Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 4
Prāyaścitta, the ‘Elephant Bath’ Problem, and the Opening of Ajāmila-Upākhyāna
प्रियव्रतोत्तानपदोर्वंशस्तच्चरितानि च । द्वीपवर्षसमुद्राद्रिनद्युद्यानवनस्पतीन् ॥ ४ ॥ धरामण्डलसंस्थानं भागलक्षणमानत: । ज्योतिषां विवराणां च यथेदमसृजद्विभु: ॥ ५ ॥
priyavratottānapador vaṁśas tac-caritāni ca dvīpa-varṣa-samudrādri- nady-udyāna-vanaspatīn
Mahal kong panginoon, inilarawan mo ang mga angkan at katangian nina Haring Priyavrata at Haring Uttānapāda. Nilalang ng Kataas-taasang Panginoon ang mga pulo at lupain, dagat at karagatan, bundok, ilog, hardin at mga punò; pati ang ayos ng mundong-lupa, ang mga bahagi nito, ang mga tanglaw sa langit at ang mga mababang daigdig—at malinaw mo itong ipinaliwanag ayon sa paglikha ng Makapangyarihan.
Here the words yathedam asṛjad vibhuḥ clearly indicate that the Supreme, the great, almighty Personality of Godhead, created this entire material world with its different varieties of planets, stars and so forth. Atheists try to conceal the hand of God, which is present in every creation, but they cannot explain how all these creations could come into existence without a competent intelligence and almighty power behind them. Simply to imagine or speculate is a waste of time. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) , the Lord says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo: “I am the origin of everything.” Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “Whatever exists in the creation emanates from Me.” Iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ: “When one fully understands that I create everything by My omnipotence, one becomes firmly situated in devotional service and fully surrenders at My lotus feet.” Unfortunately, the unintelligent cannot immediately understand Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy. Nonetheless, if they associate with devotees and read authorized books, they may gradually come to the proper understanding, although this may take many, many births. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19) :
FAQs
This verse notes that the Bhāgavatam has already described the earth’s divisions—its islands/continents, oceans, mountains, rivers, gardens, and vegetation—along with key royal dynasties.
He is marking a transition: after recounting dynasties and cosmological structure, he now proceeds to a new teaching section, beginning with Ajāmila, to highlight the power of bhakti and the holy name.
It encourages seeing the Bhāgavatam as a complete spiritual map—history and cosmology are presented to support devotion and remembrance of the Supreme Lord’s order and purpose.