Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 31
नारायणे भगवति तदिदं विश्वमाहितम् । गृहीतमायोरुगुण: सर्गादावगुण: स्वत: ॥ ३१ ॥
nārāyaṇe bhagavati tad idaṁ viśvam āhitam gṛhīta-māyoru-guṇaḥ sargādāv aguṇaḥ svataḥ
ಈ ಸಮಸ್ತ ವಿಶ್ವವು ಭಗವಾನ್ ನಾರಾಯಣನಲ್ಲೇ ಸ್ಥಿತವಾಗಿದೆ. ಆತನು ತನ್ನ ಮಹಾಶಕ್ತಿ ಮಾಯೆಯನ್ನು ಸ್ವಯಂ ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯ ಆದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಣಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿದರೂ, ಸ್ವಭಾವತಃ ಆತನು ನಿತ್ಯ ನಿರ್ಗುಣನು।
The question put by Nārada before Brahmā concerning the sustenance of the material creation is thus answered. Material actions and reactions, as the material scientist can superficially observe, are not basically ultimate truth in regard to creation, maintenance and destruction. The material energy is a potency of the Lord which is displayed in time, accepting the three qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance in the forms of Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Śiva. The material energy thus works under the supreme spell of His Lordship, although He is always transcendental to all such material activities. A rich man constructs a big house by spending his energy in the shape of resources, and similarly he destroys a big house by his resources, but the maintenance is always under his personal care. The Lord is the richest of the rich because He is always fully complete in six opulences. Therefore He is not required to do anything personally, but everything in the material world is carried out by His wishes and direction; therefore, the entire material manifestation is situated in Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The impersonal conception of the supreme truth is due to lack of knowledge only, and this fact is clearly explained by Brahmājī, who is supposed to be the creator of the universal affairs. Brahmājī is the highest authority in Vedic wisdom, and his assertion in this connection is therefore the supreme information.
FAQs
This verse states that the entire cosmos rests in Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa—He is the ultimate support and container of all existence.
Because creation operates through māyā and the modes, yet the Lord only employs that energy; He is not conditioned by it and remains intrinsically transcendental (aguṇaḥ svataḥ).
See changing circumstances as māyā’s workings, while anchoring your faith in Nārāyaṇa as the unchanging shelter—supporting steadiness in bhakti and detachment.