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namah namah—obeisances unto You; te—unto You, who are worshipable; akhila—all-inclusive; mantra—hymns; devata—the Supreme Lord; dravyaya—unto all ingredients for performing sacrifices; sarva-kratave—unto all kinds of sacrifices; kriya-atmane—unto You, the supreme form of all sacrifices; vairagya—renunciation; bhaktya—by devotional service; atma-jaya-anubhavita—perceivable by conquering the mind; jnanaya—such knowledge; vidya-gurave—the supreme spiritual master of all knowledge; namah namah—again I offer my respectful obeisances.

O Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are worshipable by universal prayers, Vedic hymns and sacrificial ingredients. We offer our obeisances unto You. You can be realized by the pure mind freed from all visible and invisible material contamination. We offer our respectful obeisances to You as the supreme spiritual master of knowledge in devotional service.

The qualification of bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord, is that the devotee should be free from all material contaminations and desires. This freedom is called vairagya, or renouncement of material desires. One who engages in devotional service to the Lord according to regulative principles is automatically freed from material desires, and in that pure state of mind one can realize the Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead, being situated in everyone’s heart, instructs the devotee regarding pure devotional service so that he may ultimately achieve the association of the Lord. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (10.10) as follows:

tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

“To one who constantly engages in the devotional service of the Lord with faith and love, the Lord certainly gives the intelligence to achieve Him at the ultimate end.”

One has to conquer the mind, and one may do it by following the Vedic rituals and by performing different types of sacrifice. The ultimate end of all those performances is to attain bhakti, or the devotional service of the Lord. Without bhakti one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The original Personality of Godhead or His innumerable expansions of Visnu are the only objects of worship by all the Vedic rituals and sacrificial performances.

SB3.13.40

TEXT 40

damstragra-kotya bhagavams tvaya dhrta

virajate bhudhara bhuh sa-bhudhara

yatha vanan nihsarato data dhrta

matan-gajendrasya sa-patra-padmini

damstra-agra—the tips of the tusks; kotya—by the edges; bhagavan—O Personality of Godhead; tvaya—by You; dhrta—sustained; virajate—is so beautifully situated; bhu-dhara—O lifter of the earth; bhuh—the earth; sa-bhudhara—with mountains; yatha—as much as; vanat—from the water; nihsaratah—coming out; data—by the tusk; dhrta—captured; matam-gajendrasya—infuriated elephant; sa-patra—with leaves; padmini—the lotus flower.

O lifter of the earth, the earth with its mountains, which You have lifted with Your tusks, is situated as beautifully as a lotus flower with leaves sustained by an infuriated elephant just coming out of the water.

The fortune of the earth planet is praised because of its being specifically sustained by the Lord; its beauty is appreciated and compared to that of a lotus flower situated on the trunk of an elephant. As a lotus flower with leaves is very beautifully situated, so the world, with its many beautiful mountains, appeared on the tusks of the Lord Boar.

SB3.13.41

TEXT 41

trayimayam rupam idam ca saukaram

bhu-mandalenatha data dhrtena te

cakasti srngodha-ghanena bhuyasa

kulacalendrasya yathaiva vibhramah

trayi-mayam—Vedas personified; rupam—form; idam—this; ca—also; saukaram—the boar; bhu-mandalena—by the earth planet; atha—now; data—by the tusk; dhrtena—sustained by; te—Your; cakasti—is glowing; srnga-udha—sustained by the peaks; ghanena—by the clouds; bhuyasa—more glorified; kula-acala-indrasya—of the great mountains; yatha—as much as; eva—certainly; vibhramah—decoration.

O Lord, as the peaks of great mountains become beautiful when decorated with clouds, Your transcendental body has become beautiful because of Your lifting the earth on the edge of Your tusks.

The word vibhramah is significant. Vibhramah means “illusion” as well as “beauty.” When a cloud rests on the peak of a great mountain, it appears to be sustained by the mountain, and at the same time it looks very beautiful. Similarly, the Lord has no need to sustain the earth on His tusks, but when He does so the world becomes beautiful, just as the Lord becomes more beautiful because of His pure devotees on the earth. Although the Lord is the transcendental personification of the Vedic hymns, He has become more beautiful because of His appearance to sustain the earth.

SB3.13.42

TEXT 42

samsthapayainam jagatam sa-tasthusam

lokaya patnim asi mataram pita

vidhema casyai namasa saha tvaya

yasyam sva-tejo ’gnim ivaranav adhah

samsthapaya enam—raise this earth; jagatam—both the moving and; sa-tasthusam—nonmoving; lokaya—for their residence; patnim—wife; asi—You are; mataram—the mother; pita—the father; vidhema—do we offer; ca—also; asyai—unto the mother; namasa—with all obeisances; saha—along with; tvaya—with You; yasyam—in whom; sva-tejah—by Your own potency; agnim—fire; iva—likened; aranau—in the arani wood; adhah—invested.

O Lord, for the residential purposes of all inhabitants, both moving and nonmoving, this earth is Your wife, and You are the supreme father. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You, along with mother earth, in whom You have invested Your own potency, just as an expert sacrificer puts fire in the arani wood.

kah sraddadhitanyatamas tava prabho

The so-called law of gravitation which sustains the planets is described herein as the potency of the Lord. This potency is invested by the Lord in the way that an expert sacrificial brahmana puts fire in the arani wood by the potency of Vedic mantras. By this arrangement the world becomes habitable for both the moving and nonmoving creatures. The conditioned souls, who are residents of the material world, are put in the womb of mother earth in the same way the seed of a child is put by the father in the womb of the mother. This conception of the Lord and the earth as father and mother is explained in Bhagavad-gita (14.4). Conditioned souls are devoted to the motherland in which they take their birth, but they do not know their father. The mother is not independent in producing children. Similarly, material nature cannot produce living creatures unless in contact with the supreme father, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam teaches us to offer obeisances unto the mother along with the Father, the Supreme Lord, because it is the Father only who impregnates the mother with all energies for the sustenance and maintenance of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.

SB3.13.43

TEXT 43

rasam gataya bhuva udvibarhanam

na vismayo ’sau tvayi visva-vismaye

yo mayayedam sasrje ’tivismayam

kah—who else; sraddadhita—can endeavor; anyatamah—anyone besides Yourself; tava—Your; prabho—O Lord; rasam—in the water; gatayah—while lying in; bhuvah—of the earth; udvibarhanam—deliverance; na—never; vismayah—wonderful; asau—such an act; tvayi—unto You; visva—universal; vismaye—full of wonders; yah—one who; mayaya—by potencies; idam—this; sasrje—created; ativismayam—surpassing all wonders.

Who else but You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, could deliver the earth from within the water? It is not very wonderful for You, however, because You acted most wonderfully in the creation of the universe. By Your energy You have created this wonderful cosmic manifestation.

vidhunvata vedamayam nijam vapur

When a scientist discovers something impressive to the ignorant mass of people, the common man, without inquiry, accepts such a discovery as wonderful. But the intelligent man is not struck with wonder by such discoveries. He gives all credit to the person who created the wonderful brain of the scientist. A common man is also struck with wonder by the wonderful action of material nature, and he gives all credit to the cosmic manifestation. The learned Krsna conscious person, however, knows well that behind the cosmic manifestation is the brain of Krsna, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.10): mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram. Since Krsna can direct the wonderful cosmic manifestation, it is not at all wonderful for Him to assume the gigantic form of a boar and thus deliver the earth from the mire of the water. A devotee is therefore not astonished to see the wonderful boar because he knows that the Lord is able to act far more wonderfully by His potencies, which are inconceivable to the brain of even the most erudite scientist.

SB3.13.44

TEXT 44

janas-tapah-satya-nivasino vayam

sata-sikhoddhuta-sivambu-bindubhir

vimrjyamana bhrsam isa pavitah

vidhunvata—while shaking; veda-mayam—personified Vedas; nijam—own; vapuh—body; janah—the Janaloka planetary system; tapah—the Tapoloka planetary system; satya—the Satyaloka planetary system; nivasinah—the inhabitants; vayam—we; sata—hairs on the shoulder; sikha-uddhuta—sustained by the tip of the hair; siva—auspicious; ambu—water; bindubhih—by the particles; vimrjyamanah—we are thus sprinkled by; bhrsam—highly; isa—O Supreme Lord; pavitah—purified.

O Supreme Lord, undoubtedly we are inhabitants of the most pious planets—the Jana, Tapas and Satya lokas—but still we have been purified by the drops of water sprinkled from Your shoulder hairs by the shaking of Your body.

Ordinarily the body of a hog is considered impure, but one should not consider that the hog incarnation assumed by the Lord is also impure. That form of the Lord is the personified Vedas and is transcendental. The inhabitants of the Jana, Tapas and Satya lokas are the most pious persons in the material world, but because those planets are situated in the material world, there are so many material impurities there also. Therefore, when the drops of water from the tips of the Lord’s shoulder hairs were sprinkled upon the bodies of the inhabitants of the higher planets, they felt purified. The Ganges water is pure because of its emanating from the toe of the Lord, and there is no difference between the water emanating from the toe and that from the tips of the hair on the shoulder of Lord Boar. They are both absolute and transcendental.

SB3.13.45

TEXT 45

sa vai bata bhrasta-matis tavaisate

yah karmanam param apara-karmanah

yad-yogamaya-guna-yoga-mohitam

visvam samastam bhagavan vidhehi sam

sah—he; vai—certainly; bata—alas; bhrasta-matih—nonsense; tava—Your; esate—desires; yah—one who; karmanam—of activities; param—limit; apara-karmanah—of one who has unlimited activities; yat—by whom; yoga—mystic power; maya—potency; guna—modes of material nature; yoga—mystic power; mohitam—bewildered; visvam—the universe; samastam—in total; bhagavan—O Supreme Personality of Godhead; vidhehi—just be pleased to bestow; sam—good fortune.

O Lord, there is no limit to Your wonderful activities. Anyone who desires to know the limit of Your activities is certainly nonsensical. Everyone in this world is conditioned by the powerful mystic potencies. Please bestow Your causeless mercy upon these conditioned souls.

Mental speculators who want to understand the limit of the Unlimited are certainly nonsensical. Every one of them is captivated by the external potencies of the Lord. The best thing for them is to surrender unto Him, knowing Him to be inconceivable, for thus they can receive His causeless mercy. This prayer was offered by the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems, namely the Jana, Tapas and Satya lokas, who are far more intelligent and powerful than humans.

Visvam samastam is very significant here. There are the material world and the spiritual world. The sages pray: “Both worlds are bewildered by Your different energies. Those who are in the spiritual world are absorbed in Your loving service, forgetting themselves and You also, and those in the material world are absorbed in material sense gratification and therefore also forget You. No one can know You, because You are unlimited. It is best not to try to know You by unnecessary mental speculation. Rather, kindly bless us so that we can worship You with causeless devotional service.”

SB3.13.46

TEXT 46

maitreya uvaca

ity upasthiyamano ’sau

munibhir brahma-vadibhih

salile sva-khurakranta

upadhattavitavanim

maitreyah uvaca—the sage Maitreya said; iti—thus; upasthiyamanah—being praised by; asau—Lord Boar; munibhih—by the great sages; brahma-vadibhih—by the transcendentalists; salile—on the water; sva-khura-akrante—touched by His own hooves; upadhatta—placed; avita—the maintainer; avanim—the earth.

The sage Maitreya said: The Lord, being thus worshiped by all the great sages and transcendentalists, touched the earth with His hooves and placed it on the water.

The earth was placed on the water by His inconceivable potency. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He can sustain the huge planets either on the water or in the air, as He likes. The tiny human brain cannot conceive how these potencies of the Lord can act. Man can give some vague explanation of the laws by which such phenomena are made possible, but actually the tiny human brain is unable to conceive of the activities of the Lord, which are therefore called inconceivable. Yet the frog-philosophers still try to give some imaginary explanation.

SB3.13.47

TEXT 47

sa ittham bhagavan urvim

visvaksenah prajapatih

rasaya lilayonnitam

apsu nyasya yayau harih

sah—He; ittham—in this manner; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; urvim—the earth; visvaksenah—another name of Visnu; praja-patih—the Lord of the living entities; rasayah—from within the water; lilaya—very easily; unnitam—raised; apsu—on the water; nyasya—placing; yayau—returned to His own abode; harih—the Personality of Godhead.

In this manner the Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, the maintainer of all living entities, raised the earth from within the water, and having placed it afloat on the water, He returned to His own abode.

The Personality of Godhead Lord Visnu descends by His will to the material planets in His innumerable incarnations for particular purposes, and again He goes back to His own abode. When He descends He is called an avatara because avatara means “one who descends.” Neither the Lord Himself nor His specific devotees who come to this earth are ordinary living entities like us.

SB3.13.48

TEXT 48

ya evam etam hari-medhaso hareh

katham subhadram kathaniya-mayinah

srnvita bhaktya sravayeta vosatim

janardano ’syasu hrdi prasidati

yah—one who; evam—thus; etam—this; hari-medhasah—who destroys the material existence of the devotee; hareh—of the Personality of Godhead; katham—narration; su-bhadram—auspicious; kathaniya—worthy to narrate; mayinah—of the merciful by His internal potency; srnvita—hears; bhaktya—in devotion; sravayeta—also allows others to hear; va—either; usatim—very pleasing; janardanah—the Lord; asya—his; asu—very soon; hrdi—within the heart; prasidati—becomes very pleased.

If one hears and describes in a devotional service attitude this auspicious narration of Lord Boar, which is worthy of description, the Lord, who is within the heart of everyone, is very pleased.

In His various incarnations, the Lord appears, acts and leaves behind Him a narrative history which is as transcendental as He Himself. Every one of us is fond of hearing some wonderful narration, but most stories are neither auspicious nor worth hearing because they are of the inferior quality of material nature. Every living entity is of superior quality, spirit soul, and nothing material can be auspicious for him. Intelligent persons should therefore hear personally and cause others to hear the descriptive narrations of the Lord’s activities, for that will destroy the pangs of material existence. Out of His causeless mercy only, the Lord comes to this earth and leaves behind His merciful activities so that the devotees may derive transcendental benefit.

SB3.13.49

TEXT 49

tasmin prasanne sakalasisam prabhau

kim durlabham tabhir alam lavatmabhih

ananya-drstya bhajatam guhasayah

svayam vidhatte sva-gatim parah param

tasmin—unto Him; prasanne—being pleased; sakala-asisam—of all benediction; prabhau—unto the Lord; kim—what is that; durlabham—very difficult to obtain; tabhih—with them; alam—away; lava-atmabhih—with insignificant gains; ananya-drstya—by nothing but devotional service; bhajatam—of those who are engaged in devotional service; guha-asayah—residing within the heart; svayam—personally; vidhatte—executes; sva-gatim—in His own abode; parah—the supreme; param—transcendental.

Nothing remains unachieved when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with someone. By transcendental achievement one understands everything else to be insignificant. One who engages in transcendental loving service is elevated to the highest perfectional stage by the Lord Himself, who is seated in everyone’s heart.

ko nama loke purusartha-saravit

As stated in Bhagavad-gita (10.10), the Lord gives intelligence to the pure devotees so that they may be elevated to the highest perfectional stage. It is confirmed herein that a pure devotee, who constantly engages in the loving service of the Lord, is awarded all knowledge necessary to reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For such a devotee there is nothing valuable to be achieved but the Lord’s service. If one serves faithfully, there is no possibility of frustration because the Lord Himself takes charge of the devotee’s advancement. The Lord is seated in everyone’s heart, and He knows the devotee’s motive and arranges everything achievable. In other words, the pseudo devotee, who is anxious to achieve material gains, cannot attain the highest perfectional stage because the Lord is in knowledge of his motive. One merely has to become sincere in his purpose, and then the Lord is there to help in every way.

SB3.13.50

TEXT 50

pura-kathanam bhagavat-katha-sudham

apiya karnanjalibhir bhavapaham

aho virajyeta vina naretaram

kah—who; nama—indeed; loke—in the world; purusa-artha—goal of life; sara-vit—one who knows the essence of; pura-kathanam—of all past histories; bhagavat—regarding the Personality of Godhead; katha-sudham—the nectar of the narrations about the Personality of Godhead; apiya—by drinking; karna-anjalibhih—by aural reception; bhava-apaham—that which kills all material pangs; aho—alas; virajyeta—could refuse; vina—except; nara-itaram—other than the human being. being.

Who, other than one who is not a human being, can exist in this world and not be interested in the ultimate goal of life? Who can refuse the nectar of narrations about the Personality of Godhead’s activities, which by itself can deliver one from all material pangs?