Adi-fila, Chapter 5 411

maintaining the cosmic manifestation and simultaneously being indifferent to the
activities of its maintenance cannot be contradictory, because of His inconceivable
energies. To a person who is always absorbed in the thought of snakes, a rope al-
ways appears as a snake, and similarly to a person bewildered by material qualities
and devoid of knowledge of the Absolute, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
appears according to diverse bewildered conclusions.

Someone might argue that the Absolute would be affected by duality if He were
both all-cognizance (Brahman) and the Personality of Godhead with six opulences
in full (Bhagavan). To refute such an argument, the aphorism svaripa-dvayam
iksyate declares that in spite of appearances, there is no chance of duality in the
Absolute, for He is but one in diverse manifestations. Understanding that the
Absolute displays varied pastimes by the influence of His energies at once removes
the apparent incongruity of His inconceivably opposite energies. Srimad-Bhdgavatam
(3.4.16) gives the following description of the inconceivable potency of the Lord:

karmdany anthasya bhavo ’bhavasya te
durgdsrayo ’thdri-bhaydat palayanam

kdlatmano yat pramad4é-yutdasrayah
svatman-rateh khidyati dhir viddm iha

“Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to do, He nevertheless
acts;although He is always unborn, He nevertheless takes birth; although He is time,
fearful to everyone, He flees Mathura in fear of His enemy to take shelter in a fort;
and although He is self-sufficient, He marries 16,000 women. These pastimes seem
like bewildering contradictions, even to the most intelligent.’’ Had these activities
of the Lord not been a reality, sages would not have been puzzled by them. There-
fore such activities should never be considered imaginary. Whenever the Lord de-
sires, His inconceivable energy (yogamdyd) serves Him in creating and performing
such pastimes.

The scriptures known as the Poficardtra-Sdstras are recognized Vedic scriptures
that have been accepted by the great dcdryas. These scriptures are not products of
the modes of passion and ignorance. Learned scholars and brahmanas therefore al-
ways refer to them as sdtvata-sarihitds. The original speaker of these scriptures is
Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is especially mentioned in the
Moksa-dharma (349.68), which is part of the Santi-parva of the Mahdbhdrata.
Liberated sages like Narada and Vyasa, who are free from the four defects of
conditioned souls, are the propagators of these scriptures. Sri Narada Muni is the
original speaker of the Paficardtra-sastra. Srimad-Bhdgavatam is also considered a
sdtvata-sarhhita, \ndeed, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu declared, srimad-bhdgavatam
puranam amalam: “Srimad-Bhagavatam is a spotless Purdna.”’ Malicious editors and
scholars who attempt to misrepresent the Paficardtra-Sdstras to refute its regulations
are most abominable. In the modern age, such malicious scholars have even com-
mented misleadingly upon Bhagavad-gitd, which was spoken by Kysna, to prove
that there is no Krsna. How the Mayavadis have misrepresented the pdficardtrika-
vidhi will be shown below.
