204 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 20

itaratah—indirectly from the lack of material contact; ca—also; arthesu—in all
affairs; abhijiah—perfectly cognizant; sva-rat—independent; tene—imparted;
brahma—the Absolute Truth; hrda—through the heart; yah —who; ddi-kavaye—
unto Lord Brahma; muhyanti—are bewildered; yat—in whom; sdrayah—great
personalities like Lord Brahma and other demigods or great brahmanas; tejah-vari-
mrdam—of fire, water and earth; yatha—as; vinimayah—the exchange; yatra—in
whom; tri-sargah—the material creation of three modes; amrs4—factual; dham-
né—with the abode; svena—His own personal; sada—always; nirasta-
kuhakam—devoid of all illusion; satyam—the truth; param—absolute; dhimahi—
let us meditate upon.

TRANSLATION

“41 offer my obeisances unto Lord Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, who is the
supreme all-pervading Personality of Godhead. | meditate upon Him, the
transcendent reality, who is the primeval cause of all causes, from whom all
manifested universes arise, in whom they dwell and by whom they are
destroyed. | meditate upon that eternally effulgent Lord who is directly and
indirectly conscious of all manifestations and yet is beyond them. It is He only
who first imparted Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmi, the first created
being. Through Him this world, like a mirage, appears real even to great sages
and demigods. Because of Him, the material universes, created by the three
modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. | meditate,
therefore, upon Him, the Absolute Truth, who is eternally existent in His tran-
scendental abode and who is forever free of illusion.’

PURPORT

This verse, quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1), links the Srimad-
Bhagavatam with the Veddnta-sdtra with the words janmddy asya yatah. It is
stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, is the Absolute Truth
beyond the material creation. This has been accepted by all dcaryas. Even
Sankaracarya, the most elevated impersonalist, says in the beginning of his com-
mentary on Bhagavad-gita: narayanah paro ‘vyaktat. When this material creation is
not yet manifested from the mahat-tattva, it is called avyakta, and when it is dem-
onstrated from that total energy, it is called vyakta. Narayana, the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead, is beyond this vyakta-avyakta, manifested and unmanifested
material nature. This is the chief qualification of the Supreme Personality of God-
head when He assumes a particular incarnation. Krsna tells Arjuna that they both
took birth many, many times before. Krsna remembers everything about His pre-
vious appearances, but Arjuna does not remember. Since Krsna is beyond the cos-
mic creation, He is in the exalted position of being able to remember everything in
the past. Everything within the cosmic creation has a material body, but Krsna,
being beyond the material cosmic creation, always has a spiritual body. He im-
