The Superexcellent Power of Krsna 335
also saw that on the very soft, white body of Sesanaga, Lord Maha-Visnu
was lying very comfortably. He appeared to be all-pervading and very
powerful, and Arjuna could understand that the Supreme Personality of
Godhead in that form is known as Purosottama. He is known as Puru-
sottama, the best, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because from
this form emanates another form of Visnu, which is known as Garbho-
dakasayi Visnu within the material world. The Maha-Visnu form of the
Lord, Purusottama, is beyond the material world. He is also known as
Uttama. Tama means darkness, and ut means above, transcendental;
therefore, Uttama means above the darkest region of the material world.
Arjuna saw that the bodily color of Purusottama, Maha-Visnu, was as dark
as a new cloud in the rainy season; He was dressed in very nice yellow
clothing. His face was always beautifully smiling, and His eyes, which were
like lotus petals, were very attractive. Lord Maha-Visnu’s helmet was be-
decked with valuable jewels, and His beautiful earrings enhanced the
beauty of the curling hair on His head. Lord Maha-Visnu had eight arms,
all very long, reaching to His knees. His neck was decorated with the
Kaustubha jewel, and His chest was marked with the symbol of Srivatsa,
which means the resting place of the goddess of fortune. The Lord wore
a garland of lotus flowers down to His knees. This long garland is known
as a vaijayanti garland.

The Lord was surrounded by His personal associates Nanda and Sunanda,
and the personified Sudargana disc was also standing by Him. As is stated
in the Vedas, the Lord has innumerable energies, and they were also
standing there personified. The most important among them were as
follows: pusti, the energy for nourishment, sri, the energy of beauty,
kirti, the energy of reputation, and aja, the energy of material creation.
All these energies are invested in the administrators of the material world,
namely Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Lord Visnu, and in the kings of the
heavenly planets, Indra, Candra, Varuna and the sun-god. In other words,
all these demigods, being empowered by the Lord with certain energies,
engage in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. The Maha-Visnu feature is an expansion of Krsna’s body. It is
also confirmed in the Brahma-samhita that Maha-Visnu is a portion of a
plenary expansion of Krsna. All such expansions are nondifferent from the
Personality of Godhead, but since Krsna appeared within this material
world to manifest His pastimes as a human being, He and Arjuna immedi-
ately offered their respects to Lord Maha-Visnu by bowing down before
Him. It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that Lord Krsna offered
respect to Maha-Visnu; this means that He offered obeisances unto Him
