Shloka 55
Bhṛgu Tests the Trimūrti; Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna Visit Mahā-Viṣṇu and Recover the Brāhmaṇa’s Sons
ददर्श तद्भोगसुखासनं विभुं महानुभावं पुरुषोत्तमोत्तमम् । सान्द्राम्बुदाभं सुपिशङ्गवाससं प्रसन्नवक्त्रं रुचिरायतेक्षणम् ॥ ५४ ॥ महामणिव्रातकिरीटकुण्डल- प्रभापरिक्षिप्तसहस्रकुन्तलम् । प्रलम्बचार्वष्टभुजं सकौस्तुभं श्रीवत्सलक्ष्मं वनमालया वृतम् ॥ ५५ ॥ सुनन्दनन्दप्रमुखै: स्वपार्षदै- श्चक्रादिभिर्मूर्तिधरैर्निजायुधै: । पुष्ट्या श्रिया कीर्त्यजयाखिलर्धिभि- र्निषेव्यमानं परमेष्ठिनां पतिम् ॥ ५६ ॥
dadarśa tad-bhoga-sukhāsanaṁ vibhuṁ mahānubhāvaṁ puruṣottamottamam sāndrāmbudābhaṁ su-piśaṅga-vāsasaṁ prasanna-vaktraṁ rucirāyatekṣaṇam
Arjuna beheld Mahā-Viṣṇu, the all-pervading, all-powerful Supreme Lord, seated peacefully upon the serpent bed. His hue was like a dense rain cloud; He wore a splendid yellow garment; His face was serene, His broad eyes enchanting; and He had eight long, handsome arms. The brilliance of the gems on His crown and earrings illumined His abundant hair. He bore the Kaustubha jewel, the mark of Śrīvatsa, and a garland of forest flowers. Sunanda and Nanda and other attendants served Him, as did His cakra and other weapons in personified forms, and His potencies—Puṣṭi, Śrī, Kīrti, Ajā—together with all His mystic perfections, for He is the Lord of the highest beings.
Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions that “the Lord has innumerable energies, and they were also standing there personified. The most important among them were as follows: Puṣṭi, the energy for nourishment; Śrī, the energy of beauty; Kīrti, the energy of reputation; and Ajā, the energy of material creation. All these energies are invested in the administrators of the material world, namely Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu, and in the kings of the heavenly planets, Indra, Candra, Varuṇa and the sungod. In other words, all these demigods, being empowered by the Lord with certain energies, engage in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
FAQs
This verse describes the Lord as dark like a dense raincloud, dressed in radiant yellow garments, with a serene face and long, beautiful eyes—an ideal form for devotional meditation.
Here He is praised as “puruṣottamottama,” indicating He is the supreme among all supreme persons—the ultimate object of worship and the source of all majesty.
Daily remembrance of the Lord’s compassionate, serene form helps steady the mind, reduce anxiety, and deepen devotion through focused japa, prayer, or visualization during worship.