TEXT 25
sa upavrajya varadam
prapannarti-haram harim
anugrahaya bhaktanam
anurupatma-darsanam
SYNONYMS
sahLord Brahma; upavrajyaapproaching; vara-damthe bestower of all boons; prapannaof those taking shelter at His lotus feet; artidistress; haramwho dispels; harimLord Sri Hari; anugrahayafor showing mercy; bhaktanamto His devotees; anurupain suitable forms; atma-darsanamwho manifests Himself.
TRANSLATION
He approached the Personality of Godhead, who bestows all boons and who dispels the agony of His devotees and of those who take shelter of His lotus feet. He manifests His innumerable transcendental forms for the satisfaction of His devotees.
PURPORT
Here the words bhaktanam anurupatma-darsanam mean that the Personality of Godhead manifests His multiforms according to the desires of the devotees. For example, Hanumanji (Vajrangaji) wanted to see the form of the Lord as the Personality of Godhead Ramacandra, whereas other Vaisnavas want to see the form of Radha-Krsna, and still other devotees want to see the Lord in the form of Laksmi-Narayana. The Mayavadi philosophers think that although all these forms are assumed by the Lord just as the devotees desire to see Him, actually He is impersonal. From Brahma-samhita, however, we can understand that this is not so, for the Lord has multiforms. It is said in the Brahma-samhita, advaitam acyutam. The Lord does not appear before the devotee because of the devotees imagination. Brahma-samhita further explains that the Lord has innumerable forms: ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan [Bs. 5.39]. He exists in millions and millions of forms. There are 8,400,000 spieces of living entities, but the incarnations of the Supreme Lord are innumerable. In the Bhagavatam it is stated that as the waves in the sea cannot be counted but appear and disappear continually, the incarnations and forms of the Lord are innumerable. A devotee is attached to a particular form, and it is that form which he worships. We have just described the first appearance of the boar within this universe. There are innumerable universes, and somewhere or other the boar form is now existing. All the forms of the Lord are eternal. It is the devotees inclination to worship a particular form, and he engages in devotional service to that form. In a verse in the Ramayana, Hanuman, the great devotee of Rama, said, I know that there is no difference between the Sita-Rama and Laksmi-Narayana forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but nevertheless, the form of Rama and Sita has absorbed my affection and love. Therefore I want to see the Lord in the forms of Rama and Sita. Similarly, the Gaudiya Vaisnava loves the forms of Radha and Krsna, and Krsna and Rukmini at Dvaraka. The words bhaktanam anurupatma-darsanam mean that the Lord is always pleased to favor the devotee in the particular form in which the devotee wants to worship and render service unto Him. In this verse it is stated that Brahma approached Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This form of the Lord is Ksirodakasayi Visnu. Whenever there is some trouble and Brahma has to approach the Lord, he can approach Ksirodakasayi Visnu, and it is the grace of the Lord that whenever Brahma approaches about disturbances in the universe, the Lord gives him relief in so many ways.

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