Causelessmercy - Ebook - Srimad-Bhagavatam - Canto 3 - 11.1

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Eleven

SB3.11.23

TEXT 23

nisavasana arabdho

loka-kalpo ’nuvartate

yavad dinam bhagavato

manun bhunjams catur-dasa

SYNONYMS

nisa—night; avasane—termination; arabdhah—beginning from; loka-kalpah—further creation of the three worlds; anuvartate—follows; yavat—until; dinam—the daytime; bhagavatah—of the lord (Brahma); manun—the Manus; bhunjan—existing through; catuh-dasa—fourteen.

TRANSLATION

After the end of Brahma’s night, the creation of the three worlds begins again in the daytime of Brahma, and they continue to exist through the life durations of fourteen consecutive Manus, or fathers of mankind.

PURPORT

At the end of the life of each Manu there are shorter dissolutions also.

svam svam kalam manur bhunkte

sadhikam hy eka-saptatim

svam—own; svam—accordingly; kalam—duration of life; manuh—Manu; bhunkte—enjoys; sa-adhikam—a little more than; hi—certainly; eka-saptatim—seventy-one.

Each and every Manu enjoys a life of a little more than seventy-one sets of four millenniums.

The duration of life of a Manu comprises seventy-one sets of four millenniums, as described in the Visnu Purana. The duration of life of one Manu is about 852,000 years in the calculation of the demigods, or, in the calculation of human beings, 306,720,000 years.

manvantaresu manavas

tad-vamsya rsayah surah

bhavanti caiva yugapat

suresas canu ye ca tan

manu-antaresu—after the dissolution of each and every Manu; manavah—other Manus; tat-vamsyah—and their descendants; rsayah—the seven famous sages; surah—devotees of the Lord; bhavanti—flourish; ca eva—also all of them; yugapat—simultaneously; sura-isah—demigods like Indra; ca—and; anu—followers; ye—all; ca—also; tan—them.

After the dissolution of each and every Manu, the next Manu comes in order, along with his descendants, who rule over the different planets; but the seven famous sages, and demigods like Indra and their followers, such as the Gandharvas, all appear simultaneously with Manu.

There are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahma, and each of them has different descendants.

esa dainan-dinah sargo

brahmas trailokya-vartanah

tiryan-nr-pitr-devanam

sambhavo yatra karmabhih

esah—all these creations; dainam-dinah—daily; sargah—creation; brahmah—in terms of the days of Brahma; trailokya-vartanah—revolution of the three worlds; tiryak—animals lower than the human beings; nr—human beings; pitr—of the Pita planets; devanam—of the demigods; sambhavah—appearance; yatra—wherein; karmabhih—in the cycle of fruitive activities.

In the creation, during Brahma’s day, the three planetary systems—Svarga, Martya and Patala—revolve, and the inhabitants, including the lower animals, human beings, demigods and Pitas, appear and disappear in terms of their fruitive activities.

SB3.11.27

TEXT 27

manvantaresu bhagavan

bibhrat sattvam sva-murtibhih

manv-adibhir idam visvam

avaty udita-paurusah

SYNONYMS

manu-antaresu—in each change of Manu; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; bibhrat—manifesting; sattvam—His internal potency; sva-murtibhih—by His different incarnations; manu-adibhih—as Manus; idam—this; visvam—the universe; avati—maintains; udita—discovering; paurusah—divine potencies.

TRANSLATION

In each and every change of Manu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears by manifesting His internal potency in different incarnations, as Manu and others. Thus He maintains the universe by discovered power.

SB3.11.28

TEXT 28

tamo-matram upadaya

pratisamruddha-vikramah

kalenanugatasesa

aste tusnim dinatyaye

SYNONYMS

tamah—the mode of ignorance, or the darkness of night; matram—an insignificant portion only; upadaya—accepting; pratisamruddha-vikramah—suspending all power of manifestation; kalena—by means of the eternal kala; anugata—merged in; asesah—innumerable living entities; aste—remains; tusnim—silent; dina-atyaye—at the end of the day.

TRANSLATION

At the end of the day, under the insignificant portion of the mode of darkness, the powerful manifestation of the universe merges in the darkness of night. By the influence of eternal time, the innumerable living entities remain merged in that dissolution, and everything is silent.

PURPORT

This verse is an explanation of the night of Brahma, which is the effect of the influence of time in touch with an insignificant portion of the modes of material nature in darkness. The dissolution of the three worlds is effected by the incarnation of darkness, Rudra, represented by the fire of eternal time which blazes over the three worlds. These three worlds are known as Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah (Patala, Martya and Svarga). The innumerable living entities merge into that dissolution, which appears to be the dropping of the curtain of the scene of the Supreme Lord’s energy, and so everything becomes silent.

tam evanv api dhiyante

loka bhur-adayas trayah

nisayam anuvrttayam

nirmukta-sasi-bhaskaram

tam—that; eva—certainly; anu—after; api dhiyante—are out of sight; lokah—the planets; bhuh-adayah—the three worlds, Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah; trayah—three; nisayam—in the night; anuvrttayam—ordinary; nirmukta—without glare; sasi—the moon; bhaskaram—the sun.

When the night of Brahma ensues, all the three worlds are out of sight, and the sun and the moon are without glare, just as in the due course of an ordinary night.

It is understood that the glare of the sun and moon disappear from the sphere of the three worlds, but the sun and the moon themselves do not vanish. They appear in the remaining portion of the universe, which is beyond the sphere of the three worlds. The portion in dissolution remains without sunrays or moonglow. It all remains dark and full of water, and there are indefatigable winds, as explained in the following verses.

tri-lokyam dahyamanayam

saktya sankarsanagnina

yanty usmana maharlokaj

janam bhrgv-adayo ’rditah

tri-lokyam—when the spheres of the three worlds; dahyamanayam—being set ablaze; saktya—by the potency; sankarsana—from the mouth of Sankarsana; agnina—by the fire; yanti—they go; usmana—heated by the warmth; mahah-lokat—from Maharloka; janam—to Janaloka; bhrgu—the sage Bhrgu; adayah—and others; arditah—being so distressed.

The devastation takes place due to the fire emanating from the mouth of Sankarsana, and thus great sages like Bhrgu and other inhabitants of Maharloka transport themselves to Janaloka, being distressed by the warmth of the blazing fire which rages through the three worlds below.

SB3.11.31

TEXT 31

tavat tri-bhuvanam sadyah

kalpantaidhita-sindhavah

plavayanty utkatatopa-

canda-vateritormayah

SYNONYMS

tavat—then; tri-bhuvanam—all the three worlds; sadyah—immediately after; kalpa-anta—in the beginning of the devastation; edhita—inflated; sindhavah—all the oceans; plavayanti—inundate; utkata—violent; atopa—agitation; canda—hurricane; vata—by winds; irita—blown; urmayah—waves.

TRANSLATION

At the beginning of the devastation all the seas overflow, and hurricane winds blow very violently. Thus the waves of the seas become ferocious, and in no time at all the three worlds are full of water.

PURPORT

It is said that the blazing fire from the mouth of Sankarsana rages for one hundred years of the demigods, or 36,000 human years. Then for another 36,000 years there are torrents of rain, accompanied by violent winds and waves, and the seas and oceans overflow. These reactions of worlds. People forget all these devastations of the worlds and think themselves happy in the material progress of civilization. This is called maya, or “that which is not.”

antah sa tasmin salila

aste ’nantasano harih

yoga-nidra-nimilaksah

stuyamano janalayaih

antah—within; sah—that; tasmin—in that; salile—water; aste—there is; ananta—Ananta; asanah—on the seat of; harih—the Lord; yoga—mystic; nidra—sleep; nimila-aksah—eyes closed; stuya-manah—being glorified; jana-alayaih—by the inhabitants of the Janaloka planets.

The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, lies down in the water on the seat of Ananta, with His eyes closed, and the inhabitants of the Janaloka planets offer their glorious prayers unto the Lord with folded hands.

We should not understand the sleeping condition of the Lord to be the same as our sleep. Here the word yoga-nidra is specifically mentioned, which indicates that the Lord’s sleeping condition is also a manifestation of His internal potency. Whenever the word yoga is used it should be understood to refer to that which is transcendental. In the transcendental stage all activities are always present, and they are glorified by prayers of great sages like Bhrgu.

evam-vidhair aho-ratraih

kala-gatyopalaksitaih

apaksitam ivasyapi

paramayur vayah-satam

evam—thus; vidhaih—by the process of; ahah—days; ratraih—by nights; kala-gatya—advancement of time; upalaksitaih—by such symptoms; apaksitam—declined; iva—just like; asya—his; api—although; parama-ayuh—duration of life; vayah—years; satam—one hundred.

Thus the process of the exhaustion of the duration of life exists for every one of the living beings, including Lord Brahma. One’s life endures for only one hundred years, in terms of the times in the different planets.

Every living being lives for one hundred years in terms of the times in different planets for different entities. These one hundred years of life are not equal in every case. The longest duration of one hundred years belongs to Brahma, but although the life of Brahma is very long, it expires in the course of time. Brahma is also afraid of his death, and thus he performs devotional service to the Lord, just to release himself from the clutches of illusory energy. Animals, of course, have no sense of responsibility, but even humans, who have developed a sense of responsibility, while away their valuable time without engaging in devotional service to the Lord; they live merrily, unafraid of impending death. This is the madness of human society. The madman has no responsibility in life. Similarly, a human being who does not develop a sense of responsibility before he dies is no better than the madman who tries to enjoy material life very happily without concern for the future. It is necessary that every human being be responsible in preparing himself for the next life, even if he has a duration of life like that of Brahma, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe.

yad ardham ayusas tasya

parardham abhidhiyate

purvah parardho ’pakranto

hy aparo ’dya pravartate

yat—that which; ardham—half; ayusah—of the duration of life; tasya—his; parardham—a parardha; abhidhiyate—is called; purvah—the former; para-ardhah—half of the duration of life; apakrantah—having passed; hi—certainly; aparah—the latter; adya—in this millennium; pravartate—shall begin.

The one hundred years of Brahma’s life are divided into two parts, the first half and the second half. The first half of the duration of Brahma’s life is already over, and the second half is now current.

The duration of one hundred years in the life of Brahma has already been discussed in many places in this work, and it is described in Bhagavad-gita (8.17) also. Fifty years of the life of Brahma are already over, and fifty years are yet to be completed; then, for Brahma also, death is inevitable.

purvasyadau parardhasya

brahmo nama mahan abhut

kalpo yatrabhavad brahma

sabda-brahmeti yam viduh

purvasya—of the first half; adau—in the beginning; para-ardhasya—of the superior half; brahmah—Brahma-kalpa; nama—of the name; mahan—very great; abhut—was manifest; kalpah—millennium; yatra—whereupon; abhavat—appeared; brahma—Lord Brahma; sabda-brahma iti—the sounds of the Vedas; yam—which; viduh—they know.

In the beginning of the first half of Brahma’s life, there was a millennium called Brahma-kalpa, wherein Lord Brahma appeared. The birth of the Vedas was simultaneous with Brahma’s birth.

According to Padma Purana (Prabhasa-khanda), in thirty days of Brahma many kalpas take place, such as the Varaha-kalpa and Pitr-kalpa. Thirty days make one month of Brahma, beginning from the full moon to the disappearance of the moon. Twelve such months complete one year, and fifty years complete one parardha, or one half the duration of the life of Brahma. The Sveta-varaha appearance of the Lord is the first birthday of Brahma. The birth date of Brahma is in the month of March, according to Hindu astronomical calculation. This statement is reproduced from the explanation of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura.

tasyaiva cante kalpo ’bhud

yam padmam abhicaksate

yad dharer nabhi-sarasa

asil loka-saroruham

tasya—of the Brahma-kalpa; eva—certainly; ca—also; ante—at the end of; kalpah—millennium; abhut—came into existence; yam—which; padmam—Padma; abhicaksate—is called; yat—in which; hareh—of the Personality of Godhead; nabhi—in the navel; sarasah—from the reservoir of water; asit—there was; loka—of the universe; saroruham—lotus.

The millennium which followed the first Brahma millennium is known as the Padma-kalpa because in that millennium the universal lotus flower grew out of the navel reservoir of water of the Personality of Godhead, Hari.

The millennium following the Brahma-kalpa is known as the Padma-kalpa because the universal lotus grows in that millennium. The Padma-kalpa is also called the Pitr-kalpa in certain Puranas.

ayam tu kathitah kalpo

dvitiyasyapi bharata

varaha iti vikhyato

yatrasic chukaro harih

ayam—this; tu—but; kathitah—known as; kalpah—the current millennium; dvitiyasya—of the second half; api—certainly; bharata—O descendant of Bharata; varahah—Varaha; iti—thus; vikhyatah—is celebrated; yatra—in which; asit—appeared; sukarah—hog shape; harih—the Personality of Godhead.

O descendant of Bharata, the first millennium in the second half of the life of Brahma is also known as the Varaha millennium because the Personality of Godhead appeared in that millennium as the hog incarnation.

The different millenniums known as the Brahma, Padma and Varaha kalpas appear a little puzzling for the layman. There are some scholars who think these kalpas to be one and the same. According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti, the Brahma-kalpa in the beginning of the first half appears to be the Padma-kalpa. We can, however, simply abide by the text and understand that the present millennium is in the second half of the duration of the life of Brahma.

kalo ’yam dvi-parardhakhyo

nimesa upacaryate

avyakrtasyanantasya

hy anader jagad-atmanah

kalah—eternal time; ayam—this (as measured by Brahma’s duration of life); dvi-parardha-akhyah—measured by the two halves of Brahma’s life; nimesah—less than a second; upacaryate—is so measured; avyakrtasya—of one who is unchanged; anantasya—of the unlimited; hi—certainly; anadeh—of the beginningless; jagat-atmanah—of the soul of the universe.

The duration of the two parts of Brahma’s life, as above mentioned, is calculated to be equal to one nimesa [less than a second] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unchanging and unlimited and is the cause of all causes of the universe.

The great sage Maitreya has given a considerable description of the time of different dimensions, beginning from the atom up to the duration of the life of Brahma. Now he attempts to give some idea of the time of the unlimited Personality of Godhead. He just gives a hint of His unlimited time by the standard of the life of Brahma. The entire duration of the life of Brahma is calculated to be less than a second of the Lord’s time, and it is explained in the Brahma-samhita (5.48) as follows:

yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya
jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah
visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, whose plenary portion is Maha-Visnu. All the heads of the innumerable universes [the Brahmas] live only by taking shelter of the time occupied by one of His breaths.” The impersonalists do not believe in the form of the Lord, and thus they would hardly believe in the Lord’s sleeping. Their idea is obtained by a poor fund of knowledge; they calculate everything in terms of man’s capacity. They think that the existence of the Supreme is just the opposite of active human existence; because the human being has senses, the Supreme must be without sense perception; because the human being has a form, the Supreme must be formless; and because the human being sleeps, the Supreme must not sleep. Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, does not agree with such impersonalists. It is clearly stated herein that the Supreme Lord rests in yoga-nidra, as previously discussed. And because He sleeps, naturally He must breathe, and the Brahma-samhita confirms that within His breathing period innumerable Brahmas take birth and die.

There is complete agreement between Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Brahma-samhita. Eternal time is never lost along with the life of Brahma. It continues, but it has no ability to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is the controller of time. In the spiritual world there is undoubtedly time, but it has no control over activities. Time is unlimited, and the spiritual world is also unlimited, since everything there exists on the absolute plane.

kalo ’yam paramanv-adir

dvi-parardhanta isvarah

naivesitum prabhur bhumna

isvaro dhama-maninam

kalah—the eternal time; ayam—this; parama-anu—atom; adih—beginning from; dvi-parardha—two superdurations of time; antah—to the end; isvarah—controller; na—never; eva—certainly; isitum—to control; prabhuh—capable; bhumnah—of the Supreme; isvarah—controller; dhama-maninam—of those who are body conscious.

Eternal time is certainly the controller of different dimensions, from that of the atom up to the superdivisions of the duration of Brahma’s life; but, nevertheless, it is controlled by the Supreme. Time can control only those who are body conscious, even up to the Satyaloka or the other higher planets of the universe.

SB3.11.40

TEXT 40

vikaraih sahito yuktair

visesadibhir avrtah

andakoso bahir ayam

pancasat-koti-vistrtah

SYNONYMS

vikaraih—by the transformation of the elements; sahitah—along with; yuktaih—being so amalgamated; visesa—manifestations; adibhih—by them; avrtah—covered; anda-kosah—the universe; bahih—outside; ayam—this; pancasat—fifty; koti—ten million; vistrtah—widespread.

TRANSLATION

This phenomenal material world is expanded to a diameter of four billion miles, as a combination of eight material elements transformed into sixteen further categories, within and without, as follows.

PURPORT

As explained before, the entire material world is a display of sixteen diversities and eight material elements. The analytical studies of the material world are the subject matter of Sankhya philosophy. The first sixteen diversities are the eleven senses and five sense objects, and the eight elements are the gross and subtle matter, namely earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego. All these combined together are distributed throughout the entire universe, which extends diametrically to four billion miles. Besides this universe of our experience, there are innumerable other universes. Some of them are bigger than the present one, and all of them are clustered together under similar material elements as described below.

dasottaradhikair yatra

pravistah paramanuvat

laksyate ’ntar-gatas canye

kotiso hy anda-rasayah

dasa-uttara-adhikaih—with ten times greater thickness; yatra—in which; pravistah—entered; parama-anu-vat—like atoms; laksyate—it (the mass of universes) appears; antah-gatah—come together; ca—and; anye—in the other; kotisah—clustered; hi—for; anda-rasayah—huge combination of universes.

The layers or elements covering the universes are each ten times thicker than the one before, and all the universes clustered together appear like atoms in a huge combination.

The coverings of the universes are also constituted of the elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether, and each is ten times thicker than the one before. The first covering of the universe is earth, and it is ten times thicker than the universe itself. If the universe is four billion miles in size, then the size of the earthly covering of the universe is four billion times ten. The covering of water is ten times greater than the earthly covering, the covering of fire is ten times greater than the watery covering, the covering of air is ten times greater than that of the fire, the covering of ether is ten times greater still than that of air, and so on. The universe within the coverings of matter appears to be like an atom in comparison to the coverings, and the number of universes is unknown even to those who can estimate the coverings of the universes.

tad ahur aksaram brahma

sarva-karana-karanam

visnor dhama param saksat

purusasya mahatmanah

tat—that; ahuh—is said; aksaram—infallible; brahma—the supreme; sarva-karana—all causes; karanam—the supreme cause; visnoh dhama—the spiritual abode of Visnu; param—the supreme; saksat—without doubt; purusasya—of the purusa incarnation; mahatmanah—of the Maha-Visnu.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, is therefore said to be the original cause of all causes. Thus the spiritual abode of Visnu is eternal without a doubt, and it is also the abode of Maha-Visnu, the origin of all manifestations.

Lord Maha-Visnu, who is resting in yoga-nidra on the Causal Ocean and creating innumerable universes by His breathing process, only temporarily appears in the mahat-tattva for the temporary manifestation of the material worlds. He is a plenary portion of Lord Sri Krsna, and thus although He is nondifferent from Lord Krsna, His formal appearance in the material world as an incarnation is temporary. The original form of the Personality of Godhead is actually the svarupa, or real form, and He eternally resides in the Vaikuntha world (Visnuloka). The word mahatmanah is used here to indicate Maha-Visnu, and His real manifestation is Lord Krsna, who is called parama, as confirmed in the Brahma-samhita:

isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam

“The Supreme Lord is Krsna, the original Personality of Godhead known as Govinda. His form is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge, and He is the original cause of all causes.”

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Eleventh Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Calculation of Time, From the Atom.”

Next chapter (SB 3.12)