Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.10.12

viśvaḿ vai brahma-tan-mātraḿ

saḿsthitaḿ viṣṇu-māyayā

īśvareṇa paricchinnaḿ

kālenāvyakta-mūrtinā

SYNONYMS

viśvam — the material phenomenon; vai — certainly; brahma — the Supreme; tat-mātram — the same as; saḿsthitam — situated; viṣṇu-māyayā — by the energy of Viṣṇu; īśvareṇa — by the Personality of Godhead; paricchinnam — separated; kālena — by the eternal time; avyakta — unmanifested; mūrtinā — by such a feature.

TRANSLATION

This cosmic manifestation is separated from the Supreme Lord as material energy by means of kāla, which is the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Lord. It is situated as the objective manifestation of the Lord under the influence of the same material energy of Viṣṇu.

PURPORT

As stated previously by Nārada before Vyāsadeva (Bhāg. 1.5.20), idaḿ hi viśvaḿ bhagavān ivetaraḥ: this unmanifested world is the self-same Personality of Godhead, but it appears to be something else beyond or besides the Lord. It appears so because of its being separated from the Lord by means of kāla. It is something like the tape-recorded voice of a person who is now separated from the voice. As the tape recording is situated on the tape, so the whole cosmic manifestation is situated on the material energy and appears separate by means of kāla. The material manifestation is therefore the objective manifestation of the Supreme Lord and exhibits His impersonal feature so much adored by impersonalist philosophers.

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