### SB 2.8.8

> आसीद्यदुदरात्पद्मं लोकसंस्थानलक्षणम् ।\
> यावानयं वै पुरुष इयत्तावयवैः पृथक् ।\
> तावानसाविति प्रोक्तः संस्थावयववानिव ॥८॥

> āsīd yad-udarāt padmaṁ\
> loka-saṁsthāna-lakṣaṇam\
> yāvān ayaṁ vai puruṣa\
> iyattāvayavaiḥ pṛthak\
> tāvān asāv iti proktaḥ\
> saṁsthāvayavavān iva

*āsīt*—as it grew; *yat-udarāt*—from whose abdomen; *padmam*—lotus flower; *loka*—world; *saṁsthāna*—situation; *lakṣaṇam*—possessed of; *yāvān*—as it were; *ayam*—this; *vai*—certainly; *puruṣaḥ*—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; *iyattā*—measurement; *avayavaiḥ*—by embodiment; *pṛthak*—different; *tāvān*—so; *asau*—that; *iti proktaḥ*—it is so said; *saṁsthā*—situation; *avayavavān*—embodiment; *iva*—like.

**If the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whose abdomen the lotus stem sprouted, is possessed of a gigantic body according to His own caliber and measurement, then what is the specific difference between the body of the Lord and those of other common living entities?**

One should note how Mahārāja Parīkṣit intelligently put the questions before his spiritual master for scientific understanding of the transcendental body of the Lord. It has been described in many places before this that the Lord assumed a very gigantic body, like Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, from whose hair pores innumerable universes have generated. The body of the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is described as sprouting the lotus stem within which all the planets of the universe remain, and at the top of the stem there is the lotus flower on which Lord Brahmā is born. In the creation of the material world He undoubtedly assumes the gigantic body, and living entities also get bodies, big or small, according to the respective necessity. For example, an elephant gets a gigantic body according to its needs, and so also an ant gets its body according to its needs. Similarly, if the Personality of Godhead assumes a gigantic body to accomodate the universes or the planets of a particular universe, there is no difference in the principle of assuming or accepting a particular type of body in terms of necessity. A living being and the Lord cannot be distinguished simply by the difference of the magnitude of the body. So the answer depends on the specific significance of the body of the Lord, as distinguished from the body of the common living being.