Shloka 1
The Prayers of the Personified Vedas (Śruti-stuti) and the Indescribable Absolute
श्रीपरीक्षिदुवाच ब्रह्मन् ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये निर्गुणे गुणवृत्तय: । कथं चरन्ति श्रुतय: साक्षात् सदसत: परे ॥ १ ॥
śrī-parīkṣid uvāca brahman brahmaṇy anirdeśye nirguṇe guṇa-vṛttayaḥ kathaṁ caranti śrutayaḥ sākṣāt sad-asataḥ pare
Śrī Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, how can the Vedas directly describe the Supreme Absolute Truth, who cannot be expressed in words, who is the benefactor of the brāhmaṇas, and who is nirguṇa—beyond all material manifestations and their causes? The Vedas speak within the scope of nature’s guṇas, but He is transcendental to all guṇas.
Before beginning his commentary on this chapter, Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī prays:
FAQs
This verse raises the issue that Vedic words function within the realm of the guṇas, yet Brahman is beyond them—setting up the Bhagavatam’s explanation that scripture points to the transcendent through indication, negation, and ultimately bhakti-centered realization.
Parīkṣit is seeking clarity on how revealed sound (śruti) can meaningfully speak about the Supreme who is beyond material categories; this introduces the chapter’s teachings where the personified Vedas offer prayers explaining the Lord’s transcendence.
Don’t reduce God to material concepts or mental labels; instead, approach the Absolute through disciplined hearing of scripture and devotional practice, which leads beyond mere intellectual categories to realized understanding.