Shloka 23
Vyāsa’s Vision, the Power of Bhāgavatam, and the Arrest of Aśvatthāmā
त्वमाद्य: पुरुष: साक्षादीश्वर: प्रकृते: पर: । मायां व्युदस्य चिच्छक्त्या कैवल्ये स्थित आत्मनि ॥ २३ ॥
tvam ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ sākṣād īśvaraḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ māyāṁ vyudasya cic-chaktyā kaivalye sthita ātmani
Du bist der ursprüngliche Puruṣa, der höchste Herr in Person, jenseits der materiellen Natur. Durch Deine geistige Kraft (cit-śakti) weist Du die Wirkungen der māyā zurück und verweilst in Deinem Selbst, gegründet in ewiger Wonne und transzendentalem Wissen.
The Lord states in the Bhagavad-gītā that one who surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord can get release from the clutches of nescience. Kṛṣṇa is just like the sun, and māyā or material existence is just like darkness. Wherever there is the light of the sun, darkness or ignorance at once vanishes. The best means to get out of the world of ignorance is suggested here. The Lord is addressed herein as the original Personality of Godhead. From Him all other Personalities of Godhead expand. The all-pervasive Lord Viṣṇu is Lord Kṛṣṇa’s plenary portion or expansion. The Lord expands Himself in innumerable forms of Godhead and living beings, along with His different energies. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original primeval Lord from whom everything emanates. The all-pervasive feature of the Lord experienced within the manifested world is also a partial representation of the Lord. Paramātmā, therefore, is included within Him. He is the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He has nothing to do with the actions and reactions of the material manifestation because He is far above the material creation. Darkness is a perverse representation of the sun, and therefore the existence of darkness depends on the existence of the sun, but in the sun proper there is no trace of darkness. As the sun is full of light only, similarly the Absolute Personality of Godhead, beyond the material existence, is full of bliss. He is not only full of bliss, but also full of transcendental variegatedness. Transcendence is not at all static, but full of dynamic variegatedness. He is distinct from the material nature, which is complicated by the three modes of material nature. He is parama, or the chief. Therefore He is absolute. He has manifold energies, and through His diverse energies He creates, manifests, maintains and destroys the material world. In His own abode, however, everything is eternal and absolute. The world is not conducted by the energies or powerful agents by themselves, but by the potent all-powerful with all energies.
FAQs
This verse declares Kṛṣṇa as the original Supreme Person and Controller, transcendental to material nature, who dispels māyā by His own spiritual consciousness-potency and remains established in His pure Self.
In her prayers, Kuntī identifies Kṛṣṇa’s supreme position—beyond prakṛti and untouched by illusion—to express that His protection and presence are fully divine, not material or ordinary.
By remembering the Lord’s transcendence and seeking shelter of His spiritual potency through bhakti—hearing, chanting, and prayer—one gains clarity to resist illusion and live with steadiness of purpose.