142
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 3]
PURPORT
The  puruṣa , after creating innumerable universes in the  mahat-tattva , enters in each of them as the second  puruṣa ,  Garbhodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu. When He saw that within the universe there is all darkness and space only without a resting place, He filled up half of the universe with water out of His own perspiration and laid Himself down on the same water. This water is called  Garbhodaka . Then from His navel the stem of the lotus flower sprouted, and on the flower petals the birth of Brahmā, or the master engineer of the universal plan, took place. Brahmā became the engineer of the universe, and the Lord Himself took charge of the maintenance of the universe as Viṣṇu. Brahmā is generated from  rajo-guṇa  of  prakṛti , or the mode of passion in nature, and Viṣṇu became the Lord of the mode of goodness. Viṣṇu, being transcendental to all the modes, is always aloof from the materialistic affection. This is already explained before. And from Brahmā there is Rudra (Śiva), who is in charge of the modes of ignorance or darkness. He destroys the whole creation by the will of the Lord. Therefore all three, namely Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are incarnations of the  Garbhodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu. From Brahmā the other demigods like Dakṣa, Marīcyādi, Manu and many others become incarnated to generate living entities within the universe. This  Garbhodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu is glorified in the  Vedas  in the hymns of  Garbha-stuti , which begin with the description of the Lord as having thousands of heads, etc. The  Garbhodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu is the Lord of the universe, and although He appears to be lying within the universe, He is always transcendental. This is also already explained. Viṣṇu, who is the plenary portion of the  Garbhodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu, is the Supersoul of the universal life, and He is known as the maintainer of the universe or  Kṣīrodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu. So the three features of the original  Puruṣa  are thus understood. And all the incarnations within the universe are emanations from this  Kṣīrodakaśāyī  Viṣṇu.
In different millennia there are different incarnations, and they are innumerable, although some of them are very prominent, such as Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana and many others. These incarnations are called  līlā  incarnations. Then there are qualitative incarnations such as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva or Rudra who take charge of the different modes of material nature.
Lord Viṣṇu is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead. Lord Śiva is in the marginal position between the Personality of Godhead and the living entities or  jīvas . Brahmā is always a  jīva-tattva . The highest pious living being or the greatest devotee of the Lord is empowered with the