Shloka 3
Avatāra-kathā — The Puruṣa, the Many Incarnations, and Kṛṣṇa as Svayam Bhagavān
यस्यावयवसंस्थानै: कल्पितो लोकविस्तर: । तद्वै भगवतो रूपं विशुद्धं सत्त्वमूर्जितम् ॥ ३ ॥
yasyāvayava-saṁsthānaiḥ kalpito loka-vistaraḥ tad vai bhagavato rūpaṁ viśuddhaṁ sattvam ūrjitam
Crê-se que todos os sistemas planetários estejam situados no vasto corpo do Puruṣa; contudo, essa é a forma do Bhagavān: totalmente pura, fortalecida pela sattva e resplandecente, sem ligação com os ingredientes materiais criados.
The conception of the virāṭ-rūpa or viśva-rūpa of the Supreme Absolute Truth is especially meant for the neophyte who can hardly think of the transcendental form of the Personality of Godhead. To him a form means something of this material world, and therefore an opposite conception of the Absolute is necessary in the beginning to concentrate the mind on the power extension of the Lord. As stated above, the Lord extends His potency in the form of the mahat-tattva, which includes all material ingredients. The extension of power by the Lord and the Lord Himself personally are one in one sense, but at the same time the mahat-tattva is different from the Lord. Therefore the potency of the Lord and the Lord are simultaneously different and nondifferent. The conception of the virāṭ-rūpa, especially for the impersonalist, is thus nondifferent from the eternal form of the Lord. This eternal form of the Lord exists prior to the creation of the mahat-tattva, and it is stressed here that the eternal form of the Lord is par excellence spiritual or transcendental to the modes of material nature. The very same transcendental form of the Lord is manifested by His internal potency, and the formation of His multifarious manifestations of incarnations is always of the same transcendental quality, without any touch of the mahat-tattva.
FAQs
This verse explains that the vast universe can be contemplated as structured within the Lord’s limbs—His cosmic form—yet that form remains viśuddha (pure) and empowered, not material or contaminated.
In Canto 1 Chapter 3, Sūta Gosvāmī is summarizing divine manifestations and helping the sages understand creation and the cosmos as dependent on Bhagavān, making devotion grounded in a theistic vision of reality.
Contemplate the world as sacred and dependent on the Supreme, which fosters humility, responsibility, and devotion—using daily life as a reminder to serve and remember Bhagavān.