← Canto 2: The Cosmic Manifestation

Chapter 1:

Verse 29 of 40
SB 2.1.29

इन्द्रादयो बाहव आहुरुस्राः कर्णौ दिशः श्रोत्रममुष्य शब्दः नासत्यदस्रौ परमस्य नासे घ्राणो ऽस्य गन्धो मुखमग्निरिद्धः

indrādayo bāhava āhur usrāḥ karṇau diśaḥ śrotram amuṣya śabdaḥ nāsatya-dasrau paramasya nāse ghrāṇo 'sya gandho mukham agnir iddhaḥ

Synonyms

indrādayaḥdemigods headed by the heavenly king, Indra; bāhavaḥarms; āhuḥare called; usrāḥthe demigods; karṇauthe ears; diśaḥthe four directions; śrotramsense of hearing; amuṣyaof the Lord; śabdaḥsound; nāsatya-dasrauthe demigods known as Aśvinīkumāras; paramasyaof the Supreme; nāsenostrils; ghrāṇaḥsense of smelling; asyaof Him; gandhaḥflavor; mukhammouth; agniḥfire; iddhaḥblazing..

Translation

His arms are the demigods headed by Indra, the ten directional sides are His ears, and physical sound is the sense of His hearing. His nostrils are the two Aśvinīkumāras, and the material flavor is the sense of His smelling. His mouth is the blazing fire.

Purport

The description of the gigantic form of the Personality of Godhead made in the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā is further explained here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The description in the Bhagavad-gītā (Bg. 11.30) runs as follows: "O Viṣṇu, I see You devouring all people in Your blazing mouths and covering all the universe by Your immeasurable rays. Scorching the worlds, You are manifest." In that way, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the postgraduate study for the student of the Bhagavad-gītā. Both of them are the science of Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, and so they are interdependent.

The conception of the virāṭa-puruṣa or the gigantic form of the Supreme Lord is said to include all the dominating demigods as well as the dominated living beings. Even the minutest part of a living being is controlled by the empowered agency of the Lord. Since the demigods are included in the gigantic form of the Lord, worship of the Lord whether in His gigantic material conception or in His eternal transcendental form as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa also appeases the demigods and all the other parts and parcels, as much as watering the root of the tree distributes energy to all other parts. Therefore, for a materialist also, worship of the universal gigantic form of the Lord leads one to the right path. One need not risk being misled by approaching many demigods for fulfillment of different desires. The real entity is the Lord Himself, and all others are imaginary, for everything is included in Him only.

Verse 29 of 40
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