Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 23
Parīkṣit’s Full Surrender and Śukadeva’s Maṅgalācaraṇa to Kṛṣṇa
Inquiry into Creation, Maintenance, and Dissolution
भूतैर्महद्भिर्य इमा: पुरो विभु- र्निर्माय शेते यदमूषु पूरुष: । भुङ्क्ते गुणान् षोडश षोडशात्मक: सोऽलङ्कृषीष्ट भगवान् वचांसि मे ॥ २३ ॥
bhūtair mahadbhir ya imāḥ puro vibhur nirmāya śete yad amūṣu pūruṣaḥ bhuṅkte guṇān ṣoḍaśa ṣoḍaśātmakaḥ so ’laṅkṛṣīṣṭa bhagavān vacāṁsi me
மகாபூதங்களால் இவ்வுடல் வடிவங்களை அமைத்து அவற்றுள் தாமே தங்கியிருக்கும் பரம்பொருள், புருஷ அவதாரமாக ஜீவனை பதினாறு பதினாறு வகை குணப் பிரிவுகளின் ஆட்பாட்டில் அனுபவிக்கச் செய்பவர்—அந்த பகவான் என் சொற்களை அலங்கரிப்பாராக।
As a fully dependent devotee, Śukadeva Gosvāmī (unlike a mundane man who is proud of his own capability) invokes the pleasure of the Personality of Godhead so that his statements may be successful and be appreciated by the hearers. The devotee always thinks of himself as instrumental for anything successfully carried out, and he declines to take credit for anything done by himself. The godless atheist wants to take all credit for activities, not knowing that even a blade of grass cannot move without the sanction of the Supreme Spirit, the Personality of Godhead. Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore wants to move by the direction of the Supreme Lord, who inspired Brahmā to speak the Vedic wisdom. The truths described in the Vedic literatures are not theories of mundane imagination, nor are they fictitious, as the less intelligent class of men sometimes think. The Vedic truths are all perfect descriptions of the factual truth, without any mistake or illusion, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī wants to present the truths of creation not as a metaphysical theory of philosophical speculation, but as the actual facts and figures of the subject, since he would be dictated to by the Lord exactly in the same manner as Brahmājī was inspired. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) , the Lord is Himself the father of the Vedānta knowledge, and it is He only who knows the factual purport of the Vedānta philosophy. So there is no greater truth than the principles of religion mentioned in the Vedas. Such Vedic knowledge or religion is disseminated by authorities like Śukadeva Gosvāmī because he is a humble devotional servitor of the Lord who has no desire to become a self-appointed interpreter without authority. That is the way of explaining the Vedic knowledge, technically known as the paramparā system, or descending process.
FAQs
This verse states that after creating the elements and forming bodies as abodes, the Lord enters and lies within them as the Puruṣa (Supersoul), remaining the inner witness and controller.
Because creation and the Lord’s indwelling presence are beyond ordinary speech, Brahmā seeks divine empowerment so his descriptions of Bhagavān’s cosmic functions become accurate, pure, and devotionally effective.
Seeing oneself as influenced by the guṇas while the Lord remains the inner guide helps cultivate detachment, self-control, and devotion—shifting identity from temporary moods and senses to service of the Supersoul.