supreme controller"; and sarvātmā, "the Supersoul of all beings '' — even of Lord Śiva.

The words kevalaḿ jñapti-mātram indicate that Lord Kṛṣṇa possesses pure omniscience. According to our limited understanding, we act in this world, but Lord Kṛṣṇa, with His unlimited understanding, performs infinite works of creation, maintenance and annihilation. As Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out, even the functions of the gross elements, such as air, depend on Him. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.8.1) confirms this: bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ-pavate. "Out of fear of Him, the wind blows." Thus Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of worship for all living beings.

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