Text 8] Questions by King Pariksit 431

yavan ayam vai purusa
ityattavayavaih prthak

tavan asav iti proktah
samsthdvayavavan iva

dsit—as it grew; yat-udarat—from whose abdomen; padmam-—lotus
flower; loka— world; samsthdna—situation; laksanam—possessed of ; yavan—
as it were; ayam— this; vai— certainly ; purusah— the Supreme Personality of
Godhead; iyatta— measurement; avayavaih—by embodiment; prthak—dif-
ferent; tavdn—so; asau—that; iti proktah—it is so said; samstha—situation;
avayavavan—embodiment; iva—like.

TRANSLATION

If the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whose abdomen the
lotus stem sprouted, is possessed of a gigantic body according to His own
caliber and measurement, then what is the specific difference between
the body of the Lord and those of other common living entities?

PURPORT

One should note how Maharaja Pariksit intelligently put the questions
before his spiritual master for scientific understanding of the transcendental
body of the Lord. It has been described in many places before this that
the Lord assumed a very gigantic body, like Karanodakasayi Visnu, from
whose hair pores innumerable universes have generated. The body of the
Garbhodakasay1 Visnu is described as sprouting the lotus stem within
which all the planets of the universe remain, and at the top of the stem
there is the lotus flower on which Lord Brahmi is born. In the creation of
the material world He undoubtedly assumes the gigantic body, and living
entities also get bodies, big or small, according to the respective necessity.
For example, an elephant gets a gigantic body according to its needs, and
so also an ant gets its body according to its needs. Similarly, if the
Personality of Godhead assumes a gigantic body to accomodate the. uni-
verses or the planets of a particular universe, there is no difference in the
principle of assuming or accepting a particular type of body in terms of
necessity. A living being and the Lord cannot be distinguished simply by
the difference of the magnitude of the body. So the answer depends on the
specific significance of the body of the Lord, as distinguished from the
body of the common living being.
