Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 4
Nābhi’s Sacrifice and Lord Viṣṇu’s Promise to Appear as a Son (Ṛṣabhadeva’s Advent Prelude)
ऋत्विज ऊचु: अर्हसि मुहुरर्हत्तमार्हणमस्माकमनुपथानां नमो नम इत्येतावत्सदुपशिक्षितं कोऽर्हति पुमान् प्रकृतिगुणव्यतिकरमतिरनीश ईश्वरस्य परस्य प्रकृतिपुरुषयोरर्वाक्तनाभिर्नामरूपाकृतिभी रूपनिरूपणम् ॥ ४ ॥ सकलजननिकायवृजिननिरसनशिवतमप्रवरगुणगणैकदेशकथनादृते ॥ ५ ॥
ṛtvija ūcuḥ arhasi muhur arhattamārhaṇam asmākam anupathānāṁ namo nama ity etāvat sad-upaśikṣitaṁ ko ’rhati pumān prakṛti-guṇa-vyatikara-matir anīśa īśvarasya parasya prakṛti-puruṣayor arvāktanābhir nāma-rūpākṛtibhī rūpa-nirūpaṇam; sakala-jana-nikāya-vṛjina-nirasana-śivatama-pravara-guṇa-gaṇaika-deśa-kathanād ṛte.
Die Priester sprachen: „O Du Allerverehrungswürdigster! Wir sind nur Deine Diener auf Deinem Pfad; nimm aus Deiner grundlosen Barmherzigkeit immer wieder unseren kleinen Dienst an. Veden und autorisierte Ācāryas lehrten uns nur dies: ‘namo namaḥ’—wieder und wieder ehrfürchtig zu grüßen. Wie könnte das ohnmächtige Wesen, verstrickt in die Vermischung der guṇas der Natur, den höchsten Īśvara—jenseits von prakṛti und puruṣa—durch Namen, Gestalt und Form bestimmen? Darum können wir nur einen Teil Deiner glückverheißenden, sündenvernichtenden Eigenschaften besingen; dies ist für uns das heilsamste Tun, das die Verfehlungen aller tilgt und uns etwas von Deiner überweltlichen Stellung erkennen lässt.“
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to do with material perception. Even the impersonalist Śaṅkarācārya says, nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt: “Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material conception.” We cannot concoct the form and attributes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We must simply accept the description given in Vedic literatures about the Lord’s form and activities. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29) :
FAQs
This verse states that the Supreme Lord is the master of both material nature (prakṛti) and the conditioned living being/field of experience (puruṣa), and thus cannot be fully captured by a mind influenced by the modes of nature.
They express devotional humility: realizing their limited capacity to define the Supreme, they offer repeated surrender as the truest form of praise.
It encourages humility and consistent reverence—accepting the limits of intellectual control and cultivating sincere devotion through repeated remembrance and respectful speech.