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TEXT 36
evam sahasra-vadananghri-sirah-karoru-
nasadya-karna-nayanabharanayudhadhyam
mayamayam sad-upalaksita-sannivesam
drstva maha-purusam apa mudam virincah
SYNONYMS
evamin this way; sahasrathousands and thousands; vadanafaces; anghrifeet; sirahheads; karahands; uruthighs; nasa-adyanoses, etc.; karnaears; nayanaeyes; abharanavarieties of ornaments; ayudhavarieties of weapons; adhyamendowed with; maya-mayamall demonstrated by unlimited potency; sat-upalaksitaappearing in different symptoms; sannivesamcombined together; drstvaseeing; maha-purusamthe Supreme Personality of Godhead; apaachieved; mudamtranscendental bliss; virincahLord Brahma.
TRANSLATION
Lord Brahma could then see You possessing thousands and thousands of faces, feet, heads, hands, thighs, noses, ears and eyes. You were very nicely dressed, being decorated and bedecked with varieties of ornaments and weapons. Seeing You in the form of Lord Visnu, Your symptoms and form being transcendental, Your legs extending from the lower planets, Lord Brahma achieved transcendental bliss.
PURPORT
Lord Brahma, being completely pure, could see the original form of the Lord as Visnu, having many thousands of faces and forms. This process is called self-realization. Genuine self-realization consists not of perceiving the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but seeing face to face the transcendental form of the Lord. As distinctly mentioned here, Lord Brahma saw the Supreme Lord as maha-purusa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Arjuna also saw Krsna in this same way. Therefore he told the Lord, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan purusam sasvatam divyam: [Bg. 10.12] You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. The Lord is parama-purusa, the supreme form. purusam sasvatam: He is everlastingly the supreme enjoyer. It is not that the impersonal Brahman assumes a form; on the contrary, the impersonal Brahman effulgence is an emanation from the supreme form of the Lord. Upon being purified, Brahma could see the supreme form of the Lord. The impersonal Brahman cannot have heads, noses, ears, hands and legs. This is not possible, for these are attributes of the Lords form.
The word mayamayam means spiritual knowledge. This is explained by Madhvacarya. Mayamayam jnana-svarupam. The word mayamayam, describing the Lords form, should not be taken to mean illusion. Rather, the Lords form is factual, and seeing this form is the result of perfect knowledge. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita: bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. The word jnanavan refers to one who is perfectly in knowledge. Such a person can see the Personality of Godhead, and therefore he surrenders unto the Lord. The Lords being symptomized by a face, nose, ears and so on is eternal. Without such a form, no one can be blissful. The Lord, however, is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, as stated in the sastra (isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]). When one is in perfect transcendental bliss, he can see the Lords supreme form (vigraha). In this regard, Srila Madhvacarya says:
Lord Brahma saw that as aromas and colors spread throughout the earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead pervades the cosmic manifestation in a subtle form.
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