Text 40]
The Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa
253
brahmovāca  
 namas te śrita-sattvāya  
 dharmādīnām ca sūtaye  
 nirguṇāya ca yat kāṣṭhām  
 nāham vedāpare 'pi ca
brahma —the personified  Vedas ;  uvāca —said;  namaḥ —respectful obeisances;  te —unto  You ;  śrita-sattvāya —the shelter of the quality of goodness;  dharma-ādīnām —of all religion, austerity and penance;  ca —and;  sūtaye —the source;  nirguṇāya —transcendental to material qualities;  ca —and;  yat —of whom (of the Supreme Lord);  kāṣṭhām —the situation;  na —not;  aham —I;  veda —know;  apare —others;  api —certainly;  ca —and.
TRANSLATION
The personified  Vedas  said: We offer our respectful obeisances unto  You , the Lord, the shelter of the quality of goodness and therefore the source of all religion, austerity and penance, for  You  are nevertheless transcendental to all material qualities, and no one knows  You  or  Your  actual situation.
PURPORT
In the material world there is the trinity of the three material qualities. Lord  Viṣṇu  has accepted the superintendence of the quality of goodness, which is the source of religion, knowledge, austerity, renunciation, opulence, etc. Because of this, actual peace, prosperity, knowledge and religion can be attained when the living entities are under the control of the quality of goodness in the material world. As soon as they are subjected to the control of the other two qualities, namely passion and ignorance, their precarious conditional life becomes intolerable. But Lord  Viṣṇu , in His original position, is always  nirguṇa , which means transcendental to these material qualities.  Guṇa  means quality, and  nir  means negation. This does not indicate, however, that He has no qualities; He has transcendental qualities by which He appears and manifests His pastimes. The positive transcendental qualitative manifestation is unknown to the students of the  Vedas  as well as to the great stalwart demigods like Brahmā and Śiva. Actually, the transcendental qualities are manifested only to the devotees. As confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā , simply by discharging devotional service one can understand the transcendental position of the Supreme Lord. Those who are in the mode of goodness can partially enter into the transcendental understanding, but it is advised