Text 4]
Divisions of the Creation
387
TRANSLATION
Sūta Gosvāmī  said: O son of Bhṛgu, the great sage Maitreya Muni, thus hearing from Vidura, felt very much enlivened. Everything was in his heart, and thus he began to reply to the questions one after another.
PURPORT
The phrase  sūtaḥ uvāca  (“Sūta Gosvāmī said”) appears to indicate a break in the discourse between Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī. While Śukadeva Gosvāmī was speaking to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Sūta Gosvāmī was only one member of a large audience. But Sūta Gosvāmī was speaking to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya, headed by the sage Śaunaka, a descendant of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. This does not, however, make any substantial difference in the topics under discussion.
TEXT 4
मैत्रेय उवाच
विरिश्वोऽपि तथा चक्रे दिव्यं वर्षशतं तपः ।
अत्मन्यात्मानमावेश्य यथाह भगवानजः ॥ ४ ॥
maitreya uvāca  
 viriñco 'pi tathā cakre  
 divyam varṣa-śatam tapaḥ  
 ātmany ātmānam āveśya  
 yathāha bhagavān ajaḥ
maitreyaḥ uvāca —the great sage Maitreya said;  viriñcaḥ —Brahmā;  api —also;  tathā —in that manner;  cakre —performed;  divyam —celestial;  varṣa-śatam —one hundred years;  tapaḥ —penances;  ātmani —unto the Lord;  ātmānam —his own self;  āveśya —engaging;  yathā āha —as it was spoken;  bhagavān —the Personality of Godhead;  ajaḥ —the unborn.
TRANSLATION
The greatly learned sage Maitreya said: O Vidura, Brahmā thus engaged himself in penances for one hundred celestial years, as advised by the Personality of Godhead, and applied himself in devotional service to the Lord.
PURPORT
That Brahmā engaged himself for the Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, means that he engaged himself in the service of the Lord; that is the