Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 47
Soma Pacifies the Pracetās; Dakṣa’s Haṁsa-guhya Prayers; Hari Grants Creative Power
अहमेवासमेवाग्रे नान्यत् किञ्चान्तरं बहि: । संज्ञानमात्रमव्यक्तं प्रसुप्तमिव विश्वत: ॥ ४७ ॥
aham evāsam evāgre nānyat kiñcāntaraṁ bahiḥ saṁjñāna-mātram avyaktaṁ prasuptam iva viśvataḥ
在此宇宙显现被创造之前，唯有我存在；内外皆无他物。那时唯有纯粹的觉知而未显现，正如人在睡眠之际觉知不现一般。
The word aham indicates a person. As explained in the Vedas, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13) : the Lord is the supreme eternal among innumerable eternals and the supreme living being among the innumerable living beings. The Lord is a person who also has impersonal features. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11) :
FAQs
This verse states that before creation only the Supreme Lord existed—nothing else within or without—and the universe was unmanifest, lying dormant as if in sleep.
Because prior to material manifestation, the Lord remains self-luminous awareness, independent of matter—He is the conscious source from which the cosmos later becomes expressed.
It encourages detachment from temporary manifestations and steadiness in devotion—remembering the Supreme as the underlying reality helps one face change, loss, and uncertainty with spiritual clarity.