Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 38
Brahmā’s Tapasya, the Vision of Vaikuṇṭha, and the Lord’s Seed Instructions
Catuḥ-śloki
श्रीशुक उवाच सम्प्रदिश्यैवमजनो जनानां परमेष्ठिनम् । पश्यतस्तस्य तद् रूपमात्मनो न्यरुणद्धरि: ॥ ३८ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca sampradiśyaivam ajano janānāṁ parameṣṭhinam paśyatas tasya tad rūpam ātmano nyaruṇad dhariḥ
قال شُكاديفا: بعدما علّم هكذا براهما، قائد الكائنات، أظهر هري صورته المتعالية ثم احتجب عن نظره.
In this verse it is clearly mentioned that the Lord is ajanaḥ, or the Supreme Person, and that He was showing His transcendental form ( ātmano rūpam ) to Brahmājī while instructing him in the summarization of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in four verses. He is ajanaḥ, or the Supreme Person, amongst janānām, or all persons. All living entities are individual persons, and amongst all such persons Lord Hari is supreme, as confirmed in the śruti-mantra, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. So there is no place for impersonal features in the transcendental world as there are impersonal features in the material world. Whenever there is cetana, or knowledge, the personal feature comes in. In the spiritual world everything is full of knowledge, and therefore everything in the transcendental world, the land, the water, the tree, the mountain, the river, the man, the animal, the bird — everything — is of the same quality, namely cetana, and therefore everything there is individual and personal. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives us this information as the supreme Vedic literature, and it was personally instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to Brahmājī so that the leader of the living entities might broadcast the message to all in the universe in order to teach the supreme knowledge of bhakti-yoga. Brahmājī in his turn instructed Nārada, his beloved son, the same message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Nārada, in his turn, taught the same to Vyāsadeva, who again taught it to Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Through Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s grace and by the mercy of Mahārāja Parīkṣit we are all given Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam perpetually to learn the science of the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa.
FAQs
This verse says that after instructing Brahmā, Lord Hari concealed His own form from Brahmā’s vision—showing that divine darśana is granted by the Lord’s will and may be withdrawn after the purpose (teaching) is fulfilled.
After delivering essential guidance to Brahmā for creation and devotion, the Lord withdrew His visible form, emphasizing Brahmā’s dependence on remembrance, obedience, and bhakti rather than continued physical vision.
Do not rely only on peak spiritual experiences; hold firmly to the Lord’s instructions—practice devotion, study, and remembrance—so faith remains steady even when direct “felt” experiences come and go.