Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 29
Soma Pacifies the Pracetās; Dakṣa’s Haṁsa-guhya Prayers; Hari Grants Creative Power
यद्यन्निरुक्तं वचसा निरूपितं धियाक्षभिर्वा मनसोत यस्य । मा भूत्स्वरूपं गुणरूपं हि तत्तत् स वै गुणापायविसर्गलक्षण: ॥ २९ ॥
yad yan niruktaṁ vacasā nirūpitaṁ dhiyākṣabhir vā manasota yasya mā bhūt svarūpaṁ guṇa-rūpaṁ hi tat tat sa vai guṇāpāya-visarga-lakṣaṇaḥ
Anything expressed by material vibrations, anything ascertained by material intelligence and anything experienced by the material senses or concocted within the material mind is but an effect of the modes of material nature and therefore has nothing to do with the real nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is beyond the creation of this material world, for He is the source of the material qualities and creation. As the cause of all causes, He exists before the creation and after the creation. I wish to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.
One who manufactures names, forms, qualities or paraphernalia pertaining to the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot understand Him, since He is beyond creation. The Supreme Lord is the creator of everything, and this means that He existed when there was no creation. In other words, His name, form and qualities are not materially created entities; they are transcendental always. Therefore by our material concoctions, vibrations and thoughts we cannot ascertain the Supreme Lord. This is explained in the verse ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ.
FAQs
This verse teaches that anything captured by speech, intellect, senses, or mind is not the Lord’s ultimate reality; such concepts belong to the realm of the material modes, while the Lord is transcendental to their appearance and dissolution.
Daksha prays for divine empowerment in progeny and creation, while acknowledging that the Supreme Lord is not limited by material definitions—showing humility and correct theology even while engaged in worldly duties.
Do not reduce the Divine to mental images or ideological labels; practice devotion with humility, remembering that spiritual realization matures as one rises beyond material conditioning (the gunas).