Shloka 14
Nārada’s Questions and Brahmā’s Reply: Vāsudeva as the Source; Sarga–Visarga; Virāṭ-rūpa Mapping
द्रव्यं कर्म च कालश्च स्वभावो जीव एव च । वासुदेवात्परो ब्रह्मन्न च चान्योऽर्थोऽस्ति तत्त्वत: ॥ १४ ॥
dravyaṁ karma ca kālaś ca svabhāvo jīva eva ca vāsudevāt paro brahman na cānyo ’rtho ’sti tattvataḥ
สสาร กรรม กาล ธรรมชาติ และชีวะ—ทั้งหมดเป็นส่วนย่อยที่จำแนกจากพระวาสุเทวะ; โอ้พราหมณ์ โดยแท้จริงแล้วไม่มีคุณค่าอื่นแยกต่างหากในสิ่งเหล่านี้
This phenomenal world is impersonally the representation of Vāsudeva because the ingredients of its creation, their interaction and the enjoyer of the resultant action, the living being, are all produced by the external and internal energies of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5). The ingredients, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, as well as the conception of material identity, intelligence and the mind, are produced of the external energy of the Lord. The living entity who enjoys the interaction of the above gross and subtle ingredients, as set up by eternal time, is an offshoot of internal potency, with freedom to remain either in the material world or in the spiritual world. In the material world the living entity is enticed by deluding nescience, but in the spiritual world he is in the normal condition of spiritual existence without any delusion. The living entity is known as the marginal potency of the Lord. But in all circumstances, neither the material ingredients nor the spiritual parts and parcels are independent of the Personality of Godhead Vāsudeva, for all things, whether products of the external, internal or marginal potencies of the Lord, are simply displays of the same effulgence of the Lord, just as light, heat and smoke are displays of fire. None of them is separate from the fire — all of them combine together to be called fire. Similarly, all phenomenal manifestations, as well as the effulgence of the body of Vāsudeva, are His impersonal features, whereas He eternally exists in His transcendental form called sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, distinct from all conceptions of the material ingredients mentioned above.
FAQs
This verse states that matter, action, time, nature, and the jīva are not independent realities apart from Vāsudeva; ultimately, nothing exists separately from Him.
Śukadeva is establishing the Bhagavatam’s core conclusion in Canto 2: all categories of existence are rooted in and dependent upon the Supreme Person, guiding Parīkṣit to fix his consciousness on Vāsudeva.
See time, work, and life’s circumstances as connected to the Lord, and practice remembering Vāsudeva through devotional hearing, chanting, and offering your actions to Him.