Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 47
Soma Pacifies the Pracetās; Dakṣa’s Haṁsa-guhya Prayers; Hari Grants Creative Power
अहमेवासमेवाग्रे नान्यत् किञ्चान्तरं बहि: । संज्ञानमात्रमव्यक्तं प्रसुप्तमिव विश्वत: ॥ ४७ ॥
aham evāsam evāgre nānyat kiñcāntaraṁ bahiḥ saṁjñāna-mātram avyaktaṁ prasuptam iva viśvataḥ
この宇宙の顕現が創られる以前、存在していたのはただ我のみであり、内にも外にも他なるものはなかった。その時、意識は未顕現で、眠りの時に意識が現れぬように、遍く潜んでいた。
The word aham indicates a person. As explained in the Vedas, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13) : the Lord is the supreme eternal among innumerable eternals and the supreme living being among the innumerable living beings. The Lord is a person who also has impersonal features. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11) :
FAQs
This verse states that before creation only the Supreme Lord existed—nothing else within or without—and the universe was unmanifest, lying dormant as if in sleep.
Because prior to material manifestation, the Lord remains self-luminous awareness, independent of matter—He is the conscious source from which the cosmos later becomes expressed.
It encourages detachment from temporary manifestations and steadiness in devotion—remembering the Supreme as the underlying reality helps one face change, loss, and uncertainty with spiritual clarity.