Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 32
Puruṣa-sūkta Logic of the Virāṭ: Cosmic Anatomy, Sacrifice, and the Lord’s Transcendence
सृजामि तन्नियुक्तोऽहं हरो हरति तद्वश: । विश्वं पुरुषरूपेण परिपाति त्रिशक्तिधृक् ॥ ३२ ॥
sṛjāmi tan-niyukto ’haṁ haro harati tad-vaśaḥ viśvaṁ puruṣa-rūpeṇa paripāti tri-śakti-dhṛk
ด้วยพระประสงค์ของพระองค์ ข้าพเจ้าจึงสร้าง; หระ (ศิวะ) ทำลายภายใต้อำนาจของพระองค์; และพระองค์เองในรูปปุรุษะทรงอภิบาลสรรพสิ่ง เป็นผู้ทรงถือครองพลังทั้งสาม
The conception of one without a second is clearly confirmed here. The one is Lord Vāsudeva, and only by His different energies and expansions are different manifestations, both in the material and in the spiritual worlds, maintained. In the material world also, Lord Vāsudeva is everything, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.19) . Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: everything is Vāsudeva only. In the Vedic hymns also the same Vāsudeva is held to be supreme. It is said in the Vedas, vāsudevāt paro brahman na cānyo ’rtho ’sti tattvataḥ: in fact there is no greater truth than Vāsudeva. And Lord Kṛṣṇa affirms the same truth in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7) . Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: “There is nothing above Me [Lord Kṛṣṇa].” So the conception of oneness, as overly stressed by the impersonalist, is also accepted by the personalist devotee of the Lord. The difference is that the impersonalist denies personality in the ultimate issue, whereas the devotee gives more importance to the Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains this truth in the verse under discussion: Lord Vāsudeva is one without a second, but because He is all-powerful, He can expand Himself as well as display His omnipotencies. The Lord is described here as omnipotent by three energies ( tri-śakti-dhṛk ). So primarily His three energies are internal, marginal and external. This external energy is also displayed in the three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Similarly, the internal potency is also displayed in three spiritual modes — saṁvit, sandhinī and hlādinī. The marginal potency, or the living entities, is also spiritual ( prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām ), but the living entities are never equal to the Lord. The Lord is nirasta-sāmya-atiśaya; in other words, no one is greater than or equal to the Supreme Lord. So the living entities, including even such great personalities as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, are all subordinate to the Lord. In the material world also, in His eternal form of Viṣṇu, He maintains and controls all the affairs of the demigods, including Brahmā and Śiva.
FAQs
This verse states that Brahmā creates by the Lord’s appointment, Śiva destroys under the Lord’s control, and the Supreme Lord as Puruṣa maintains the universe while holding the three divine energies.
In this chapter’s teaching on the Puruṣa and cosmic administration, Brahmā emphasizes that all secondary controllers function by the will of the Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate maintainer and source of power.
It cultivates humility and steadiness: we perform our duties sincerely (like Brahmā) while recognizing outcomes rest with the Supreme, reducing ego, anxiety, and envy.