Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 22
Vidura’s Questions: How the Unchangeable Lord Relates to Māyā; Bhakti as the Remedy; Blueprint for the Coming Cosmology
यमाहुराद्यं पुरुषं सहस्राङ्घ्र्यूरुबाहुकम् । यत्र विश्व इमे लोका: सविकाशं त आसते ॥ २२ ॥
yam āhur ādyaṁ puruṣaṁ sahasrāṅghry-ūru-bāhukam yatra viśva ime lokāḥ sa-vikāśaṁ ta āsate
Die Puruṣa-Inkarnation, die auf dem Kausalozean ruht, wird der ursprüngliche Puruṣa der materiellen Schöpfungen genannt; in Seiner Virāṭ-Universalgstalt, in der alle Welten und ihre Bewohner wohnen, hat Er Tausende von Füßen und Händen.
The first puruṣa is Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the second puruṣa is Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the third puruṣa is Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, in whom is contemplated the virāṭ-puruṣa, the gigantic form in which all the planets with their different developments and inhabitants are floating.
FAQs
This verse states that the primeval Supreme Person is described as having thousands of limbs, and that all worlds and their expansions rest within Him—indicating the universe is contained in and supported by the Lord’s cosmic form.
He is conveying the Vedic vision of the Lord as the universal Person, whose cosmic body symbolically includes and sustains all beings and planetary systems, emphasizing God’s all-pervading supremacy.
Seeing everything as resting within the Supreme encourages humility, responsibility, and devotion—treating life, nature, and other beings as sacred parts of the Lord’s arrangement rather than objects for exploitation.