Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 50
The Prayers of the Personified Vedas (Śruti-stuti) and the Indescribable Absolute
योऽस्योत्प्रेक्षक आदिमध्यनिधने योऽव्यक्तजीवेश्वरो य: सृष्ट्वेदमनुप्रविश्य ऋषिणा चक्रे पुर: शास्ति ता: । यं सम्पद्य जहात्यजामनुशयी सुप्त: कुलायं यथा तं कैवल्यनिरस्तयोनिमभयं ध्यायेदजस्रं हरिम् ॥ ५० ॥
yo ’syotprekṣaka ādi-madhya-nidhane yo ’vyakta-jīveśvaro yaḥ sṛṣṭvedam anupraviśya ṛṣiṇā cakre puraḥ śāsti tāḥ yaṁ sampadya jahāty ajām anuśayī suptaḥ kulāyaṁ yathā taṁ kaivalya-nirasta-yonim abhayaṁ dhyāyed ajasraṁ harim
He is the Lord who eternally watches over this universe, who exists before, during and after its manifestation. He is the master of both the unmanifest material energy and the spirit soul. After sending forth the creation He enters within it, accompanying each living entity. There He creates the material bodies and then remains as their regulator. By surrendering to Him one can escape the embrace of illusion, just as a dreaming person forgets his own body. One who wants liberation from fear should constantly meditate upon Him, Lord Hari, who is always on the platform of perfection and thus never subject to material birth.
By glancing upon the dormant universe at the time of sending forth the jīva souls into creation, the Supreme Lord provides all their necessities: For those living entities who are fruitive workers, He provides the intelligence and senses needed to achieve success in material work. For those who seek transcendental knowledge, He provides the intelligence by which they can merge into the spiritual effulgence of God, thus attaining liberation. And for the devotees He provides the understanding that leads them to His pure devotional service.
FAQs
It describes Hari as the overseer of the universe in its beginning, middle, and end, and as the indwelling seer who enters creation and remains the ultimate witness and ruler.
The personified Vedas (Śrutis) are speaking, glorifying the Supreme Lord’s transcendence and immanence; their prayers establish that true liberation and knowledge culminate in devotion and meditation on Hari.
Practice daily remembrance/meditation on Hari as the inner witness, and cultivate detachment from bodily identity—like leaving a “nest”—by anchoring your purpose in devotion and spiritual understanding.